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In-depth assessment of the situation of the textile and clothing sector in the EU and prospects

The in-depth assessment of the situation of the European textile and clothing sector is composed by six independent reports with a close focus on key aspects useful to understand the dynamics and the development of the textile and clothing industry, drivers of change – most notably the impact of the financial crisis – and identification of policy responses and best practices. This has been done in six specific tasks leading to the six reports: Task 1 Survey on the situation of the EU textile and clothing sector Task 2 Report on research and development Task 3 Report on SME situation Task 4 Report on restructuring Task 5 Report on training and Education Task 6 Report on innovation practices Task 6 focused on understanding how European textile & clothing companies are engaged into innovation practices. Hence key questions regard what is critical to transform knowledge and Research and Development (R&D) into good selling marketable products and which are the driving forces and relationships towards a better competitive performance through innovation. The analysis was carried out and the trends were then verified in selected regional cases: Lombardia Piemonte, Baden Württemberg, North Portugal and Galicia, Slovenia and Romania.

Cultural tourism development in the cross border region of Bulgaria and Romania

Using tourism statistics : a case study of Sibiu, Romania

Entrepreneurial learning and communities of practice: the case of the cross-border cultural tourism development Bulgaria–Romania

Entering the twenty-first century is not just a step in time, it is coming into a new era where people are craving for valuable change and are willing to become more active in being part of it through both learning as well as community development [Prahalad and Ramaswamy (The future of competition: Co-creating unique value with customers. Harvard Business School Press, 2004a)]. Communities of connected, informed, empowered, and active consumers are challenging the world. According to Nijs (Imagineering the butterfly effect, transformation by inspiration. 11 International Publishing, 2014), “growing connectivity, interdependency, diversity and interactivity has major influences on the way we can create value in society.” Instead of passive users, today’s consumers want to be involved in designing processes. As Hargadon and Bechky argue (Organization Science 17:484–500, 2006), “collective consumer creativity is qualitatively distinct from individual consumer creativity—it occurs when social interactions trigger new interpretations and new discoveries that consumers thinking alone, could not have generated. If we realize that creativity is a systemic—as opposed to individual process, then we are led to broaden our perspective”. Already in 1958 Jacobs approached cities as living beings and ecosystems, unfolding the transformation of the urban environment and the regional development potential, especially for tourism and culture. She suggested that over time, buildings, streets and neighbourhoods function as dynamic organisms, changing in response to how people interact with them. This sentiment is now, more than ever, echoing into the tourism sector evolvement as such and its meaningful interpretation with and for all. How can we encourage innovation and how can we engage customers and participants in creating the future in order to satisfy the needs of the participants? Why is Co-Creating the future for all of us? How can we design (for) the future in order to ignite interaction? According to Tonder (Journal of Industrial Psychology 30(3):53–64, 2004) the new society is characterized predominantly by consumption where people create a sense of who they are through what they consume. Simply stated, consumers from a century ago were concerned about the utility value (does it solve my problem?) whereas today’s consumers focuses on the intangibles—cultural or symbolic—values (does it promote my identity?). This becomes valid for the tourism sector and especially the cultural one, whereas the entrepreneurial learning has become the collective learning and the exchange and co-creation of value, which leads to the introduction and increase of relevance of communities of practice. The current chapter aims to study the cross-border cultural tourism development of Bulgaria and Romania as a thriving possibility for entrepreneurial learning and communities of practice. It will unfold the existing potential of these countries and look into the specifics of how the complex nature of contemporary society is affecting the transformational essence of exchange versus value co-creation. The further objectives of this chapter are to analyze the value and elaborate on a model of entrepreneurial learning and community of practice establishment in the cross-border region of two economies in transition—the Bulgarian and the Romanian. These countries will be analyzed through the lens of cultural tourism by looking at the complexity and the value creation interaction possibilities that are enhanced by the entrepreneurial and community development.

Developing the eventful city in Sibiu, Romania

Purpose – Cities are increasingly using events as an instrument for economic and social change and cultural and urban regeneration. Major events help cities to distinguish themselves, and attracting event-related tourism generates income and jobs and increases atmosphere and “liveliness”. Many cities have therefore positioned themselves as “eventful cities” or “festival cities” by adopting event-led strategies. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – The effects of the 2007 European Capital of Culture (ECoC) in Sibiu, Romania were evaluated through a decade of longitudinal research including surveys and depth interviews with local residents, stakeholders and tourists to monitor the sustainability of event-related regeneration strategies. Findings – The impacts identified include increased cultural activity, tourism growth, image improvements and increased pride among residents. These impacts have been facilitated by a local growth coalition, and the increased linkage of the city to flows of investment, skills and talent through EU membership. The city has taken some important steps to becoming an “eventful city”, in which events are utilised to sustainably increase the quality of life. However, the momentum of eventfulness developed in 2007 has been difficult to maintain, and there are difficulties in separating the effect of event-related activities from wider cultural, social and economic development factors. Originality/value – The research indicates that the Sibiu ECoC in 2007 and the programme of cultural development leading up to it had substantial impacts on the city both in the short and longer term. The ECoC certainly met most of its short-term aims, as there was a significant economic boost from tourism and an improvement in the external image of the city.

Smart and Age-Friendly Cities in Romania

The role of smart cities in order to improve older people’s quality of life, sustainability and opportunities, accessibility, mobility, and connectivity is increasing and acknowledged in public policy and private sector strategies in countries all over the world. Smart cities are one of the technological-driven initiatives that may help create an age-friendly city. Few research studies have analysed emerging countries in terms of their national strategies on smart or age-friendly cities. In this study, Romania which is predicted to become one of the most ageing countries in the European Union is used as a case study. Through document analysis, current initiatives at the local, regional, and national level addressing the issue of smart and age-friendly cities in Romania are investigated. In addition, a case study is presented to indicate possible ways of the smart cities initiatives to target and involve older adults. The role of different stakeholders is analysed in terms of whether initiatives are fragmentary or sustainable over time, and the importance of some key factors, such as private–public partnerships and transnational bodies. The results are discussed revealing the particularities of the smart cities initiatives in Romania in the time frame 2012–2020, which to date, have limited connection to the age-friendly cities agenda. Based on the findings, a set of recommendations are formulated to move the agenda forward. CC-BY Original article: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17145202 (This article belongs to the Special Issue Feature Papers "Age-Friendly Cities & Communities: State of the Art and Future Perspectives") https://www.dehaagsehogeschool.nl/onderzoek/lectoraten/details/urban-ageing#over-het-lectoraat