The Conference "Re-imaging and co-creating the city from your window" Strengthens Cooperation Among Urban Development Specialists

The Conference "Re-imaging and co-creating the city from your window" Strengthens Cooperation Among Urban Development Specialists

In the context of Timişoara being the European Capital of Culture in 2023, Politehnica University Timisoara organized an interdisciplinary international conference on Friday, October 13, 2023, at the UPT Library, located at V. Pârvan Street 2B, in the Multipurpose Hall. The conference, titled "Re-imaging and co-creating the city from your window," was organized in partnership with Høgskulen for Grøn Utvikling (HGUt, Norway), through the project with the same name funded by the EEA and Norwegian Grants.

The conference aimed to bring together experts whose professions serve the development of the city, including psychologists, architects, engineers, local authorities, and others, with the goal of strengthening relationships among professionals from various fields for future interdisciplinary cooperation.

Additionally, the conference set out to gather representatives from all 10 faculties at Politehnica University Timisoara and provide examples of best practices for implementing projects with a positive impact on the city. This involved presenting 10 projects in which representatives from the UPT academic community were involved, with Politehnica University Timisoara being the promoter in 9 of these projects.

The opening of the conference featured speeches by Vice Mayor Cosmin Tabără, Paul Stiegelbauer – the student representative on the Politehnica University Timisoara Board of Directors and president of COSPol, as well as Johan Barstad, representing the Norwegian partner HGUt.

Considering that drug consumption among young people was one of the topics discussed by the Supreme Council for National Defense during its meeting on October 12, 2023, a subject included in the agenda by  President Klaus Iohannis, the "Re-imaging and co-creating the city from your window" conference provided participants with an opportunity to cooperate with the Timis Anti-Drug Prevention, Evaluation, and Counseling Center. They organized a workshop called "Windows into Addiction: Let's Recreate the Space of Safety and Connection Among Us," which was led by psychologist Mariana Iridon. During the workshop, the more than 50 conference participants had the opportunity to try special glasses that allowed them to experience the sensations of people who have consumed large quantities of alcohol or other drugs.

The conference also attracted representatives from the NGO sector, including Ilie Sârbu, the president of the Cultural Association "Save Timişoara's Heritage," and Remi Rădulescu, the president of the Inventors Society of Banat.

The third floor of the UPT Library will host an exhibition until the end of this week, featuring photos taken by the project team in all four European Capitals of Culture from Romania and Norway (Timişoara, Sibiu, Stavanger, Bergen), as well as photos from the Norwegian city of Bodø, which will be the next European Capital of Culture situated beyond the Arctic Circle next year. In the same exhibition, visitors can see photos taken from Timişoara's windows by young people and transformed by them through various artistic means, depending on their perspectives and imagination, to make the cityscape more beautiful in a city of the future.

The project "Re-Imaging and Co-Creating the City from Your Window" benefits from a grant of 41,807.08 euros from Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway through the EEA and Norwegian Grants.