Europa za građane (arhiva)

Provide a short description of the event and its activities.

The goal of the “Bonding Lace” project was to establish a connection between lace centers in Europe, and to promote the value and importance of preserving the original cultural and traditional heritage in the form of traditional lace-making, not only in the Republic of Croatia but also in several other European countries where there is a tradition of nurturing lace-making – Hungary, Slovenia, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Poland, Italy, Slovakia and Malta.

In addition to encouraging the preservation and nurturing of traditional cultural heritage, an important goal of this project was to improve the conditions for citizens’ participation in the preservation of cultural heritage and participation in international cultural exchange, offering them the opportunity to directly change their experiences and strengthen mutual ties by actively participating in the Bonding Lace project.

As part of the project a series of activities took place:

An exhibition of lace from Croatia that included lacework and presentations of lacemaking skills from the following Croatian lacemaking centers: Primošten, Split, Sikirevci, Križevci, Trg kraj Ozlja, Sveta Marija, Pag, Dolina Kardinala – Krašić and Lepoglava.

The international lace exhibition included lace works and presentations of lace art from European lace centers: Kiskunhalas from Hungary – project partner, Idrija and Železniki from Slovenia, Artofill Kantschool from Belgium, Bobow from Poland, lace from the collection of the Monastery and the spiritual center of St. Ilije on Lake Buško from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Gozor Regional Council lace from Malta, Molise and Novedrata from Italy, and from 11 lace centers from Slovakia: Gemerska, Solnobanska, Novohradska, Hontianska, Liptovska, Krakovianska, Šopornianska, Spanadolinska, Slovenskogrobska, Moderna and Banica lace.

In addition to the exhibitions, lectures and workshops were held on various topics, related to the presentation of lacemaking and lace, and the preservation of traditional cultural heritage in general:

The Bonding Lace Conference, lectures The Lepoglava lace and glass and Days of European Cultural Heritage, the Varaždin Vocational High School Fashion show – application of lace in the modern textile industry, workshops on making objects from rushes, flowers from crepe paper, making Lepoglav lace, making licitars, embroidering motifs/elements of cultural heritage on canvas, Fair of Traditional and Old Crafts and a series of concerts.

Partner cities of Lepoglava and Kiskunhalas as part of the Bonding Lace project signed a letter of intent for cultural cooperation and a town twining agreement.

The project enabled participants to exchange knowledge and make direct contacts among experts in the field of cultural and traditional heritage preservation, and created prerequisites for civic participation in cultural heritage preservation and international cultural exchange.

The implementation of the Bonding Lace project will have a direct impact on decision-making processes in the area of ​​traditional cultural heritage preservation, and will ensure stable development, promotion and protection of traditional cultural heritage.

The Bonding Lace project brought together participants from various spheres: lacemakers from various European countries, experts in the field of preservation and protection of traditional cultural heritage, experts in the field of pedagogy, members of a number of NPO, secondary and elementary school students, representatives of local governments and wider audience.

Both professional participants and the general public actively participated in the project activities, and we expect that based on the experience of participating in this project, one of the achieved long-term results of this project will be greater engagement of the local population in various associations and non-governmental organizations, which will contribute to the achievement of the common goal of preserving traditional culture heritage and ultimately contribute to the long-term goal of shaping local and EU policies in this sector.

Project included 260 direct participants from 9 countries: 163 from Croatia, 42 from Hungary and 55 participants from other European Countries (Slovenia, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Poland, Italy, Slovakia and Malta).

Over 10,000 people indirectly participated in the project through participation in the program for the wide public and through the visibility of the project in the media.

The project “BONDING LACE – – twinning in cultural heritage was founded with the support of the European Union under the Programme “Europe for Citizens”.