On 17
November, the European Commission announced the project of the Rehabilitation
and Restoration of Cittadella Gozo as the winner of the 2022 RegioStars
Awards for the best Cohesion Policy supported projects in the EU.
After a
public vote, Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, Elisa Ferreira presented
the awards to the winners at a ceremony in Evora, Portugal.
The
Cittadella project restored and rehabilitated internal structures in the walls
of the ancient and fortified city. Today, thanks to the new visitor centre and
better accessibility, this impressive landmark will attract more tourists than
ever, exploiting its potential to the fullest.
The second
place was attributed to an e-Schools pilot project. This project provided ICT
equipment and digital education tools to 151 primary and secondary schools in
Croatia. The third place went to ‘PICSA Sustainable Construction Programme in
Andalusia'. This project helped reinvigorating the building sector in
Andalusia, Spain.
Background
The
REGIOSTARS Awards have been organised every year by the Commission since 2008.
They have become Europe's label of excellence for EU-funded projects under
Cohesion Policy that demonstrate innovative and inclusive approaches to
regional development. They have inspired regions to deliver an ever more
impactful EU Cohesion Policy.
2022
therefore marks a special anniversary for the RegioStars competition: it is the
15th edition of the contest. A special “throwback edition” was thus organised
in order to celebrate this success: 15 projects among finalists and winners of
the past editions were selected and put under the spotlight of a Commission’s
communication campaign in the second half of the year. The celebration gained
momentum between September and November and had its peak during the INFORM EU
meeting in Evora in November.
The Cittadella
was amongst these 15 outstanding projects, chosen from a pool of over
300 projects. The project of the
Rehabilitation and Restoration of Cittadella Gozo – co-financed by the European
Regional Development Fund - was a finalist for the RegioStars awards in 2018.
A group of young journalists made short
documentaries on how the projects have evolved since their REGIOSTARS
nominations. Christoph Schwaiger was the journalist behind the Cittadella’s
winning short documentary.
To find out more about RegioStars and to watch the winning
Cittadella documentary, please visit: http://www.regiostarsawards.eu/
