The Interreg-IPA Cross-border Cooperation Programme Hungary-Serbia celebrates the annual European Cooperation Day this September and early October with 15 events, organized by seven projects being implemented within this Programme.
With the goal to showcase what the cross-border cooperation between the two neighbouring countries is in effect and to raise awareness about the value the EU investments have for the region, the Joint Secretariat of the Programme invites the residents of the Hungary-Serbia border region and anyone interested to join this year’s celebration.
The visitors will have the opportunity to enjoy the outdoor festivals and free-of-charge sports events, art exhibitions, theatre shows for children, and much more.
The participating projects, which help preserve the cultural heritage of the Hungary-Serbia border region and increase its tourism potential, as well as improve the water management systems in the region, are the following: ActiveGirls – “Support sport and physical activity of girls”, CB BASKET – “Cross-border basket games”, CommonHeritage – “Together for Common Future of Common Cultural Heritage”, FOLKcoolTOUR – “Folklore and Culture as Touristic Attractions - Hidden Values and Treasures”, OPTI-BIKE – “Optimising traffic in the border zone, planning and construction of bicycle paths”, THEATRO – “Theatre art as a regional hub for children's socialization”, and WATERatRISK – “Improvement of drought and excess water monitoring for supporting water management and mitigation of risks related to extreme weather conditions”.
The Events’ Schedule:
8 September 2018 – Ajvar Festival
About the event: The culinary and multi-art event focuses on the production of handicraft ajvar, but the festival opens doors to all the nations living in the Carpathian Basin to present their own cultural innovations according to their roots and their national cultural identity.
Location: Szabadidőpark, Deszk, Hungary (beside the road No 43, towards Makó)
Time: 10:00 – event opening at Szabadidőpark, Deszk, Hungary; 16:00 – Folk Festival; 20:00 Light theatre, and the Balkan party afterwards.
Language: Hungarian and Serbian
Hosted by the project: FOLKcoolTOUR – “Folklore and Culture as Touristic Attractions - Hidden Values and Treasures”
More information: Project website; Facebook page of the project; http://ajvarfesztival.hu/.
11 September 2018 – Touring Exhibition
About the event: Exhibition of the restored altar painting created by Ferenc Falconer, the 18th-century Baroque painter
Location: Nagy István Gallery, No 1. Arany János Street 1, Baja, Hungary
Time: 17:00 (local time)
Language: English, Hungarian, Serbian
Organized by the project: CommonHeritage – “Together for Common Future of Common Cultural Heritage”
More information: Facebook page of the project
15 September 2018 – Bicycle tour from Ásotthalom to Palić
About the event: The aim of this event is to demonstrate how the bicycle path, which will be constructed within this project, will connect the people living in the Hungary-Serbia border region.
The starting point of the bike tour will be the Community Centre of Ásotthalom, Hungary – Kissor. The tour will pass by Ásotthalom’s twin city – Bački Vinogradi (Királyhalom) in Serbia, and it will involve cycling through the Ásotthalom – Bački Vinogradi border crossing station. The tour will end in Palić, Serbia.
Location: Community Centre of Ásotthalom, Ásotthalom, Hungary (the starting location)
Time: 09:30 (the starting time)
Language: Hungarian
Organized by the project: OPTI-BIKE – “Optimising traffic in the border zone, planning and construction of bicycle paths”
More information: Facebook page of the project
17 - 18 September 2018 – Project THEATRO at the 25th International Children’s Theatre Festival Subotica
About the event: Visiting performances of Kövér Béla Puppet Theatre from Szeged, Hungary during the 25th edition of International Children’s Theatre Festival Subotica 2018. Four performances will be presented to Serbian audience within the Festival’s accompanying programme.
Location: "Deže Kostolanji" Theatre, Subotica, Serbia
Time: 10:00 and 14:00 (on both days)
Language: Hungarian
Organized by the project: THEATRO – “Theatre art as a regional hub for children's socialization”
More information: Facebook page of the project
18 September 2018 – Renewed performance of the children's theatre
About the event: Performance of Kövér Béla Puppet Theatre within the 25th edition of International Children’s Theatre Festival Subotica 2018. Aiming at preserving and promoting the common cultural heritage of the Hungary-Serbia border region, the Theatre renewed one of the anthological children's plays from the Serbian side of border region.
Location: City Library, Subotica, Serbia
Time: 11:00
Language: Hungarian
Organized by the project: THEATRO – “Theatre art as a regional hub for children's socialization”
More information: Facebook page of the project
17 - 27 September 2018 – Puppet exhibition of five theatres
About the event: Touring puppet exhibition containing the selection of puppets from five theatres in border region (Szeged, Kecskemét, Subotica, Zrenjanin and Novi Sad), which already took place in Szeged and Kecskemét in Hungary, will be presented in Subotica, Zrenjanin and Novi Sad within the 25th International Children’s Theatre Festival Subotica 2018. The goal of the touring exhibition is to promote the common cultural heritage and the cultural ties of the Hungary-Serbia border region.
Location: Children's Theatre, Subotica, Serbia
Time: Exhibition opening on 17 September 2018 at 11:30
Language: Serbian and Hungarian
Organized by the project: THEATRO – “Theatre art as a regional hub for children's socialization”
More information: Facebook page of the project
19 - 20 September 2018 – Organization of five visiting performances from the 25th International Children’s Theatre Festival Subotica
About the event: Reprise of five representative performances from the 25th International Children’s Theatre Festival Subotica 2018 will be organized at the Kövér Béla Puppet Theatre in Szeged, Hungary – one of the partnering organizations within this project. The aim of this initiative is to inform the audience in Hungary about the Festival from Subotica, which a partnering organization from Serbia organizes.
Location: Kövér Béla Puppet Theatre, Szeged, Hungary
Time: 11:00 and 15:00 (on both days)
Language: English, Hungarian, Serbian
Organized by the project: THEATRO – “Theatre art as a regional hub for children's socialization”
More information: Facebook page of the project
21 September 2018 – Book (brochure) Show
About the event: Presentation of the printed information booklet about Subotica Synagogue
Location: Synagogue, Subotica, Serbia
Time: 17:00
Language: Serbian
Organized by the project: CommonHeritage – “Together for Common Future of Common Cultural Heritage”
More information: Facebook page of the project
21 September 2018 – International Street-ball Tournament
About the event: International street-ball tournament on the European Cooperation Day with the participation of basketball clubs from Csongrád County in Hungary, Bačka and Banat districts in Serbia, and from Timisoara, Romania.
Location: Hódtói Sportcentrum, Tóalj Street, 6800 Hódmezővásárhely,Hungary
Time: 16:30 – 20:00
Language: English, Hungarian, Serbian
Organized by the project: CB BASKET – “Cross-border basket games”
More information: Web page of the project; Facebook page of the project
22 September 2018 – Basketball tournaments for 2005/2006 age groups
About the event: The first day of the basketball tournament within the project. Besides the youth players from the beneficiary organization Kosársuli in Hungary, and the Subotica team Spartak, the total of 12 teams from the settlements in the Hungary-Serbia border-region will play matches.
Location: the elementary school “Majšanski put”, Majšanski put 87, Subotica, Serbia
Time: Vreme: 08:30 – 20:00
Language: Serbian
Organized by the project: CB BASKET – “Cross-border basket games”
More information: Web page of the project; Facebook page of the project
23 September 2018 – Basketball tournaments for 2005/2006 age groups.
About the event: The second day of the basketball tournament within the project. The best youth basketball teams from the settlements in the border-region will compete for the best rankings.
Location: “Sonja Marinković” school, Jo Lajoša 78, Subotica, Serbia
Time: 08:30 – 18:30
Language: Serbian
Organized by the project: CB BASKET – “Cross-border basket games”
More information: Web page of the project; Facebook page of the project
28 September 2018 – European Week of Sport
About the event: Celebration of the “European Week of Sport”, the initiative of the European Commission. The event is aimed at promoting sport and physical activity across Europe bringing together various decision-makers, stakeholders and sports experts.
Location: Old County Hall, Szentes, Hungary
Time: Press conference – 10:00 – 11:00 (local time) and all-day programme with sports activities
Language: Hungarian, Serbian
Organized by the project: ActiveGirls – “Support sport and physical activity of girls”
More information: Facebook page of the project
28 September 2018 – Researcher’s night at the University of Szeged: Tracking water in the landscape
About the event: Interactive demonstrations and exhibitions for the public to discover how researchers investigate water in the landscape. The visitors have a chance to see scientific equipment related to remote sensing and soil moisture, and furthermore, they may participate in water experiments.
Location: University of Szeged, Department of Physical Geography, Egyetem u. 2-6, 6722 Szeged, First floor, “Jakucs-terem” hall.
Time: 17:00-19:00
Language: Hungarian
Organized by the project: WATERatRISK – “Improvement of drought and excess water monitoring for supporting water management and mitigation of risks related to extreme weather conditions”
More information: Web page of the project; Facebook page of the project
3 October 2018 – Seminar: Exhibition of the restoration of Ferenc Falconer’s work
About the event: Live restoration of Ferenc Falconer’s baroque altar painting
Time: 17:00
Location: Nagy István Gallery, 6500 Baja, No 1. Arany János Street;
Language: English, Hungarian, Serbian
Organized by the project: CommonHeritage – “Together for Common Future of Common Cultural Heritage”
More information: Facebook page of the project
3 October 2018 – Brochure (book) Show about Subotica Synagogue
About the event: Presentation of the first printed tourist information booklet about Subotica Synagogue
Location: Nagy István Gallery, 6500 Baja, No 1. Arany János Street;
Time: 17:00
Language: Hungarian
Organized by the project: CommonHeritage – “Together for Common Future of Common Cultural Heritage”
More information: Facebook page of the project
During this initiative, the Joint Secretariat of the Programme will post regular updates about the above-mentioned events on the Programme’s pages on the social media networks Facebook and LinkendIn.
The European Cooperation Day is an annual observance taking place on 21 September and the surrounding weeks to celebrate the achievements of territorial cooperation in different regions in Europe, including the neighbouring countries of the European Union.