Why a European Cooperation Day? In 2011, several Interreg programmes saw the need to develop a joint communication activity to communicate the outcomes of Interreg to a wider audience. INTERACT offered to create a pilot action on joint Interreg communication in 2012 and all programmes were invited to join. This first European Cooperation Day campaign brought together 70 cooperation programmes and resulted in 281 events across 36 countries in Europe. Since then, the campaign has been going strong. This will be the 4th consecutive European Cooperation Day campaign. This year is also a special occasion as we celebrate the 25 year anniversary of Interreg! Under the motto “Sharing borders, growing closer”, hundreds of local events will be held across Europe in the week leading up to 21 September, reaching out to thousands of people. European Cooperation Day is coordinated by the INTERACT Programme with the support of the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Committee of the Regions.
Highlights from the past European Cooperation Day campaigns include a swimming marathon between Greece and Albania; a classical concert in a cross-border cave between Hungary and Slovakia; a project bus tour for journalists from Latvia and Estonia; film festivals on European cooperation in Spain and Finland; a cross-border football match between Finland and Russia; graffiti art between France and Spain and a race between a Lithuanian horse, a Belarusian tractor, and a Latvian minivan.
To be part of European Cooperation Day 2015, here are some ways you can participate:
- Organise a local event celebrating the achievements and results of cooperation in Europe. You can find some tips by clicking here.
- Become a partner of one of the local events to be organised by programmes in your area
- Disseminate information on the events through your social media, website or other communication tools
- Engage in the campaign through the mobile application and receive information on when and where events will be taking place
- Attend one of the local events in your area
- Join the celebration of Interreg’s 25 year anniversary on 15-16 September in Luxembourg.
A song also has been especially created to celebrate 25 years of Interreg, celebrating the benefits of working together across borders. This tailor-made song has beenused for the promotional video of European Cooperation Day 2015. Enjoy!