Cross-border commuting
Town twinning started after the Second World War. The idea was simple: to reconcile relationships ruined by war. The coming together of communities helped create a peaceful post-war Europe. But are twin towns still relationship-builders?
Although Szombathely (HU) and Graz (AT) maintain a twin-town relationship and are only 40 kilometres apart, it is nearly impossible to travel from one to the other with public transport. Google maps suggests that it is easier and faster to travel this distance by foot. In a recent debate in Hungarian Parliament, László Palkovics, Minister of Innovation and Technology, pointed out that solutions for improving public transport have already been explored. He quoted CONNECT2CE as a good example. So what did they do?
For example they introduced Microtransit, a transport planner without fixed timetables that focuses on customer needs. Microtransit improved connectivity across the border by significantly reducing transit times between Austrian and Hungarian trains. CONNECT2CE also helped prepare a new scheduled bus service between Szombathely and Graz. It will soon start running and bring the neighbours closer together.
Learn more about how to improve regional and cross-border railway and public transport connections by involving micro public transport.
Cultural route
What is connecting the Chanforan Monument in Piemonte, the Evangelical Church of Peace in Jawor and the Wartburg Castle in Eisenach? The newly established Route of Reformation.
All these places have been stages for the reformation movement that during the Middle Ages represented a revolution in the Christianity world.
Thanks to the work of the ECRR project partners, all these sites and many more are now part of one route, which offers you a journey through the different expressions of the reformation process, with unique characteristics in each territories.
The Council of Europe certifies cultural routes as “an invitation to travel and to discover the rich and diverse heritage of Europe”, and in April 2019 the Reformation Route became part of this prestigious group.
Thanks to this recognition and the founding of the Routes of Reformation Association by the ECRR partnership, the network will stay alive after the project end. It will support local tourism, preventing the common history and heritage of these places from being forgotten.
Discover the Routes of Reformation Platform, where you can explore tangible and intangible legacies of reformation from 7 central European countries. (linked to https://reformationroutes.eu/)
innovation networks
Can FabLabs influence our shopping behaviour in the near future?
As leading test-beds of innovation, Fablabs are open to all and serve as spaces where you can create and invent. They became more popular after demonstrating their benefits in prosthetics industry, pushing the costs of a leg-prosthesis 3D printed from €3.600 to €45.
So, why supporting networks of Fablabs?
Europe calls for new business forms. This is what Fablabs are. On top they integrate such new businesses directly into our societies. By creating networks of FabLabs local entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystems gets an extra kick. Take the Rapitag, a start-up company from Germany. Their fablab-based product, combines classical EAS (Electronic-Article-Surveillance) hardtags and payment processes in retail. The world’s first patented security tag can open itself automatically by using smart materials. It allows the customer to pay directly via an app, after which the security band on the product opens and the customer can self-check-out without having to queue.
Thanks to cooperation local start-ups can accelerate their ideas and businesses, like Rapitag. Project FabLabnet offered them a coaching ground sending their success to next level. In their transnational mentoring and coach pilots, they demonstrated the value-added of investing into mutual exchange on user-centred design or balanced service offers when it comes to innovative products. Learn more about the network of fablabs created by our FabLabnet project.
www.interreg-central.eu/fablabnet