Community-Led Urban Strategies in Historic Towns (COMUS)

The project aims to stimulate social and economic development by enhancing cultural heritage in nine small and medium-sized historic towns in Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, bringing stakeholders together to find solutions for sustainable and socially local economic growth through their heritage resources, in a sustainable and socially inclusive manner.

COMUS is implemented in nine pilot towns selected by the Ministries of Culture in Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Republic of Moldova and Ukraine:

• Goris and Gyumri, Armenia;
• Mstislav, Belarus;
• Chiatura and Dusheti, Georgia;
• Soroca, Moldova;
• Lutsk, Pryluky and Zhovka, Ukraine.

Actions include:

• establishing COMUS management structures in the five countries and nine pilot towns, including national and local stakeholder groups, project implementation units and project managers;
• reference plans for the nine towns, preliminary technical assessments for five sites/initiatives and feasibility studies for two initiatives in each COMUS town;
• regional workshops and study visits, country-based workshops with local and international experts, training sessions with the Culture and Creativity Programme (also part of the Eastern Partnership Culture Programme II);
• awareness-raising initiatives including community mobilisation through consultation processes, meetings, community-based activities and heritage walks in the nine COMUS towns, town-based promotional videos and brochures;
• integration of COMUS methodology into policy and strategy making;
• workshop with nine mayors and joint declaration of COMUS mayors.

COMUS is a joint European Union and Council of Europe initiative.