Community-Led Urban Strategies in Historic Towns (COMUS)
The project is part of the Eastern Partnership Culture Programme II funded under the European Neighbourhood Instrument. Based on community-led processes, COMUS supports nine small and medium-sized historic towns to develop an integrated, sustainable and participative approach for the protection, planning and management of heritage resources as a component of urban renewal policies.
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.