Three locations in Georgia's west - the Black Sea port city of Poti, Imereti provincial capital Kutaisi, and Zugdidi in the Samegrelo region - will receive up to €30,000 in European Union funding to develop strategies for their cultural and creative sectors, as part of the EU4Culture project launched this year to support Eastern Partnership countries.

With the awards ceremony in Tbilisi on Wednesday, the Georgian cities have become the recipients of the grants that saw submissions from 70 locations from five of the six states of the EU's Eastern Partnership. The latter includes Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.

[EU4Culture] project targets the cultural and creative sector in the Eastern Partnership countries, aiming to support the development of culture as an engine for growth and social development across the region

- project summary via Goethe Institute

• Find details about the project on the official website

Within the programme, the cities have already started their work on the strategy papers, with their eventual visions to correspond to EU parameters for "cultural capitals". One ultimate winner will be awarded €300,000 to implement their developed strategy, while the project will also provide support for strengthening of their relevant capabilities.

Implemented by the Goethe Institute - as the lead institution - as well as the Danish Culture Institute, Czech Centres and the Institut Francais in Georgia, EU4Culture was launched in May 2021 and will run through 2024.

Particularly targeting non-capital cities, the programme has targeted 27 sites and eight municipalities, with a total budget of €40 million.

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