As part of the participatory process of developing the “Cultural Development Program of the City of Rijeka 2025–2029,” the first in a series of workshops was held on Wednesday, March 5, 2025, at the Children’s House in Rijeka. The workshop was led by a team from the Department of Culture and Communication at the Institute for Development and International Relations (IRMO) – Dr. Ana Žuvela, Dr. Dea Vidović, as well as Sunčana Franić and Lucija Gegić.
The City of Rijeka has initiated the process of drafting the Cultural Development Program for 2025–2029, with experts from the Department of Culture and Communications at IRMO engaged in its development. The program’s creation is based on a participatory process that ensures the involvement of all interested and relevant stakeholders in a comprehensive analysis of the current state of culture and the planning of its future development. This participatory process is carried out, among other methods, through three workshops for which the City of Rijeka issued a public call for participation. Around 50 participants from the cultural sector of Rijeka—artists, cultural professionals, and representatives from various sectors, artistic disciplines, and cultural activities—responded to the call.
The first workshop focused on conducting a SWOT analysis. Through individual and group work, participants analyzed the current state of Rijeka’s cultural scene by identifying internal strengths and weaknesses and external opportunities and threats. The key elements identified in the SWOT analysis will serve as a foundation for the next two workshops, contributing to the development of the strategic framework and concrete measures for the Cultural Development Program of the City of Rijeka for the period 2025–2029.
The series of participatory workshops will continue in the coming period, providing further opportunities for open discussions, idea exchange, and the engagement of all relevant stakeholders in shaping the future of culture in Rijeka.
