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www.cultur-exp.eu

CULTURe Exchange Platform (CULTUR-EXP) project.The final project meeting, June 19, 2015 , Kavala, Greece

Joint Operational Programme – BLACK SEA BASIN 2007-2013

RENAM Association, Chisinau, Moldova www.renam.md

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Progress of the project realization in Moldova and future plans

The final project meeting, June 19, 2015 , Kavala, Greece

Dr. Petru BOGATENCOV, Pavel ROSCA, Alexandru CACEAN, Pavel VASEANOVICI, RENAM

www.renam.md

Overview Activities

GA4 Preparation and migration of cultural content to the platform:

• Contacts with content providers in Moldova …• Monitoring and approaching important/relevant events/festivals

organizers in Moldova • MoUs & LoS signature preparation – contact with unions, governmental

bodies, prominent art / culture related persons…GA5 Platform operation and maintenance – started since April 2014. GA6 Visibility of the Action - • project promotional activities at national and international levels;

contacting persons/organizations in Moldova.GA7 Management and coordination of the Action.

3The final project meeting, June 19, 2015 , Kavala, Greece

GA4: Preparation and migration of cultural content to the platform

• An important activity of RENAM team is permanent monitoring, approaching organizers and information collection about cultural events organized in Moldova.

• Continued activities for promoting the project related MoUs & negotiations of LoS signature with prominent representatives of national cultural community. New contacts with remarkable persons from professional unions, governmental bodies, prominent art / culture persons were established. Signed LoS, MoU 7/3.

4The final project meeting, June 19, 2015 , Kavala, Greece

GA4: Preparation and migration of cultural content to the platform

• RENAM team continued updating the lists of contacts and of events organizers for Moldova. The list is permanently updating during the project implementation. We continue informing by e-mail the organizations in Moldova related to cultural sphere about the project advantages, inviting these organizations to register on the platform and place their content. In progress

• Near future plans of RENAM team:o The revision of the concept of promotion by editing platform for placing banners in

public places. In progresso Elaboration of models, forms, creating and disseminating new promotional materials

to local communities/authorities; In progresso Negotiating the location of the link to http://cultur-exp.eu/ with local cultural web

resources developers, on sites of universities specializing in culture and art, on social sites and mass-media web resources. In progress

o Intensify collaboration with sponsors of the forthcoming cultural events for popularization of CULTURAL-EXP platform and CULTURAL-EXP project in Moldova and Romania via announcing project related info during these events. In progress

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GA5- Platform operation and maintenance

Platform operation status. Done

The platform operation you can check here:• http:// www.cultur-exp.eu • http:// www.project.cultur-exp.eu

No problems in the field of the platform maintenance, server operation, transport and data access.There were Spam problems. There were implemented solutions to protect the currently operated version of ELGG platform from Spam.

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GA5- Platform operation and maintenance

Platform operation status:• In RENAM operates internal platform monitoring on-duty mechanism. All

users’ mails sent to the address contact@cultur-exp.euare analyzed by one of RENAM on-duty IT specialist.

• Special anti-spam measures developed to minimize spam and number of spammers. This is continuous activity, new solutions are implementing and permanent work required for possible spam minimizing.

• For reliable platform operation, RENAM team together with GRENA pertners implemented solutions for backup the system work. The backup is made regularly on dedicated RENAM’s server based on accepted information copying plan: monthly full backup storing for 180 days weekly full backup storing 31 days daily differential backup, storing 6 days

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GA5- Platform operation and maintenance

Platform administration a special administration tools: Cacti system for monitoring Platform operation:

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Nagios screenshot for monitoring and reporting

GA5- Platform operation and maintenance

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GA6: Visibility of the Action.

• Translation in Romanian of informational and promotional materials: LoSs, MoUs, Press releases, Invitations, Newsletters, Brochure. These promotional documents are used as a catalyst and important additional supporter for content collection / preparation campaign, for internal and external communications.

• Looking more deeply and from practical point of view we can see that existing informational materials are not sufficient. It is necessary intensify some supplementary activities like promotion via mass- media – newspapers, radio and TV, advertising through visual content, use of billboards.

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GA6: Visibility of the Action

• Continued actions to inform users about the possibilities for users offered by the platform and explanation of content loading procedure to the platform. In progress

• RENAM team continued negotiating with resources holders of possibility to locate the links to the platform URL http://cultur-exp.eu/ on the web-sites of universities, members of RENAM Association and especially on the web-sites of universities specializing in arts and culture specialists preparation. In progress

• In the beginning of 2015 RENAM and subsidiary company of StarNet Holding agreed to wider mutual collaboration between StarNet team engaged in cultural initiatives promotion and RENAM to support and promote common cultural and social projects in Moldova, including StarArt project and CULTUR-EXP. In progress

• RENAM continued distribution of the promotional materials both through voluntary methods and in the premises of the significant cultural events, at the 'cultural' fairs and through public and university libraries; announcements placing in the academic institutions, cultural organizations and culture higher education institutions. In progress

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GA6: Visibility of the Action• From April 28 to May 3, 2015, Academy of Music, Theatre and Fine Arts (www.amtap.md)

organized the 5th edition of the International Festival of Theatre Schools "ClassFest" - an international artistic action for students and Moldovan youth, aimed at promoting contemporary art values, maintain and develop intercultural dialogue and ideas exchange between theater schools to encourage young artists by giving them the opportunity to present the best artistic productions.

• The festival was held under the motto "Communication, gesture and movement" and brought together students of theater and film schools from Austria, Georgia, Germany, France, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia and Ukraine.

• Opening of the festival took place on Tuesday, April 28, 2015 starting at 18:30 in Theatre Eugene Ionesco. Online Streaming was organized via www.renam.md , Event was fully supported by cultur-exp.eu platform.

•  During the International Festival of Performing Arts “Classfest” (April 29, 2015) held the meeting with representatives of East European Performing Arts Platform (EEPAP). EEPAP is a platform that supports the exchange of artists and specialists in theater and dance.

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GA6: Visibility of the Action

Organization of bilateral meetings of RENAM with Moldtelecom - the national telecommunications operator, official sponsor and general partner of many cultural events. We discussed the use of promotional instruments and advertising possibilities offered by CULTUR- EXP platform for future organizing nationwide cultural events.

For example, joint promotional actions were organized on June 6 for the cultural event "A day like a vacation" aimed at promoting art and valuable tourist destinations of the country by organizing a gala concert in a rural area. Participated orchestra and soloists from the National Opera and Ballet Theatre "Maria Biesu". The event "A day like a holiday" was held on Saturday, June 6 Butuceni village, Orhei and was organized by the NGO “Sens Musical“ with the support of East Europe Foundation and was advertised by our platform.

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GA6: Visibility of the Action

• Bilateral meeting in May 2015 of RENAM and StarNet teams devoted to the CULTUR-EXP platform use for organizing of the 6th edition of the national festival GUSTAR 2015.

• Presentation of the project and created platform "Cultural Exchange Platform (CULTURE-EXP) project 2013-2015" in the framework of the international conference ICTEI – 2015 organized on 20 May 2015 by the Technical University of Moldova with support of RENAM.

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GA7: Management and coordination of the Action

• Preparation information for periodic and interim reports; In progress

• Providing periodic and interim financial reports; In progress

• Interim financial audit organization;• Results of financial activity are permanently monitoring;• Providing information for preparation of the project

promotional materials – brochures, newsletters, etc.;• Participation in the periodic project meetings.

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Some suggestions from GA6-Visibility of the Action

Some issues of the platform functionality and sustainability discussed at the meetings with Ms. Marine Mizandari:• The attractiveness of the site; • The continuity of the project, forms and ways of maintaining

platform in fully functional condition;• The sponsorship as a means of livelihood, working with

technology parks, business incubators, technology transfer agency;

• A priority role in the project.;• Merger or acquisition with other similar projects in the field of

culture and art. Example - www.euroeastculture.eu

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Draft overview of future plans

• Securing of user information, collecting and announcing info about availability of the platform, implementing procedures of processing users’ requests for allocation of own web space on the platform.

• Implementation of the plan developed for the distribution of promotional materials-brochures, cultural background-exp newsletter, extending users’ community by distributing invitations to use the CULTURe EXchange Platform.

• Stirring up the CUPTUR-EXP brochures and other project materials distribution through voluntary methods (on the street), near the premises of important cultural events which took place, near the fair "cultural", and through public and university libraries, places intended for notifications academic, cultural institutions and universities on the subject.

• Renewal information on the project site //project.cultur-exp.eu and enriching the platform content – related to contacts list, events list, users’ groups, etc.

• Permanent monitoring and approaching important / relevant events / festivals organizers in Moldova and Romania

• LoSs, MoSs – formalization of institutional support for the content creation, collection, maintenance and development of the platform

• Presenting CULTUR_EXP platform at major cultural events or international meetings (conferences, seminars, etc.), involving officials to support of the platform promotiona activities.

• Intensify collaboration with sponsors of cultural events for popularization of CULTURAL-EXP in Moldova and Romania.

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Future plans (continue)• Preparation of reports and newsfeeds about the attractiveness of the platform for

professionals from culture and art.• Resolving problems regarding the registration of new members on the CULTUR-EXP

portal.• Negotiating of the allocation of the link http://cultur-exp.eu/ on the popular

national web-sites (like e.g. fest.md), social networks, at web resources of educational institutions specializing in culture and art, promoting platform through mass-media.

• Finding new approached and planning non-traditional actions for promotion of the CULTUR-EXP platform and announcing advantages of content creation and allocation at the platform.

• Studying and establishing deeper cooperation with the similar projects like www.euroeastculture.eu/, Eastern Partnership Territorial Cooperation -www.eaptc.eu

• In near future realization potential abilities of presentation / demonstration platform preferences at international resonant festivals. This activity is remaining as priority for the foreseeable future for RENAM team.

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Conclusions and Unsolved Problems.

• Continuity of the platform operation and development depends on the types of possible future sources of funding:

─ finding from sponsors interested in support of the fully functional platform;─ another approach - support from the state budget. It guarantees safe

operation from all points of view. Platform becomes a foundation (public cultural software solution) for most cultural projects on national level by clear recommendations received from the state authorities and is supported by the Ministry of Culture through funding of cultural projects having the wide public interest.

• We can confirm that CULTURE-EXP platform is available at least 99% of the operational time.

• Importance of multilingual realization. Content of the platform only in English is easily accessible for cultural organizations; for individual popular actors often is needed translation. Of course, multilingual realization is complicated task taking in account many aspects; for example, for the most registered users navigation on the platform would be difficult in Armenian, Georgian or Greek.

The final project meeting, June 19, 2015 , Kavala, Greece

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RENAM Association, Chisinau, Moldova

http://www.renam.md

Thank you!