The Metlika Institute for Tourism, Culture, Sport and Youth signed a co-financing agreement with the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology on 18. of February 2022 for the project “Inkubator veščinr”. The project “Inkubator veščin” is a project of three partners from the area of LAS Dolenjska and Bela krajina, namely: the Metlika Institute, the Metlika Association of Farmers’ Wives and the Tourism Lovšin Luka Lovšin s.p. The project is in line with the objectives of the Local Development Strategy for the LAS Dolenjska and Bela krajina for the period 2014 – 2020 and will be implemented within the framework of Measure 4.A: “Empowering vulnerable target groups to integration into society and the labour market”. The partners have applied for the 6th European public call for the selection of operations for the implementation of the objectives of the LAS DBK 2014-2020 Local Environment Strategy to be co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund.

The value of the project, including VAT, is EUR 34.776.83, of which the co-financing from the European Regional Development Fund is EUR 19.105.42, the co-financing from the State Budget for Cohesion Policy is EUR 4.776.36 and EUR 1.,895.05 are the own resources of all three partners in the project.

The investment is co-financed by the Republic of Slovenia and the European Union from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

Project Summary

When working with the network of providers involved in the already successfully implemented ESSR project House of Delicacies of the Bela Krajina, we often encounter the challenge of how to make local self-catering providers aware of the importance of branding, appropriate and neat packaging and online presence. At the same time, we face the problem of local young providers of design, photography, video and other creative services who do not see employment opportunities in the Bela Krajina. The operation thus addresses the distinct problem of young people with higher education and young creative individuals finding employment in the Bela Krajina.

The direct impact of the operation is aimed primarily at two vulnerable groups in the White Landscape area: older people, who are holders of traditional knowledge, skills and local self-sufficiency, but less skilled in creating content suitable for modern marketing, and young people, who do not have a supportive environment for gaining experience in the production of creative design, photo, video and promotional content. The operation will create a space for knowledge transfer. This will create a stimulating and cohesive environment – an “Inkubator veščin” – for the development of products, content and new marketing approaches based on the rich offer of local subsistence.

The main objective of the operation is to overcome the perception of local self-sufficiency as unviable through intergenerational cooperation and to highlight the potential of this area for new, creative jobs.

The innovation of the operation lies in the simultaneous targeting of two vulnerable groups and the creation of a symbiosis between the elderly and the young. Through mutually beneficial activities, we aim to better connect the local community and reduce the intergenerational divide.

With the  Inkubator veščin project we want to achieve:

1.Creating a creative collaborative space – a demonstration kitchen.
The space will be used for intergenerational socialising and empowerment of the target groups (elderly and youth) through participation in joint projects. The objective will be achieved by equipping a demonstration kitchen and purchasing technical equipment for video and photo production. The objective will be achieved in the first phase of the project, as it is a prerequisite for other activities.

2.Delivering a series of five practical training courses
The training will be geared towards the ultimate goal of creating a market-oriented pilot project. Both local self-sufficiency promoters and young creators will be invited to the training courses. They will be designed in such a way that an intergenerational collaborative team will have already been formed during the training cycle itself.

3.Development of the pilot intergenerational cooperation project “Starter Pack – Belokranjska pogača”
The development of a market-oriented product aims to empower the target groups through mutual collaboration in the creative process.