From November 22 to November 26, the Belgrade Festival Center - CEBEF, brought together representatives of the #synergy project partners and hosted several project activities at various cultural locations in Belgrade, Serbia.

The first on the schedule was the sixth and final workshop entitled “Marketing in Classical Music” which focused on different approaches to communication, results in exploitation, and dissemination when it comes to classical music. The topic was presented and discussed by some of the highly respected Serbian marketing and PR experts, Jana Savić Rastovac, Creative director of the McCann Belgrade agency, and Jelena Milašinović, Public relations manager of the Belgrade Philharmonic.

This public debate "Classical music and cultural policy", which was held in cooperation with the UNESCO Chair for Cultural Policy and Management in the Rectorate of the University of Arts in Belgrade, welcomed local representatives and experts of cultural policy and management, project partners, students, and the general public. The debate keynote speakers: Ivana Medić (Musical Institute SANU) Dragana Jovanović, (Faculty of Music in Belgrade), Ratimir Martinović, Sara Mandić (KotorArt) and Aleksandra Bakić (CEBEF) analyzed and discussed various segments of the classical music industry in relation to the existing cultural needs of the public and young people, and to what extent the cultural offer meets these needs additionally referring to project synergy overall goals and current and future outputs.

Let us remind, the main goals of the #synergy: Sharpening the capacities of the classical music industry in the Western Balkans project are the professional development and connecting of cultural professionals, primarily those who work in the music festival and classical music sector, encouraging composers to write new pieces inspired by the local heritage of partner countries, and facilitating networking and collaboration between young musicians, composers, and classical music organizations in the Western Balkans. The project is co-funded by the EU Creative Europe programme and brings together six important festivals from the region: the KotorArt Don Branko’s Music Days (Montenegro), Dubrovnik Summer Festival (Croatia), Belgrade Summer Festival (Serbia), Ljubljana Festival (Slovenia), Vox Baroque Festival (Albania), and the Chopin Piano Fest Pristina (Kosovo).