July 7 th, 2020 Lights ON! Volume 1, Issue 4 Newsletter Mod of Life Association, Antonini no 2 str, Drobeta Turnu Severin, Jud. Mehedinți www.modoflife.ro, [email protected] INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Getting started Galbenu Răzvan, President, Mod of Life Association 1. Briefly, what we have done in the past few months We do not only intend to increase the number of tourists in region, the problem is to maintain the percentage of tourists 2. Territory of the cross- we had last year, but also to increase the quality of services border area and visits into the destination. That is why, together with the two project partners, UAT Drobeta Turnu Severin and the Tourism Organization of Kladovo Municipality, we decided to implement „Lights ON!” project. It will define the quality of 3. Accessibility of the cross- the tourism product in the cross-border area of the two border region counties - Mehedinți and Borski, starting with the accommodation area and ending with the transport and tour 4. Situation of the tourism guide area, interspersed with gastronomy and traditional sector products. All these elements will define the quality of the destination as a whole, says the president of the Mod of Life Association, Galbenu Răzvan. 5. Analysis of the external and internal environment We will build and strengthen the tourism product and will go of tourist areas border out with it on the national and international market, to bring added value, both in the area of local communities and in the development and promotion of tourism at a general level. The activities that will be carried out in this project will involve to 6. Recommendations for a large extent the members of the two communities from valuing the common tourist Drobeta Turnu Severin and Kladovo, as well as the decision- potential makers from the Mehedinți and Borski cross-border area. Briefly, what we have done in the past few months… April 2020 unfortunately started with a situation that we did not take into account when we discussed the activities that were to take place between 01-30.04. 2020. Our Serbian partners have asked us to suspend the project’s activities for a period of two months due to the outbreak of COVID-19 in Serbia. Since receiving the official paper from the members of the project team of the Tourist Organization of Kladova Municipality, I got in touch with the project team of Drobeta Turnu Severin City Hall. Following the discussions, they understood the unforeseen situation that arose and decided to start the project suspension procedure, so following the agreement of all those involved in the project, by address number 30 dated 14.04.2020, I requested from BRCT Timisoara the suspension of the project for a period of 2 months, until the situation in Serbia is clarified. In May, on 25.05.2020, the 3rd partner, respectively the Tourist Organization of Kladova, received other sad news. Following decision no. 76622, I was informed that due to the fact that they did not make the planned expenses in due time, the Serbian partner's budget was reduced by 10%. Towards the end of May, on 20.05.2020, through the address no. 23-53 / 2020, the third partner, TOOK, asked us to start the procedure for the resumption of the project in July. I talked to the project team from Drobeta Turnu Severin City Hall, to those from BRCT Timisoara and on 25.05.2020 following the address no. 41 I requested the Regional Office for Cross-Border Cooperation Romania-Serbia to resume the project. Also in May, at the official address of the Mod of Life Association, the leading partner of the project, came a series of clarifications related to the third financial reporting period according to the address no. 214/27.05.2020, asking for the balance and other financial details of the project in both Euro and RON. June began with a series of discussions with the partners involved in the project about the stage in which they are with the activities provided in the project, about the situation of equipment tenders, with the requests they have regarding addendum no. 2 requested by Drobeta Turnu Severin City Hall . Also at the beginning of the month, we completed the requests received in the Clarification Request R.2.1-RORS 248 / 02.06.2020. The clarifications mainly concerned changes related to the situation of some deliverables that were wrongly selected in E-Ms, as well as related to the retransmission of the Tourism Marketing Study, because the file uploaded on the platform could not be viewed. 2 | Page The study of tourist marketing, The development of tourist attractions that capitalize on the historical and cultural potential in the cross-border region Romania-Serbia aimed, among others, the following aspects: TERRITORY OF THE CROSS-BORDER AREA The territory covered by the project consists of two counties from two neighboring countries: Mehedinti County in Romania and Bor County in Serbia. In Romania, Mehedinți County is located in the southern part, while in Serbia, Bor County is located in the eastern part. The main cities in this area are Drobeta Turnu Severin, in Romania, and Bor and Negotin in Serbia. The description of the cross-border area: MEHEDINŢI The Danube River together with the Carpathian Mountains form the well-known area of the Danube Gorge - The Iron Gates. In addition to the mountainous areas, this cross-border region has a flat surface in the western part of the region - the Timok Valley and the Mehedinţi plateau. Mehedinti County is located in the southwestern part of Romania, on the left bank of the Danube at its exit from the gorge. It has an area of 493289 hectares (2.1% of the country's surface) and borders the counties: Caraş-Severin to the west, Gorj to the north and Dolj to the southeast. To the south it borders Bulgaria and Serbia. From the point of view of the administrative organization, the county includes 2 municipalities (Drobeta-Turnu Severin and Orşova), 3 cities (Baia de Aramă, Strehaia and Vânju Mare), 61 communes and 344 villages. Population by domicile of Mehedinţi county was 280888 inhabitants as of July 1 2017. The county is crossed by the European road E70, and the commissioning of the Rhine - Main - Danube Canal put the county seat, Drobeta Turnu Severin, in direct contact with all the riparian cities from the Black Sea to the North Sea. The bridge at the Iron Gates Hydropower and Navigation System shortened the road distances between Drobeta-Turnu Severin and various European cities. The relief of the county formed by mountains, plateaus and plain, appears in the form of an amphitheater arranged in steps that descend from north-northwest to south- southeast. The highest step, in the northwest, is made up of the Mehedinţi and Cerna mountains, the middle step includes the Mehedinţi plateau, the Motru hills and the high plain of Bălăciţa, the lowest step, the Blahniţa Plain is made up mostly of the Danube’s terraces, Drincea’s and Blahniţa’s valleys. The presence of depressions such as Baia de Aramă, Comăneşti - Halânga, wide valleys and the sub-Carpathian depression of Topolniţa offers living and traffic conditions, including the high areas of the county. The climate of Mehedinţi County is temperate-continental with Mediterranean influences in the area of the Danube Boilers and of Drobeta Turnu Severin municipality. The most important watercourse is the Danube river, which represents the natural border of the county on a length of 192 km. The rivers Cerna, Bahna, Topolniţa, Blahniţa and Drincea flow into the Danube on the territory of Mehedinţi County. In the northeastern part of the county, the Motru river basin stretches with the Coşuştea and Huşniţa tributaries. (INS - MEHEDINȚI County Directorate of Statistics, without year) The most important resources of the subsoil are: coal, asbestos, bentonite, limestone, slate, sand and sulfurous waters. The variety of relief ensures a balanced structure of the use of the county’s surface. Advantaged by its geographical position and its opening to the Danube, Mehedinţi County has known since ancient times a rich activity of trade, shipping, especially freight. Road transport has a network of 1856 km, of which 374 km are part of national and European roads. The post office and telecommunications began in 1862 and have grown in recent years. The commercial and public services have known an important development, meant to satisfy the growing demands of the population. From an economic point of view there are important production capacities in the field of shipbuilding, wagons, wood processing, inorganic products manufacturing, wood furniture manufacturing, celulosis and paper, textiles, food industry, coal mining and electricity generation facilities (hydro and thermo). 4 | Page BOR Bor County covers an area of 3507 km2. It includes the municipalities of Bor, Negotin, Majdanpek and Kladovo. Bor County covers 3.96% of the entire territory of Serbia. The border between Serbia and Romania, in this part of the country, runs exclusively on energy generateb by the Danube River. Geographically, it includes a larger part of the Timok Basin, part of lower Transdanubia and the hill-mountain area, springs and the upper part of Pek River. Several geomorphological mountain units and hilly lands are neighboring or have the territory within the county. These areas represent the Kucaj, Deli Jovan, Stol, Mali Krs, Veliki Krs mountains, the Danube river valley, Veliki Timok (Great Timok) and the Pek River. The county is rich in biodiversity, hosting the largest national park in Serbia - Djerdap National Park. It is home to many animals, such as the otter, the European rabbit, the roe deer, the wolf, the mountain goat and more.