INFORM Communication Awards 2020

30 years ago, Europeans wanted more cooperation. Thus, policy makers created INTERREG in a spirit of trust and solidarity. In 2020, we wanted to celebrate this but then it all changed. Confronted with the worst pandemic in a century, countries closed their borders. Planned events got cancelled. However, we did not give in and went digital: we launched a social media campaign with key EU policy makers, to demonstrate that cooperation is central for a strong and resilient Europe - now more than ever!

Communication Initiatives realized to promote projects co-funded by ERDF on the sustainable mobility in the Marche Region (Sept. 2019 - #EUinmyregion).

In order to make the European projects visible in Andalusia, the short videos “Stories from here, Europe” are disseminated on Social Networks as a novel communication action. Videos telling real stories with the voice of their protagonists brings Cohesion Policy closer to the young population. These 1-minute videos are released every month on the official Twitter, Facebook and Instagram profiles of the DG for European Funds benefiting from a great audience.

The competition Leader of Change was aimed at promoting the EU effects in Mazovia Region. We, together with inhabitants, other EU institutions and market experts, distinguished the most active beneficiaries, local and regional projects, as well as the most innovative business solutions. The competition was accompanied by a campaign addressed to all inhabitants. It included internet, TV, outdoor, print, press and events. Moreover, we produced a bilingual publication to promote the winning projects.

The first online large scale capacity-building event, the URBACT e-University, was designed for local stakeholders from URBACT Action Planning Network projects all over EU. The event took place from September 15 to October 8 2020, in a series of 2-hour workshops delivered twice a week. "I'm actually going to miss these zoom sessions - I had plenty of those in the past few months - this one I was actually looking forward to!" said one of the participants.

More about the e-University > urbact.eu

The aim of the spot is to show and highlight the factual impact that the European Funds have upon effective containment of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The European Funds support the healthcare services by providing them with appropriate equipment and ensuring safety measures. In our video, we show the everyday life of employees of the Provincial Specialist Hospital. The nurse, from the special COVID-19 Ward at the Hospital in Biała Podlaska, gives the account of it.

#EuropeLoveSicily is a “loving philosophy”. Europe loves Sicily and writes it clearly. It is a hashtag so it is current and in step with the times. It is called #EuropeLoveSicily, and it is not just a slogan.
It allows communicating to everyone that, through products co-financed by the OP ERDF Sicily 2014-2020, Sicily is innovating.
The Europeans’ embrace for Sicily arrived on the first Pop trains, the first southern region to have new trains. Given the media success, this action will certainly be replicated.

Promoting the reprogramming of the ROP ERDF Tuscany with a communication campaign by creating a new visual identity and focusing on digital tools (website, newsletter, and social media channels).
Target audiences: potential beneficiaries, citizens.
The ROP ERDF communication team is working at home (smart working in Italian) and made the graphics of the campaign, video tutorials, and managed the digital channels. No costs.
Effects: increase of followers, engagement rate on social media, media attention.

We reached a critical mass of project results in 2020. Images, infographics and specific examples present them in a publication, in a set of posters and in a map, available online and in print. We celebrate Interreg's 30 years with 30 stories about policy changes in 30 countries.

Campaign:
- 2 months, 3 channels
- Engagement: favourite story voting + event
- Reach: 17k+ newsletter, 10k+ social media, 500 prints
Staff: 1 full-time for production
External: design & proofreading
Production: 7 months
Costs: EUR 20k

The goal of the nationwide campaign was simple: to show how much EU Funds have changed Poland, our surroundings and our everyday life. The EFOD is an action in which we encourage Polish residents to communicate on how much is changing in our country and all around us.
The 7th edition of EFOD was unique for several different reasons: the 2014-2020 perspective ends this year which leads to a few summaries. The 2020 edition was conducted entirely online, but most of all because they were open to everyone.

To celebrate the 30 years of Interreg and the European Cooperation Day, we have planted 30 trees in the joint Valga-Valka twin city center on the Estonia-Latvia border on 19 September 2020. We have invited programme authorities, guests, and representatives from the project Valga-Valka Centre to meet in the newly constructed center and contribute to the greening plan of the new urban and cross-border space. In total, 155 trees are planted on the Estonia-Latvia border and its surrounding area.

Our interactive Map of Results demonstrates the relevance of Interreg NPA for the communities in the programme area. It allows finding stories about project impacts & people, linked to a location. The NPA community can find out what is going on in their region and be inspired by what is happening elsewhere, while project outcomes are promoted, expanding their viability and transferability. This map is meant for those who need concrete evidence of impacts to convince decision-makers. #DiscoverNPA

Giffoni Opportunity is a story of innovation and creativity. Co-financed with ERDF fund, in these days Giffoni Multimedia Valley is the main Italian start-up incubator for digital productions and it hosts one of the biggest film festivals for young people all around the world.

'This is Europe' podcast brings about the everyday personal stories of Europeans whose lives are being transformed by cooperation across borders. Its objective is to connect with listeners emotionally and make Interreg’s work accessible and attractive to a large audience. So far, its 4 episodes have been downloaded more than 4300 times, count going up by the day. The downloads are evenly spread across the whole of Europe. Cost: 5900€/episode (each episode: 45min and 3 stories).