During the weekend of July 8-10, 2022, the Association for Urban Transition organized the second edition of the Danube Days Festival. This year's focus was the historical neighbourhood of Smârda, a reference point for Giurgiu and its connection to the Danube.

This year’s festival was organized as part of the activation of Giurgiu’s Action Plan created through the DANUrB+ programme. The Action Plan for Giurgiu called Facing the Danube was activated through a series of activities focused on urban regeneration and cultural-touristic promotion of the Smârda neighborhood.

The Smârda neighborhood was chosen as the base of the festival, being one of the areas rich in heritage in Giurgiu, a neighborhood with historical value still visible through architecture and local memory, but also through the natural heritage to be integrated. It is said that the Danube cities are positioned either facing or with their backs to the Danube depending on the orientation of the neighborhoods. But there is also a social element at play here, namely how the city opens up its local heritage to be known, celebrated and protected. This summer Giurgiu has been #FacingTheDanube through #SmârdaHistoricalNeighbourhood!

The festival was developed in close collaboration with the local community of Smârda, with an extensive program of activities for the 3 days from workshops held by local residents and organizations and guided tours of the neighborhood to cultural moments and a series of thematic exhibitions. Key activities included:

• Photo and historical exhibition of the neighborhood - Smârda "Then and Now" - developed in collaboration with the Museum of History "Teohari Antonescu", Studio COCON and a group of local historians;
• Landscape revitalization of the last hut in Giurgiu together with the dedicated local community "La Bordei" and with the active involvement of "Giurgiu Neoficial";
• Exhibition #CuApeleCurate about the biodiversity of the Danube in the Giurgiu area together with the Mai Mult Verde Association and Giurgiu Local Initiative Group;
• A series of creative workshops for young people and children from Giurgiu held by local organizations such as Palatul Copiilor, Assoc. Millennium Dance or Assoc. Zâmbete și Vise.

The festival was an important event in Giurgiu, gathering approx. 300 people over the 3 days from children to young people and adults, residents of Giurgiu but also visitors from Bucharest or Ruse. The event was followed closely online where it reached more than 3,000 people, with the support of local and Bucharest media partners. Part of the audience were both young people from Giurgiu involved in previous DANUrB+ projects and children from disadvantaged backgrounds who had access to new creative activities through this event.

For more details on the event you can visit the Facebook page (https://fb.me/e/5k2CsWmFs).

The project Giurgiu #FacingTheDanube is initiated by A.T.U Association for Urban Transition as part of the European co-financed urban regeneration program DANUrB+. The project is organized in partnership with University of Architecture and Urbanism “Ion Mincu” and Municipality of Giurgiu with the active involvement of local actors: "La Bordei" Community, COCON Arhifoto Studio, "Teohari Antonescu" County Museum, Tranzit2030, and a group of local historians and experts .

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Project co-funded by European Union funds (ERDF and IPA).