Villa Ivanovici after the intervention
Studiogovora & Marius Vasile
Strengthening public-private-people partnerships for local heritage
Volunteers restoring the historic gazebo
Studiogovora
Concert in the gazebo after restoration
Studiogovora
Video mapping on the Electric Plant during the Spa Architecture Days
Studiogovora & Marius Vasile
The lack of shared local stewardship for heritage is rooted in the numerous changes of ownership and the highly centralized and bureaucratized national heritage protection framework of Romania.
The Govora Heritage Lab raises awareness on the need for shared responsibility in finding solutions to protect and reuse abandoned historic buildings. Through its projects, the team offers examples of how actions by any citizen or actors can benefit the local heritage and create new opportunities for people and heritage through a framework for public-private-people cooperation.
These actions include: site volunteering for restoration works, continuous collaboration with public and private stakeholders, advice on funding possibilities or needed interventions, cultural events in heritage buildings etc.
Historically, the resort always relied on public-private cooperation to function successfully, and today public-private partnerships have become a prerequisite of most funding programs dedicated to the rehabilitation of heritage.
Govora has a few restored historic buildings and public spaces which are under used, and owners need help from civil society to create events and attract audiences.
- Funding opportunities often ask for public-private partnership but even in such cases the partnership is often not balanced, with top-down structures in which NGOs play minor roles and individual citizens being seen only as end users.
- Public-private partnerships are highly dependent on the capacity and commitment of local authorities to implement them.
- Public funding is still mostly available to public owners (town halls, municipality) and less to private ones
- Public-private-people partnerships work generally well in high trust societies and are still challenging in low trust ones, such as Romania. In the absence of a clear legal framework that regulates public-private partnerships, these are still looked upon by authorities and citizens alike with distrust. Hence community participation in activities is essential to build trust on an individual- and community-basis.
- The public-private partnership and the actions put in place to support local owners have led to an increased interest of citizens to participate in heritage related activities.