The current project ART NOUVEAU 2 - Strengthening the Danube region's cultural identity by building on common heritage of ART NOUVEAU is part of the European Union Interreg Danube Transnational Program, started in July 2020. This is a continuation of the ART NOUVEAU project - Sustainable protection and promotion of Art Nouveau heritage in the Danube Region, which lasted from 2017 to 2019.

The leading partner is the City of Oradea (Oradea Municipality), and the other partners in the project are Oradea City Museum – Cultural Complex, (Romania), National Institute of Heritage, Bucharest, (Romania), Museum of Applied Arts, Budapest, (Hungary), Museum of Arts and Crafts, Zagreb (Croatia), Austrian Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna (Austria), Slovak University of Technology, Bratislava (Slovakia), Republic Institute for Protection of Cultural Monuments, Belgrade, (Serbia) and Kodolányi János University, Budapest (Hungary).

The project aims to strengthen Art Nouveau's cultural identity and heritage in the Danube region. It will be implemented through an educational program, exhibitions, online lectures, tourist guides, catalogues, short films, and more.

Art Nouveau is undoubtedly part of the history and everyday life of the Danube region cities, and hopefully, it will be an integral part of its future.

ART NOUVEAU 2 project embarks on responsibly and sustainably using the Art Nouveau cultural heritage as a vehicle for strengthening regional cultural identity and for stimulating economic growth in the Danube Region.

The partnership between partners involved in this project aims to achieve notable results in creating transnational professional cooperation in Art Nouveau. The project also identifies challenges faced by the communities sharing Art Nouveau cultural heritage.

Education activities (programs for children, exhibitions and online lectures) will increase the Art Nouveau knowledge in the general public. The gained knowledge is instrumental in changing perception and adjusting attitude towards the Art Nouveau heritage. The improved experience will incite and mobilize greater interest in these ancestral gifts.

It will prompt the general public to recognize, respect, appreciate, protect and take better care of the Art Nouveau heritage. Ultimately, it will help them (re)define and expand their sense of belonging, showing them that they and their cultural heritage belong to a broader region. The educational experts will use their experience to approach and maintain relationships with educational institutions and the general public. The project will also welcome recommendations of educational experts to keep the interest of children and youth.

Using digital media, quizzes, social media contests, games, trailers, and teasers will also be encouraged in the project, to show the connection with current trends in promotion and marketing.

Dissemination activities among professional organizations, local administration, urban planners and (national) policy setting institutions aim to increase their knowledge about AN heritage in the region. The better-informed professional community will better protect, manage and promote the Art Nouveau heritage. The target audience is the professional community. It comprises art historians, curators, urban planners, researchers, and other Art Nouveau experts and practitioners within and outside the Danube region, local administration, and national and international policymakers. As the target audience is diverse, project activities and outputs specially designed to address and ensure optimal engagement and contribution of each group. The information presented in the digital catalogue will be easily accessible and well-organized. Its promotion will include wide dissemination through partner's internet platforms, news and announcements, professional events and networks. Comprehensive local, national and international promotion of urban development solutions will ensure their sustenance and result in high-quality rehabilitation of Art Nouveau. It may also increase visibility and generate interest of prospective members to learn more or join Art Nouveau professional community.

To ensure the local public's growing appreciation for the Art Nouveau heritage and increase its attractiveness to the tourists, each partner will professionalize Art Nouveau's tourism promotion through the tourism industry's involvement. Also, cooperating with the region's tourist offices and services, which can result in economic growth, generate income, and stimulate job creation will be implemented.

For example, every Danube region city has city tours, but this project aims to train tourists and offer tourists and local population specialized tours on Art Nouveau buildings and architects.

Activities that will contribute to this objective are training for tourist guides, surveys and studies of tourists' behavior, and promotional campaigns in the tourism industry. These activities aim to change the target groups' behavior by providing well-presented exciting and factual information and increasing their knowledge about Art Nouveau. As a result, tour operators may consider developing and including Art Nouveau cultural route in their offer or adjusting the existing ones to have the Art Nouveau monuments. As they become more knowledgeable about AN, tourists may initialize and increase the demand for AN cultural heritage tourist offer.

The World Art Nouveau Day's success, held on June 10, 2021, largely depends on wide publicity and proper advertisement. Thus, a coordinated intensive campaign will be organized to ensure extensive visibility for these crowning events.

Project co-financed by the European Union funds (ERDF, IPA II).

Аssociated partner of the Republic Institute for Protection of Cultural Monuments is Ministry of Culture and Information of the Republic of Serbia.