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The ERDF in the Agglomération Pôle Azur Provence

Ms Maud Boissac, Charged for the Agglomération Pôle Azur Provence

1/You are in charge of cultural affairs in the Agglomération Pôle Azur Provence, could you please explain us what are your goals and how are your activities characterised by a European dimension?

The Agglomération Pôle Azur Provence is a strategic and important place for the Alpes-Maritimes French department. Grasse, the main town, is internationally recognized as the world perfumes’ capital; furthermore, the European dimension is largely predominant. My intention is to give more value to the local cultural projects and to propose a large cultural offer in order to make more visible the cultural identity of the towns’ conglomeration.

2/Which projects did you already prepare and what European fund is more familiar to you?



I participated to the project management of two different European projects :

- Within the framework of a call for proposals financed by the European programme Leonardo da Vinci, the Agglomération Pôle Azur Provence participated to the project Piste d’Azur, Centre Régional PACA des Arts du Cirque; its usefulness had been recognized to be of community interest. In fact, the project aimed at demonstrating the live performance organisation in various European countries in 2009 to the students of art schools. Subsidies granted by the European programme Leonardo allowed 12 young people from 16 to 24 years old to leave on the meeting of certain number of circus schools for Europe .

- The project of the Cyber-Base in Auribeau-sur-Siagne aimed at promoting vocational training and professionalization in the ‘Siagne Valley’ about the regional support programme for the ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) society appropriation. This project was financed for 50% by the Region Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur and for the other 50% by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) . The funding allowed meeting the expectations of structures of occupational integration by obtaining performing equipment and by setting up a set of computing workshops intended for the persons in job search or in professional qualification research in the ‘Siagne valley’.



3/You are about to develop a project valuing the use of the ICT in the promotion of the cultural heritage, could you tell us more about it?



This project is called ‘The perfumers’ Bastide’ and is about the setting up of a perfume plants (data digitisation, interactive games, databases and networking with similar structures). It is financed by the ERDF and it is in line with the regional device ‘e-services and territories’. The regional device ‘e-services and territories’ could help us to create interactive and educational web site, to set up audio-guides and to create a multimedia lane aiming at valuing the heritage of this perfume plants storing.



4/Which advice could you give to the project leaders who applied, as you, for some calls for proposals financed by the EU funds or who would like to apply for?



Apply for a call for proposals and set up an European project seems to be a binding step. It must be very precise and tied up: it is necessary to clearly demonstrate that the project corresponds to the needs of the territory and that it will bring a real added value at the local and even European level. According to the scale of the project, it is sometimes useful that a specialised consultancy on European affairs and projects follows the project setting up.