By the decision of the Panel of independent experts of the European Commission, in December 2015, for the final phase of the competition for the European Capital of Culture in the category of candidates and / or potential candidates for 2021, Herceg Novi and Novi Sad have been selected. Those cities are devoted to work on the preparation of their final application since there are only three months left till the deadline.

A very important segment of this project is an international cultural cooperation and exchange of experiences with former and future European Capitals of Culture and European artists. In addition, cultural cooperation in the region and fostering European values ​​and common European cultural heritage are especially important. To remind – a project offering the best artistic program with the developed European dimension, regarding to all six criteria, will win.

Having all this in mind, with a firm belief that cultural cooperation and cultural development of our cities are more important than the current competition, representatives of the project Novi Sad 2021 have invited representatives of the project Herceg Novi 2021 for cooperation. Although they are not from the same country, the two cities are, due to the new rules of the European Commission for the period from 2021 to 2033, competitors for the title of European Capital of Culture 2021, which for the first time can be obtained by the candidate or potential city for EU membership.

The initial idea, coming from Novi Sad, is that two teams work together on project planning and preparation of projects and cultural programs, which would thus become an integral part of both application forms. The main motive is that, in this way, implementation of projects is certain, and they would be realized in one of the cities independently of the official results of the elections for the European Capital of Culture.

We firmly believe that in this way once again the importance of cultural cooperation and exchanges in the region and Europe is stressed, culture would be put above the competition and we would simply go back to the meanings and values ​​promoted by the European Capital of Culture.