Project Visit to Piacenza as Part of the Community Potentials Program

Visit to the Italian Foundation Fondazione di Piacenza e Vigevano within the Community Potentials Program

A visit to the Italian foundation Fondazione di Piacenza e Vigevano, organized within the Community Potentials Program—implemented by the National Foundation for Civil Society Development since 2024—took place on May 8 and 9, 2025.

Trokut, as a strategic partner of the National Foundation for Civil Society Development, was represented by Ivana Vudrag and Ivana Lucić.

During the two-day stay in Piacenza, representatives of the City of Drniš and the City of Šibenik, teachers and students from Ivan Meštrović Secondary School Drniš and Antun Vrančić High School Šibenik, as well as senior citizens from both cities, together with the i3.0 Strategic Partners of the National Foundation—European Foundation for the Development of Civil Society, Incubator for New Technologies and Entrepreneurship "Trokut" Šibenik, and the Public Cultural Institution "Fortress of Culture" Šibenik—participated in an intensive program of experience exchange and joint work with Italian colleagues.

The program began with visits to prominent local initiatives that serve as examples of best practices in the fields of social solidarity and cultural heritage preservation, carried out by both senior citizens and youth. These included:

• Emporio Solidale – a social store focused on combating poverty and promoting dignified and responsible consumption,

• Pollaio Sociale – an innovative urban farming project emphasizing social inclusion,

• and an exhibition dedicated to Giovanni Fattori at XNL – Center for Contemporary Art.

  
  

The second day was devoted to knowledge exchange and working methods within the YouthBank program, which empowers young people to make decisions about funding socially beneficial projects. An interactive workshop was held in the historic setting of Palazzo Rota Pisaroni, where participants from Croatia and Italy presented community-based social actions, discussed common challenges, and developed proposals for parallel activities to be implemented in both Piacenza and the eight cities involved in the Community Potentials Program.

The visit concluded with an agreement to continue collaboration between the two foundations, accompanied by a shared vision to transform this exchange into a lasting platform for creating innovative, youth-focused initiatives, as well as activities that contribute to enhancing the quality of life for residents of the participating cities in both neighboring countries.