Partners

The GwB project is implemented by a cross-border partnership of four organisations from Türkiye, Bulgaria, Georgia and Greece.

Lead partner (LP1): Tekirdağ Namık Kemal University (TNKU)

• Country: Türkiye
• Address: Namık Kemal Mah. Kampüs Cad. No:1, TR-59030 Tekirdağ, Türkiye
• Phone: +90 282 250 10 01
• Website: www.nku.edu.tr

Namık Kemal University is a public university offering associate, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in a wide variety of programmes to its national and international students. It currently has about 35,000 students and 1,110 academic and administrative staff. Founded in 2006, Namık Kemal University can be regarded as a relatively young institution, though its history dates back to 1982 with the establishment of the Faculty of Agriculture, its oldest academic unit. Today, 12 faculties, 1 school, 12 vocational schools, 3 graduate schools, a conservatory and 17 research and implementation centres are affiliated to the university.

Thrace, where the university is situated, is a crossroads for agriculture, industry, tourism and commerce. Located on the northern coast of the Sea of Marmara and to the west of Istanbul, Tekirdağ is steadily increasing its economic and social strength. Its proximity to the Greek and Bulgarian borders makes the location internationally attractive. Thanks to its location in a developed region, the university readily takes part in small- and large-scale research projects funded by national and international grant schemes. The university has hosted or co-financed more than 1,000 institutional scientific projects, more than 150 nationally funded projects and 20 international projects.

Project partner 2 (PP2): Bourgas Regional Tourism Association (BRTA)

• Country: Bulgaria
• Address: ul. "Ferdinandova" 29A, fl. 4, 8000 Burgas, Bulgaria
• Phone: +359 56 841 966
• Email: brta@brta.eu
• Website: www.brta.eu

Bourgas Regional Tourist Association (BRTA) was established in 1998 as an organisation in public benefit. It unites the local tourist organisations, regional tourist associations and local authorities (municipalities) of the Bourgas region. The goal of BRTA is to support and encourage the development of tourism in the Bourgas region and, alone or in cooperation with other organisations, to develop the region as a tourist destination.

One of its main priorities is the diversification of tourism in the region – development of tourist products, promotion of the Bourgas region as a tourist destination, educational trainings for developing rural tourism in the municipalities, and the organisation of a tourist fair, a regional tourism forum and tours.

BRTA has more than 20 years of experience in the development and implementation of projects. Its main fields of activity are the development and promotion of tourism products and packages, training and the provision of consultancy and information to entrepreneurs and municipalities, promotion of the region and sustainable tourism development. BRTA works in close cooperation with its member municipalities and local tourist organisations, the educational institutions in the Burgas region and all regional government bodies.

BRTA has implemented projects with partners funded by the following territorial cooperation programmes:

• INTERREG IVC Programme
• Black Sea Basin 2007-2013
• IPA CBC BG TR Programme
• SEE Programme
• Danube Transnational Programme
• INTERREG NEXT Black Sea Basin
• INTERREG EURO-MED

Project partner 3 (PP3): International Association Civitas Georgica (CIVITAS)

• Country: Georgia
• Website: www.civitas.ge
• Facebook: facebook.com/civitasgeorgica

International Association “Civitas Georgica” is a non-profit, non-partisan, non-governmental organization founded in 1996 (re-registered in 1999). It works in Georgia focusing mainly on rural communities outside the capital cities. Its aim is to promote local democracy, support democratic reforms, protect child rights, advocate for citizen-oriented public services, and support to better living conditions for locals. Civitas Georgica specializes in policy change through institution building, organizational and management development, and training. Over more than 20 years it has implemented over 60 projects in areas such as public sector reform, local self-governance, environmental management, early childhood care and education, community development, human rights, and youth engagement. It is also a member of the European Network of Training Organizations (ENTO) and sits on its management board.

The organization has a growing record in environmental protection and sustainable resource management, often combining it with local governance and youth participation. Since 2020 it has introduced an IT-supported waste management system with youth involvement. It also took part in the EU-supported “Zero Waste Strategy For Good Environmental Status,” a 24-month regional action that reduced coastal litter, including plastic, fishing, and sanitary waste, through better collection, sorting, and environmentally sound disposal. In addition, Civitas contributed to the EU-funded Integrated Land-use Management Modelling of Black Sea Estuaries (ILMM-BSE) project, which developed tools to assess and manage sustainable land use in the watershed areas of coastal deltas in four Black Sea countries.

Beyond the environmental field, its key achievements include helping establish the National Association of Local Authorities of Georgia (2005), contributing to the Local Self-Government Code and decentralization strategy, and training around 900 village trustees in 54 municipalities. In early childhood education, it developed low-cost alternative preschool centers recognized by UNICEF Georgia, initiated the National Preschool Association uniting over 750 kindergartens, and, more recently, has focused on research and services for left-behind children (LBC) developing teaching materials, guidelines and policies for specialists and municipality officials.

Project partner 4 (PP4): Chamber of Commerce & Industry of Xanthi (CCIX)

• Country: Greece
• Address: Vas. Konstantinou 1, 67100 Xanthi, Greece
• Phone: +30 25410 22533
• Email: info@ebex.gr
• Website: www.ebex.gr

The Chamber of Commerce & Industry of Xanthi (CCIX) is a statutory public-law entity established in 1956 and one of the principal institutional representatives of the business community in the Region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, Greece. The Chamber currently represents more than 6,500 active member enterprises from all sectors of the economy, including manufacturing, commerce, services, tourism, agri-food, crafts and emerging innovative businesses. It is governed by a democratically elected 21-member Administrative Council and a 7-member Executive Committee and acts as the official consultative body of the State on matters related to entrepreneurship, regional development, competitiveness and economic policy.

Within the partnership, the Chamber acts primarily as an enterprise, industry and employers' representative organisation. It represents the interests of SMEs, employers and entrepreneurs and serves as a strategic intermediary between businesses, public authorities, educational institutions, research organisations and civil society. Through its institutional role, it contributes to the identification of labour market needs, skills intelligence, business support services and the promotion of innovation and entrepreneurship at regional level.

The Chamber's mission is to strengthen the competitiveness and resilience of local enterprises, support sustainable economic transformation and facilitate the transition towards a more digital, green and inclusive economy. To this end, it provides a wide range of services, including:

• business advisory and mentoring services for SMEs and start-ups
• support for digital transformation, innovation uptake and circular economy practices
• information and guidance on European, national and regional funding opportunities
• entrepreneurship support and investment facilitation services
• seminars, workshops and awareness-raising activities on innovation, sustainability and business development
• promotion of interregional and international cooperation and networking opportunities for enterprises
• facilitation of dialogue between the business community and public authorities on regional development priorities and skills needs

The Chamber has considerable experience in the design, implementation and management of European and cross-border cooperation projects under programmes such as Interreg, Erasmus+ and Horizon Europe. It has actively participated in projects on entrepreneurship, SME competitiveness, digital transformation, the green transition, sustainable tourism, cultural and creative industries, environmental protection, urban regeneration, social innovation and local economic development.

As the official representative of the business community in the Regional Unit of Xanthi, the Chamber has built extensive partnerships with municipalities, regional authorities, universities, vocational education and training institutions, business associations, social economy organisations and civil society. This multi-stakeholder approach enables it to act as a catalyst for regional cooperation and for sustainable local ecosystems of innovation, entrepreneurship and skills development. In the field of skills and workforce development, it identifies emerging labour market needs, promotes lifelong learning and upskilling, and supports actions that enhance employability and align education and training with the evolving needs of businesses and society.