Photo by Olga Zarko Colab Quarter: From Tandem to Creative Europe Emmanuel Pidoux and Anna Dobrova met at the Tandem Ukraine 2016-17 Partner Forum, and despite not having been selected to continue their Tandem journey within the programme, they have created their own path, joined along the way by other Tandem alumni. Together, they now have successfully applied to Creative Europe with their common project: Colab Quarter. Anna and Emmanuel. Photo by Olga Zarko Emmanuel Pidoux (Ville de Colomiers, France) and Anna Dobrova (Kiev, Ukraine) met at the Tandem Ukraine 2016-17 Partner Forum – the first meeting following the application call of any Tandem programme, where participants find their tandem and are asked to apply with their project to continue taking part in the Tandem programme. Emmanuel and Anna proposed “Mémothèque” (Library of Memories) and Palabra Pavilion, a project which was not selected, but it did not stop them from pursuing to work together on this idea. From Tandem to Creative Europe Concurrently in Toulouse, Emmanuel ideated and designed the Colab Quarter project with Stéphane Robert, from French cultural NGO Cricao, another Tandem alumni (Tandem Turkey 2016-17). To apply with their project for Creative Europe – Support to European Cooperation Projects 2017, they teamed up with Anna, who was included as an official partner, and with Cricao’s Tandem Turkey partner – initiator of Mutfak-Matbakh – Kırkayak Kültür (Gaziantep), who was included as a third partner. All were thrilled to hear that their proposal got selected. About Colab Quarter The project will experiment new ways to engage citizens and stakeholders through a Colab Programme consisting in a European laboratory of interventions on the field (including a mémothèque) plus a digital platform online. Four official partners in France, Ukraine and Spain, and two partners from third countries (Turkey and Japan) with different backgrounds – from the fields of art, culture, urban issues, architecture, social issues – are involved. Why Colab Quarter? We want to create this platform in order to foster a horizontal model of governance. While working from/with/for the citizens and local stakeholders on cultural and artistic interventions, we would like to contribute to a more inclusive society. People are the first and most vivid source of cultural wealth. The participation of the citizens is a necessary condition to innovation, social change, and development. Hold on for more news from this extra-Tandem collaboration!