Highlight of the Month – A Creative Invitation to Explore

The chance to contribute a photograph to a public exhibition can give people a new reason to discover a place. CCI Vratsa used this idea to create a participatory initiative around its urban and rural People Powered Tourism pilots in Bistrets and Zgorigrad.

Through “Stories in Frames: The Undiscovered Beauty of Bistrets and Zgorigrad”, people were invited to visit locations along the pilot routes, capture what interested them and submit their photographs for selection. The opportunity to have an image exhibited offered a playful incentive to explore the places introduced in our earlier pilot stories.

The creative strength of the initiative lies in this connection between communication and participation. People had a personal reason to go out, look closely and contribute their own perspective. Their photographs could then help introduce the pilot locations to a wider audience, making discovery something that could be shared.

Opened on 29 September 2026 at the Youth House in Vratsa, the exhibition brings together ten selected photographs from the two pilot areas. It creates another opportunity to generate interest among residents and visitors — potentially encouraging more people to explore the routes and take part in the experiences they offer.

For us, this is where the creativity lies: participation becomes a pathway to discovery, and personal discoveries become invitations for others. It is an approach that other Danube Region projects could adapt to their own places and stories.

That is why CCI Vratsa’s initiative is our Highlight of the Month: a creative use of participation that gives project communication a practical role in attracting interest and encouraging discovery.