Regio Vitalis

Metka cooks - culinary life as a fairy tale

The story about happy potatoes, impetuous wild garlic, naughty plums and apples, smiling bread, playful eggs of happy hens, excellent milk of friendly cows that are really not purple ... about locally grown and prepared food from Metka's wonderland, representing the source of health and happiness.

"METKA COOKS - culinary life as a fairy tale" is intended for the mutual intergenerational awareness of the importance of local food supplies and raw material. Play with Metka and simply enjoy the culinary adventures for small and big kids. Attention, "METKA COOKS - culinary life as a fairy tale," stimulates appetite and happiness.

Free printed bookklet in Slovenian language is waiting for you in TIC Maribor, Old Wine House and ART mi je MAR destination shop in Maribor, Slovenia.

The publication "METKA COOKS - culinary life as a fairy tale" is produced within the REGIO VITALIS project, which is partly funded by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund, European Territorial Cooperation Programme - Operational Programme Slovenia - Austria 2007-2013.

Network Initiative INNO-RURAL

Signed memorandum of cooperation within the REGIO VITALIS project

Establishment of INNO-RURAL network initiative to activate sustainable local supply for the needs of tourism and gastronomy and rural innovation and entrepreneurship

(13 November 2014) In the context of Cooperation Conference INNO-RURAL, entitled "Sustainable local supply as a challenge for innovation and entrepreneurship in rural areas - fostering cooperation between agricultural, gastronomy and tourism providers", which took place in the framework of the Slovenian - Austrian cross-border project REGIO VITALIS, founding partners signed a memorandum of cooperation and the establishment of INNO-RURAL network. By signing the Memorandum of Cooperation the founders are establishing a partnership network to activate a sustainable local supply for the needs of tourism and gastronomy and sales channels in rural areas. The partners of INNO-RURAL initiative will promote regional innovation and development of entrepreneurship in rural areas and develop projects that connect the latest technologies with the best environmental standards at the same time, whereby it will involve residents in the process as end users, as well. The signatories of the partner network are: Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Styrian Technology Park Ltd., Maribor – Pohorje Tourist Board, Maribor Development Agency and Scientific Research Centre Bistra Ptuj, which will thus committed to foster innovation and entrepreneurship in rural areas and providing technical support to local partners from agriculture, gastronomy and tourism sectors. INNO-RURAL network is based on the sustainability of fostering innovation and entrepreneurship in rural areas and sustainable local supply: environmental, economic, social and ethical sustainability, and health and well-being. It is designed as a cooperation (partnership) network.

As a starting point for network initiative its initiators, Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and Styrian Technology Park, were resulting from the existing situation in Slovenia, where difficulties with the local supply of food were encountered. It is reflected in the lack of connecting between supply and demand for raw material and products from the local / destination environment and dispersal of information on existing supply of raw materials and products. Respecting the results of the REGIO VITALIS project analysis of the situation the lack of moderation between supply and demand was determined, as there is currently no connecting elements (institutions) to take care about the organizational and managerial coordination among providers of local raw materials and products and tourism and gastronomy providers in the segment of the so-called B2B ("business to business") cooperation. Establishment of INNO-RURAL network and thereby support to the sustainable local supply of food, raw materials and products of rural areas, which builds on the sustainable, healthy, green (tourism) offer, represents beside B2B cooperation also high-quality grounding of complementary tourist offer. Establishment of INNO-RURAL network represents a qualitative upgrade of cooperation between entities of supply and demand for local (destination) raw material, products and support to product development, innovation and entrepreneurship in rural areas.

"With INNO-RURAL network initiative we want to contribute to the establishment of a quality and systematically arranged cooperation between tourism and gastronomy providers and farms and rural products suppliers. One of the main challenges of this kind of targeted integration is to increase the economic, environmental and social attractiveness of sustainable local supply." said Marko Kac from the Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at today's press conference.

"For the Styrian Technology Park integration within the INNO-RURAL network means framework for the provision of high quality support services to development and fostering the entrepreneurship and innovation in areas related to the agrifood sector, as well. Participation synergy of national partners in the INNO-RURAL network represents a platform for cooperation with international partners and networks." said Tanja Senekovič, Styrian Technology Park Ltd.

Janja Viher from the Maribor - Pohorje Tourist Board pointed out the following: "Increasing the visibility of tourism destination, which tends to organized marketing of the Old Vine, the oldest vine in the world, is a fundamental challenge of Maribor - Pohorje Tourist Boards as Regional Destination Organization to enter into the INNO-RURAL network initiative. Enogastronomic excellence, supported by high-quality cooperation and innovation in the tourism offer design is the key to sustainably thriving tourist destination Maribor - Pohorje.".

Additional information:
Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (Marko Kac)
m: +386 41 91 77 40
e: marko.kac@zipiie.eu
w: www.zipiie.eu

REGIO VITALIS project is partly financed by the EU within the European Regional Development Fund, European Teritorial Cooperation Programme, Operational Programme Slovenia - Austria 2007-2013.

Projektne aktivnosti

1. Turistične mreže

• Mreže ključnih akterjev s področij gospodarstva in zaposlovanja
• Medsektorsko tematsko povezovanje (razvoj mrež in sodelovanja na področjih usposabljanja, upravljanja s človeškimi viri, kmetijstva, gastronomije, medicina in turizma)
• Povezovanje med ponudniki produktov in storitev
• Razvoj novih oblik komuniciranja za predstavitev čezmejnih mrež in ponudbe

2. Nove perspektive za mlade v zdravstvenem turizmu

• Modeli in aktivnosti za povečanje zainteresiranosti mladih / povečanje atraktivnosti turističnih poklicev
• Komunikacijski model za mnenjske voditelje mladih (učitelji, starši, svetovalci na trgu dela)
• Razvoj posebne oblike komuniciranja z javnostmi za ciljno skupino mladih

3. Turistični inkubator

• Virtualni turistični inkubator za podporo razvoju kakovostne turistične ponudbe v obstoječih podjetjih in ustanavljanju novih podjetij z vsebinami zdravstvenega turizma
• Razvoj v prihodnost usmerjenega sistema za informiranje in mreženje novih inovativnih ponudb

4. Naravna lekarna

• Razvoj novih, modernih oblik rabe starih, tradicionalnih oblik zdravljenja
• Razvoj novih oblik rabe regionalnih produktov in surovin, kot so npr. bučno olje, jabolka, grozdje, termalna voda, ipd.
• Prenos znanja in usposobitev zaposlenih za kakovostno predstavitev novih ponudb zdravstvenega turizma
• Razvojna in komunikacijska platforma za nove ponudbe

5. Kulinarika in zdravje

• Akademija zdrave kuhinje v sodelovanju z lokalnimi ustanovami za izobraževanje in usposabljanje
• Prenos znanja in informacij o zdravilnem pomenu in vrednosti regionalne hrane
• Platforma za prenos znanja o zdravju in kulinariki od uveljavljenih kuharskih mojstrov do mladih kuharskih talentov

Projektni partnerji

Thermenland Steiermark Marketing GmbH (A) - vodilni partner
Kontaktni osebi: Franz Rauchenberger, Marlies Windisch
t: +43 3385 66 040 15
e: regiovitalis@thermenland.at
w: www.thermenland.at

QUA, Agencija za usposabljanje Vzhodne štajerske (A)- PP1
Kontaktna oseba: mag. Dietmar Fuchs
t: +43 664 96 44 161
e: d.fuchs@qualifizierungsagentur.at
w: www.qualifizierungsagentur.at

RMO, Regionalni menedžment Vzhodne Štajerske (A) - PP2
Kontaktna oseba: Horst Fidlschuster
t: +43 3172 30 930
e: fidlschuster@regionalmanagement.at
w: www.regionalmanagement.at

SZF, Izobraževalni center Fohnsdorf (A) - PP3
Kontaktna oseba: mag. Carola Reszler
t: +43 3573 6060 5001
e: c.reszler@szf.at
w: www.szf.at

Regionalna razvojna agencija Mura (SLO) - PP4
Kontaktni osebi: Romeo Varga, Helga Lukač
t: +386 2 534 80 25
e: romeo.varga@rra-mura.si, helga.lukac@rra-mura.si
w: www.rra-mura.si

Zavod za inovativnost in podjetništvo (SLO) - PP5
Kontaktna oseba: Marko Kac
t: +386 41 91 77 40
e: marko.kac@zipiie.eu
w: www.zipiie.eu

Srednja šola za gostinstvo in turizem Radenci (SLO) -PP6
Kontaktni osebi: Janja Prašnikar Neuvirt, Irena Dresler
t: 00386 2 566 91 60
e: sola@s-ssgtr.ms.edus.si
w: www.s-ssgtr.ms.edus.si