Ana

Development Agency of Karst and Brkini (ORA Krasa & Brkinov) is a development agency working in three priority areas. The first is the development strand, with the implementation of development projects mainly for the area of the founding municipalities (4) in the Karst and Brkini region. Part of this function is the implementation of the role of the lead partner of the Local Action Groups (LAG) and CLLD measures from the EAFRD and ERDF funds. The second strand is the implementation of the entrepreneurial function through the management of the National SPOT system – Slovenian Business Point, where we can offer SPOT 2 – consultancy and SPOT 3 – registration services to companies. In 2020, following the mandate of the founding municipalities, the company acquired the functions of tourism development and stakeholder networking in the Karst and Brkini region, which is the third strand and immediately became the largest in terms of business volume. In 2021, we registered the Tourism Unit, which performs the role of a destination management and marketing organisation.

In 2023 ORA Krasa & Brkinov, started the implementation of the strategic Interreg VI-A Italy-Slovenia 2021-2027 programme project with the acronym KRAS-CARSO II – Joint management and sustainable development of the classical Karst area. The project involves 12 partners and 14 associate partners from different sectors in the Slovenian-Italian border area. Based on the efforts of local and national authorities and in line with the concept of joint sustainable development of the classical Karst in the cross-border area, the main objective of the project is the establishment of the European Group for Territorial Cooperation – EGTC Kras-Carso for the management of cross-border tourism as well as the financing and management of the Kras-Carso Geopark. It is a project with a multiplied sustainable dimension, which has a direct impact on the protection of the geological and historical heritage, the development of sustainable tourism and the strengthening of wider economic development.
In addition, in recent years it has participated or been a partner in projects in:
– Agrotur+ – Karst Local Products and Tourism (Interreg VI-A Italy-Slovenia 2021-2027 programme);
– Borderless Taste (Interreg VI-A Italy-Slovenia 2021-2027 programme),
– LAG Cooperation (Sub-measure 19.3): Rural Cycling Chain and Eco Herbs Chain from Dolenjska to Karst
– LAG EAFRD projects: the Gardens of Karst, the Intergenerational Park in Sveto, the Wealth of Karst and Brkinov;
– LAG projects from the ERDF: Cultural and Karst Heritage, Tourism Incubator, Komen Intergenerational Park, Enhancing Sustainable Mobility in the Karst and Brkini Region, For a Better Environment.
– In the Interreg programmes, it was an associate partner of the GeoKarst project, where it participated in key decisions that are being followed up in the KRAS-CARSO II project.
– In addition, it has been involved in Emoundergrounds, (Interreg Adrion), and in the sustainable mobility project AACTA (Alpe-Adria clean transport alliance) of the EUKI programme.

In addition to project management, it manages the Kras Brkini bikes rental network for the four founding municipalities. For the municipality of Komen, we manage the Štanjel Castle and its museum collections. In the area of communication web portals, which have been created from previous Interreg projects, with the aim of upgrading and maintaining their functioning, it has taken over the management of the http://www.bike-alpeadria.eu portal, of the Interegg Inter bike II project, and of the http://www.hoteldobregaterana.si portal from the AGROTUR II project. ORA participates in the maintenance and promotion of the international ALPE ADRIA TRAIL route for the Karst and Brkina region. ORA is also the lead partner and main coordinator of the on-demand transport service (from 2023), which is the framework of the Locally Connected initiative, launched with ERDF co-financing under the LAS funds, and is testing alternative flexible forms of public transport for citizens in the area of all four Karst and Brkina municipalities, which is currently one of the few multi-municipal networking projects of its kind in Slovenia. In the framework of the strategic project KRAS-CARSO II, we are also expanding the network of sustainable transport across borders (the whole area of the Karst Region/Kras-Carso Geopark).