Lights on Perugia`s participation in Find Your Greatness APN

1. Key strategic development challenges of the city
One of the major challenges is to develop sustainable all-year-round tourism based on experiences in culture, nature, and gastronomy, introducing the smart city and green solutions and connecting the city to the rest of the Region generating an integrated and strategic touristic offer. In this sense, it will be essential to enhance aspects such as the Etruscan culture with its architecture and walls, cultural festivals and events, food and wine production, green industries, scientific research, international congresses, etc. 

2. Strategic brand positioning
Perugia has been identified in the Etruscan walls as a symbol of the city, which is the “home of free spirits”. This has become the key element in the positioning strategy of the city and the result of Perugia's participation in the network of the URBACT program, the contributions of the stakeholders part and ULG members, and, most important, the result of the ethnographic methodology research carried out by the students of the master's course in Brand Design of the Academy of Fine Arts in Perugia. 

3. Objectives of IAP
The main objective of the IAP was to develop a city branding and a marketing strategy, increasing the perception of Perugia as a historical, Etruscan, international, and sustainable city and providing the administration with concrete guidelines to strengthen the touristic positioning of the city. The process for the definition of the IAP increased at the same time the awareness and pride of the inhabitants with regard to the history and culture of its city, building a community spirit that represents the driving force of the city brand.

4. Main actions of IAP
To achieve the objective of IAP, the ULG has identified three main sectors of intervention: communication and marketing – which includes actions to define a stronger communication strategy to attract new international audiences; cultural and industrial heritage – actions to connect the existing cultural and industrial heritage to the new positioning strategy developed with the PG—ES brand platform and experiential tourism – actions aimed to promote and sustainable startups, recover traditional knowledge in the arts and craft,s and bring them up to date.

5. The role and activities of ULG in co-creating IAP
The ULG and its member played a central role in the whole process that led to the definition of the final IAP version. From the very starting point of the Project, it assured a correct interpretation of the Project objectives, and its declination into local perspectives while establishing strategic partnerships with key stakeholders of the territory, focusing on principles such as inclusiveness and participation. For this reason, the Municipality of Perugia will guarantee its function also in the future, underlining the importance of its role in the IAP future implementation and integration into local policies.

6. The benefits of participating in APN FyG 
Participation in APN FyG in URBACT Programme has been fundamental for the Municipality for many reasons. First of all, it encouraged the Municipality to explore its own “greatness”, a process that resulted in a new vision of the city brand, defined by the contributions of its citizens and inhabitants. Secondly, it propelled the Municipality onto an international stage where the interaction with the partners will hopefully bring future interventions around common priorities. Lastly, it initiated a process focused on how to turn a city with limited resources into a famous and attractive one.

Learn more about Perugia from FYG Final digital product: https://issuu.com/findyourgreatness/docs/find_your_greatness_e-book