From 22 to 28 March 2015, a delegation of 13 representatives of regional development institutions and academia participated in a training entitled 'Regional Marketing - a Regional Development Tool' held in southern Bavaria, Germany.

The purpose of this activity was to strengthen and develop participants' professional skills on the concept of regional marketing, in preparation for the provision of a new course called 'Local and Regional Marketing for a more Sustainable Regional Development', which will be developed during this year by the Academy of Public Administration and is intended for local authorities.

'The meetings with representatives of institutions in Germany, Austria and Croatia, have shaped ideas and case studies which will be used to develop the new course', said Aurelia Țepordei, Director of the Professional Development Department of the Academy of Public Administration.

The topics covered in the course include: regional marketing in the context of regional development and strategic communication; regional marketing tools; product branding. The programme included field visits and discussions with representatives of relevant institutions in the field.

'This course has once again highlighted the role of regional development institutions in creating and promoting regional brands, both at national and international levels. As for identifying regional products and how they should be protected, developed and promoted, we still have some work to do', said Igor Malai, the Deputy Head of the General Directorate of Regional Development within the Ministry of Regional Development and Construction.

In turn, Tatiana Aramă, Head of Strategic Planning Department of the South Regional Development Agency, noted: 'I want to emphasize the perception of Germans that each region must assert its uniqueness through elements of marketing'. 

The 13 representatives of the Moldovan delegation will act as trainers for the course on 'Local and Regional Marketing for a more Sustainable Regional Development'. They all work within the GIZ project's partner institutions, namely: the Academy of Public Administration, the Ministry of Regional Development and Construction, and Regional Development Agencies.

By organizing such training programs, the GIZ project aims at increasing its partners' capacity to create regional development policies.

The 'Modernization of Local Public Services in Moldova' project is implemented by the German Development Cooperation through GIZ, with financial support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the European Union.