Conferences, award ceremonies and the showcasing of ‘best practice’: A case study of the annual European Week of Regions and Cities in Brussels

Ida Andersson, Ian Cook

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

23 Citations (Scopus)
55 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

This paper makes the case that conferences and award ceremonies are important means through which best practices are presented as being successful, transferable and transformative. To do this, it draws on the expanding literature on policy mobilities and a case study of the European Week of Regions and Cities conference and one of the centrepieces at the conference, the RegioStars awards ceremony. Organised by public bodies within the European Union and European Commission, these events take place annually in Brussels, and focus on best practice in regional and urban policy. The paper elaborates on its main argument in three ways. The first is that award ceremonies and conferences shape and are shaped by institutional, spatial and scalar dynamics. The second being that learning and educating are central to the performance of conferences, award ceremonies and the associated mobilisation of policies. The third argument is that such events have important consequences for those hosting the events.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1361-1379
Number of pages19
JournalEnvironment and Planning C: Politics and Space
Volume37
Issue number8
Early online date28 Jan 2019
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Dec 2019

Keywords

  • conferences
  • awards
  • policy mobilities
  • Cohesion Policy
  • European Union

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