TY - JOUR
T1 - Conferences, award ceremonies and the showcasing of ‘best practice’: A case study of the annual European Week of Regions and Cities in Brussels
AU - Andersson, Ida
AU - Cook, Ian
PY - 2019/12/1
Y1 - 2019/12/1
N2 - 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.
AB - 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.
KW - conferences
KW - awards
KW - policy mobilities
KW - Cohesion Policy
KW - European Union
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85060906148&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/2399654419825656
DO - 10.1177/2399654419825656
M3 - Article
VL - 37
SP - 1361
EP - 1379
JO - Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space
JF - Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space
SN - 2399-6544
IS - 8
ER -