A networking festival that uses cultural differences for a project platform in the Danube area.

No other area has left such a mark on the identity of Europe as the Danube region. It is culturally the most colourful, socially the most diverse river region in the world. As such, it has enormous potential. It is a region of the future. Fascination with the Danube region is the motivation behind the project "Flow". The innovative platform for dialogue in the domain of culture and science serves as a visible, audible and tangible impulse for long-term transnational networking. The target group of Flow is made up of established and upcoming artists and scientists, inspiring and inspired personalities, the dynamic forces of the societies they live in.

The idea of Flow - which stands for the Festival of Conversation for Culture and Science - is to branch out and reach new channels of communication, forming a network that brings the countries along the Danube closer together: Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Moldavia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Ukraine.

The festival is initiated and supported by the Austrian Ministry for European and International Affairs in cooperation with ERSTE Stiftung.

The first Flow festival takes place in Novi Sad in May 2008 with around 80 participants from the most diverse domains. The main mission is to deepen the understanding between artists and scientists in the different cultures, sparking new contacts and new ways of thinking. Flow is designed to produce direct and long-term connections between individuals in different domains concerned with the arts and sciences. The goal of Flow is matchmaking on the basis of former project experiences and initiating a wide range of cross-border cooperations.

Flow aims for a high level of sustainability. The first event will establish the basis for future projects and collaborations among the participants. In the second year, we hope to be able to present the first results and to generally discuss the outcome of the activities. In 2010, the first projects initiated through Flow will be presented to a broad public.

Flow is not limited to one event per year. It is an ongoing platform facilitating community building on a virtual level. This website will be expanded to accommodate a community platform that will provide networks for many involved in the arts and sciences in the Danube region and beyond.