annals of the university of petroşani ∼ economics ∼ vol. xi - part i ...

Regional Development - Past, Present and Future in Romania 29
‣ Innovation is essential for sustainable growth among the averagely developed
countries, so that simply emulating other countries' innovations will not do.
‣ Despite the massive foreign investments implementing technology and knowhow,
this has not led to a similar development in our national economy.
‣ During the past five years, innovation has only reached modest levels in
Central and Eastern Europe compared with the EU's developed countries, a
trend that continues to be seen.
‣ Some of the local SME's have proven that successful innovation and export are
possible even in the absence of brand recognition abroad.
The same analysis performed by the Economist Intelligence Unit made it possible
to design an innovative model around two main components: innovative performance
and facilitating innovation.
Table 2. Inovative performance
This year's activities also include a large spectrum of target groups, including
young people, teachers, companies, public players, and citizens, and highlight the
factors that can contribute to promoting creativity and innovation capacity:
‣ highlighting openness to cultural diversity as a means of encouraging
intercultural
‣ communication and promoting a closer connection between the arts, as well as
with schools and universities;
‣ stimulating aesthetic sense, emotional development, creative thinking, and
intuition in all children, from the youngest age, including in preschool
education;
‣ heightening awareness of the importance of creativity, innovation, and the
entrepreneurial spirit for personal development, as well as for economic
growth and employment, as well as for encouraging an entrepreneurial