Cohesion Story Quest: Influencers Illuminate
EU Projects Across
6,279 Kilometers
A Digital-First Journey Through Europe’s Most Impactful Investments
In March 2024, United Partners launched a groundbreaking cross-border communications campaign: Cohesion Story Quest, a digital odyssey spanning four countries, 14 projects, and over 6,000 kilometers. The mission? To connect EU citizens — especially younger audiences — with the real, human stories behind the European Union’s Cohesion Policy.
Despite making up nearly one-third of the EU’s entire budget, Cohesion funding remains under-acknowledged. With this campaign, United Partners set out to change that by merging authentic storytelling, influencer engagement, and social media activation into one unforgettable experience.
Cohesion Story Quest | CHALLENGE
EU-funded projects are complex, diverse, and often invisible to the citizens who benefit most from them. Awareness of the EU Cohesion Policy is low, particularly among younger generations who rarely engage with traditional political content. United Partners needed to communicate a massive, multi-country initiative in a way that felt personal, fresh, and native to digital platforms.
Cohesion Story Quest | SOLUTION
Twelve influencers from Bulgaria, Poland, The Netherlands, and Portugal became the heart of this campaign. Together, they formed the Cohesion Tribe — a group of content creators tasked with documenting the real-life impact of Cohesion-funded projects in their home countries.
Over ten days, they traveled to 16 cities, visiting 14 unique projects and covering 6,279 kilometers. From metro stations in Warsaw to a textile sustainability hub in Enschede, from heritage museums in Portugal to creative classrooms in Bulgaria, each stop was a chance to showcase how EU investment translates into jobs, innovation, sustainability, and opportunity.
The campaign was fully digital-first. The influencers created a wealth of content — videos, Reels, Stories, TikToks, and posts — tailored for their native platforms and audiences. Their collective following of over 660,000 made them ideal amplifiers for stories that often go unheard.
To boost visibility, the campaign integrated a gamified component: followers could win a Eurail pass worth 500 euros by engaging with the content, making the experience participatory and shareable.
Cohesion Story Quest | IMPACT
The result was a vibrant digital tapestry of Europe in motion — modern, collaborative, and purpose-driven.
Projects showcased included:
A Dreamworkshop for Roma children in Bulgaria
A bio-based tech campus supporting youth employment and innovation in rural Portugal
A textile sustainability initiative in The Netherlands
A renovated public transport infrastructure in Poland powered by EU funding
Each stop highlighted the social, economic, and environmental dimensions of Cohesion Policy, while elevating local voices — from engineers and artists to teachers and students — who are driving change in their communities.
João Nunes, CEO of BLC3, Portugal:
“Because of our sustainable development in bio-economy and circular economy we support innovation in the region and help it grow. Young people want a challenge. Our mission is to keep the knowledge here.”
Principal Marin Nikodimov, Temelko Nenkov School, Bulgaria:
“The Dreamworkshop works. Every diploma is a success story. We want to keep our Roma students motivated and show them they belong.”
Jacek Dudkiewicz, architect of Metro Warsaw’s M2 line, Poland:
“With EU funding, we finished three metro stations at once. Passengers instantly recognize their location by iconic neon signs linked to the landmarks above.”
Cohesion Story Quest | CONCLUSION
Cohesion Story Quest was more than a campaign — it was a movement. One that redefined how institutions communicate with the next generation. By turning policy into personal storytelling and influencers into citizen ambassadors, United Partners helped the European Commission close the gap between policy and perception.
Through this campaign, EU Cohesion Policy came alive in stories, people, and places — showing how unity, funding, and purpose can build a better, more connected Europe.
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