European Capital of Culture 2016 - Europejska Stolica Kultury 2016.
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Wrocław chosen as Poland's European Capital of Culture 2016:
A panel of Polish and European Union experts chose Wrocław, capital of Lower Silesia in southwestern Poland, as European Capital of Culture 2016.
The city competed with Gdańsk, Katowice, Lublin and Warsaw. Wrocław will be Poland’s second city (after Kraków in 2000) to benefit from the huge visibility and opportunity to boost tourism and the local economy.
Upon reaching their decision, the experts congratulated the city but stressed that a lot of work still needed to be done, which would entail strong commitment from public authorities.
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The European Capital of Culture is a city designated by the European Union for a period of one calendar year during which it is given a chance to showcase its cultural life and cultural development.
Currently five Polish cities have been shortlisted for the title and the winner will be announced in June 2011. The winning Polish city will share the 2016 title with a Spanish city.
Warsaw’s candidacy for the title of European Capital of Culture 2016 reflects the fact that the city is a recognized economic power with a strong financial sector, commercial and manufacturing industries. It is a centre of economic exchange, but has so far failed to successfully portray itself as a centre for the exchange of ideas, innovation, creativity and knowledge.
However, as a city, Warsaw is becoming more accessible and readable. Challenges and difficulties are increasingly seen as an opportunity, a starting point for experimentation. The process and efforts to become European Capital of Culture 2016 are playing an important role in finding and exposing the beauty of Warsaw, as well as in stimulating the residents and visitors to establish an emotional bond with the city.
Central Europe needs a metropolis which will be able to drive economic progress and social change. Warsaw is predestined for this role: it has the scale, contacts, creative potential, knowledge base (including universities) and the cultural sector capable of creating a cluster of knowledge and creativity of European significance. Warsaw could become an equal cultural partner alongside other European centres of creativity.
European cities have used the Capital of Culture year to transform their cultural base and, in doing so, the way in which they are viewed internationally. During the first two decades of the competition, cities were chosen primarily based on cultural history, scheduled events and the ability to provide infrastructural and financial support.
A 2004 study by the European Culture Commission (Palmer Study) demonstrated that the choice of European Capital of Culture served as a catalyst for the cultural development and the transformation of the city. Consequently, the beneficial socio-economic development and impact for the chosen city are now also considered in determining the chosen cities.
The European Capital of Culture programme was initially called the European City of Culture and was conceived in 1983 by Melina Mercouri, then serving as Greek Minister of Culture. Mercouri believed that at the time, culture was not given the same attention as politics and economics and a project for promoting European cultures within the member states should be pursued. The European City of Culture programme was launched in the summer of 1985 with Athens being the first title-holder. During the German Presidency of 1999, the European City of Culture programme was renamed the European Capital of Culture.
In 2016, Spain and Poland will have the opportunity to showcase a city.
The shortlisted Spanish candidate cities include Burgos, Cordoba, Las Palmas, San Sebastián, Segovia and Zaragoza.
The European Capital of Culture programme has become a cultural and social phenomenon which does not only affect the selected cities but also the candidate cities that have been biding and competing for the title for years. Since the beginning of the century, the number of candidate cities to the European Capital of Culture has quintupled, due to the new selection criteria and the benefits of the CEC cultural brand.
You can vote for your favourite candidate city at : Association of Candidate Cities to the European Capital of Culture or http://esk.kulturaonline.pl/
Below you will find links to the Official European Capital of Culture 2016websites for each of the shortlisted Polish 2016 candidate cities.
Warsaw, Wroclaw, Lublin, Gdansk and Katowice
The Sinfonia Varsovia Orchestra
The Sinfonia Varsovia Orchestra has been Warsaw's showcase for many years. While the Orchestra conducted hundreds of concerts around the world, it did not have its own concert hall or regular season of concerts in its home city. However, in 2009 the City of Warsaw purchased property in the Praga district of Warsaw and in 2016 a new symphony hall will be constructed, giving Sinfonia Varsovia a permanent home. Warsaw's candidacy for European Capital of Culture in 2016 will bring classical music to the forefront of Warsaw's cultural life with special artistic programs for youth and the surrounding community. Sinfonia Varsovia has been successfully bringing classical music to new audiences in innovative ways. The Sinfonia Varsovia to its City Festival is a series of non profit concerts for all citizens and La Folle Journée de Varsovie is a unique international music festival that popularizes classical music and brings it to the widest possible audience. The Festival has been carried out successfully in many countries, including France (since 1995), Spain, Japan, Brazil and more recently in Warsaw (since 2010).
For further information, please visit www.sinfoniavarsovia.org
Showcase of Warsaw talent: Film Competition Announced
The MillionYou portal just launched a competition for a film that would promote Warsaw's bid for the ECC 2016.
The topic of the competition revolves around Warsaw's efforts to win the ECC 2016 title – and it was rightly named: “The City of Talent”. Hence, filmmakers gathered around MillionYou portal will have to show Warsaw as a capital of creative people.
The task is the following: Warsaw is a city of creativity and talent, a place growing fast, which thrives on people fulfilling their dreams and cultural goals. This is also where artists live, work and have fun.
Now over to you - show us Warsaw people’s interests, talents and passions. Let us know how their achievements nourish the city's inner circulation. We will be happy to see materials produced in a form of a video document – showing not only the daily work routine of the portrayed person, but also his/her other ways of making the city a better place. Remember that anyone can become a subject of your story. Warsaw likes independent spirits. Discover the still unknown people of some talent. Get to the darkest corners of Warsaw, reach even to the fringes of the city, and find its cultural life there. Find the creative perversity that Warsaw is famous for.
Remember – the decision which city has won the European Cultural Capital 2016 title will be announced on June 21. You can show Warsaw as a capital of talent and potential, and help it reach for the title.
Great prizes are waiting:
1st place: 2500 PLN
2nd place: 1500 PLN
3rd place: 1000 PLN
10 nominated filmmakers will receive a 500 PLN award
Important dates:
June 2 (until 00.00) – film submissions deadline
June 9 – nominations will be announced
June 14 – results are announced, the end of the competition
Film’s specifications:
Maximum length – 120 seconds
Maximum “weight” of downloaded film – 100 MB.
More information at www.milionyou.com
WARSAW 2016 - NEW ENERGY FOR EUROPE - 23 May 2011
Last week Warsaw was the first of the five Polish candidate cities to submit their final application to the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage for the European Capitol of Culture 2016 title. The application was entitled "Warsaw - New Energy for Europe" to highlight Warsaw's role in defining the future that the Capitol of Culture title will play for Warsaw and for Europe.
Warsaw is ready to step up to the role of cultural leader. For twenty years the city focused on traditional infrastructure development, but recently attention and budget have shifted towards the development of cultural infrastructure and processes. Last week culture increased its influence on government policy with last week’s landmark signing of the Obywateli Kultury Cultural Pact by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Warsaw Mayor Hanna Gronkiewicz Waltz.
The Cultural Pact was presented to the government by the “Citizens of Culture”, an informal social movement with more than 100,000 members that coalesced to lobby the government regarding the allocation of 1% of the national budget for culture (currently only 0.36% of the budget is allocated to culture). The fact that Poland’s national, regional and city governments have now recognized the requests of Obywateli Kultury is major step in the ability of citizens to influence government policy. Members of the social initiative include leading cultural figures, like artist Wisława Szymborska and composer Krzysztof Penderecki. It is the first time since the 1980’s that the Polish government has signed an agreement/social pact with its citizens. The Pact aims to change the government’s approach to culture, essentially repositioning culture as an engine and stimulator of the economy.
Winning the European Capitol of Culture 2016 title would dramatically increase city of Warsaw’s belief in culture as a contributor to GDP. The city’s ethos has been focused on its role as a financial centre for Central Europe. The title will allow city officials to recognize and support the role of culture in society, community building and sustainability. Warsaw’s 120 page application presents the candidature of the city, its current strengths and weaknesses, the concepts for the 2016 cultural program as well as the structure for financing and organizing the year of culture. Artist Director, Grzegorz Piątek oversaw the entire application process, in consultation with Eve Czeszejko-Sochacka, Supervisor for the European Capitol of Culture 2016 candidacy.
The changes that will occur in the city thanks to winning the Capitol of Culture title will give its inhabitants and visitors new reasons to fall in love with Warsaw. "We want to make Warsaw hungry for culture and Europe hungry for Warsaw” - says the application. The jury will announce the final results on June 21st at 15:45.