Speech on Cultural Capital of Europe - More Than Just an Event

“CULTURAL CAPITAL OF EUROPE – MORE THAN JUST AN EVENT”I like the title of our discussion “Cultural Capital of Europe – more thanjust an event”. I like it, because this is exactly what it is.The European Cultural Capitals began as an idea, a vision. Followed byaction. Starting as a cultural event it became an institution. A Europeaninstitution.This institution has been copied and adopted by large regions andcontinents like the Region of Volga in Russia, the Catalan Region, theCentre and the South of America, Canada and recently the United States,the Arab Countries in Africa and Asia.In spite of turmoil and wars the city of Algiers is this year a CulturalCapital. Japan, India and China, are also interested in creating culturalcapitals. So the event has become a global institution.The institution of European Cultural Capitals is not only what each city isdoing whilst it is a Cultural Capital but in particular what all the CulturalCapitals are offering together towards European Culture.A network of Cultural Capitals has been formed. It is a link between thecities and the guardian of the institution’s values. It is also an organizerof European and worldwide cultural projects.The various regions and continents that they have adopted the institutionof Cultural Capitals have formed their own networks. In October 2005, inAthens, during the 1 st International Symposium “20 Years CulturalCapitals of Europe” these networks have formed with the ECCM the“Network of the Networks”.The idea of creating the institution of the European Cultural Capitals is atremendous success. And there is no success like success.Why? The key factor of this success is the human element. His ability tothink, to innovate, to create, to develop, to communicate, to understand,to exchange ideas, to create a constructive dialogue between cultures andto respect the opinion of others and the diversity of cultures.The city which is a Cultural Capital shows its character, its traditions andits contemporary creativity. It is not a festival. It is a meeting place whereartists, intellectuals and scientists, gather to work and exchange ideastowards the promotion of European thought.The Cultural Capital is a tool for making the citizens participate, feel anddefine new relationships with the aim of giving shape to a Europeanconsciousness which will help guide us to a unification of Europe.A recent study commissioned by the European Commission has confirmedthat culture is of central and growing importance to the Europeaneconomy. The study has confirmed that no fewer than 5.8 million people1

are employed in the cultural sector, that whilst the number of jobs in theEuropean Union declined overall in 2004 – 5, the number of thoseemployed in the cultural sector in that year actually increased and thatthe cultural sector employs some of Europe’s best educated and mostflexible workers. The facts speak for themselves.The study merits an unequivocal welcome.To those of us who are involved and concerned for the future of Europeanculture the study also however contains within it a certain risk. This is thatat a time when progress is too often defined in purely commercial,material terms, the study might reinforce a tendency to look upon culturalactivity as merely another form of economic activity. This would be amistake. In the long march of history culture has never been a mere oreven primarily an economic activity. Here we must be very careful.Culture is much deeper and wider. That doesn’t mean that economydoesn’t help us to prove the productivity of culture. The point is thatculture is generated by its own power creating its own momentum. This isits perennial strength. Culture has cycles of germination and renewal.It now appears that the power of culture starts to grow again. I believethat it is this moment which will give to the institution of Cultural Capitalof Europe and the networks, the impetus to unite their forces and worktogether for the promotion of this noble idea.But we have to consider that the emerging gap between public opinionand the policy of the centres of power is of a great concern. To bridge it,there is an ever greater need for cultural education not only in the senseof promoting literacy and thereby enhancing participation, but as a formof debate to allow people to shape their own destiny and become acreative force.The selection of Cultural Capitals has now changed. Each Europeancountry has the responsibility to nominate the Cultural Capital City.In Germany, there were 10 candidate cities and Essen was nominated.Essen was selected with the theme “Transformation through Culture –Culture through Transformation”.As stated in their catalogue: “Unemployment is high and the developmentof new economic structures demands creativity, innovation and the abilityto manage change effectively. The 53 towns and cities of the Ruhr willhave to join forces, so that, in the competition of regions, the Ruhr canprevail as a European metropolis and contribute its special competenciesto the Europe of the future”.“The transformation of the industrial city of Essen into a modern energyand service metropolis has been both driven and accompanied by culturaltransformation”.“Its breath-taking development is the result of an approach to the artsthat derives from the conviction that culture offers an all-embracingenergy capable of sustaining a continuously changing society.”2

“The maintenance and cultural appropriation of industrial facilitiespreviously regarded as obsolete means that people are able to retain theirhistory and keep their memories while also enabling the realization of anew identity aligned to a new and different future”.I believe that what Essen is doing is remarkable. Its collaboration withfuture nominated cities for urban cultural planning is positive. But wemust not forget that Culture is not only an urban cultural development,and as we have stated above, culture has a much broader and deepermeaning.Today, the developed countries form a global village. Never in the historyof mankind was contact so easy. Every country and every continent isengaged in a continuous communication process. However, it is verydoubtful that this way of communication has achieved much in thepromotion of a reciprocal dialogue between people and cultures.Our times are dominated by the pursuit of money, and by cynicism,mistrust, fanaticism, racism, fear, insecurity, terrorism and war.Therefore, we must react and believe in the power of culture.Fine arts, poetry, drama, music, science, and care of the environment areexpressions of culture. However, the meaning of culture is much widerand deeper. Civilizations are formed by what man has said and done sincethousands of years ago and which, up to now, have been accepted andabsorbed by societies and peoples and have been added to in their habits,thoughts, actions and memories.Culture absorbs from the past, moulds the present and shapes the future.Culture exists in all our doings, in all our activities. It is knowledge,education, behavior, responsibility, understanding, tolerance and respectfor the others opinion and diversity. It is creation, quality and a way oflife.We all know that when the growth in material goods is not balanced by aparallel development of ideas and values, then the way of life produced iscondemned to wither and degenerate.Culture is horizontal. Culture is at the centre of our social, economic andpolitical life. It goes straight to the human being. For the betterment ofthe quality of life. This is the reason why the network of Cultural Capitalsof Europe, the Municipality of Athens and the Melina Mercouri Foundationare organizing a symposium on the 18 th and 19 th of October 2007.The topics of this symposium are:• Cultural policy• The role of culture• Culture and Economy3

• Cultural planning where speakers will talk about visions for citiesand productivity of culture and also of cultural planning as amapping of cultural resources• A presentation of the recent and the nominated for the futureEuropean Capitals of Culture• Dialogue between cultures• Network of the networks – The global dimension of cultureWith the global dimension of culture and the dialogue between culturesthe ECCM and the “Network of the Networks” are contributing to aperspective needed to bring together different people and their cultures.Our times demand that Europe becomes more powerful.It is time for Europe to have its own independent voice, a politicalstrategy and cultural policy.To bring about a debate, based on cultural knowledge, one needs torecognize that Europe has a great deal to say concerning theunderstanding between peoples, their cultures, their dignity and for thesake of peace to work for the good will and betterment of all mankind.Throughout the ages mankind has consistently sought progress andrenewal.In the long history of human civilization there has been a whole series ofrenaissances each one making its contribution to moral and intellectualregeneration and to the betterment of the quality of life.Man is the driving force.Spyros MercourisHonorary President of the NetworkOf Cultural Capitals & Cultural Months of EuropeRepresentative of the Melina Mercouri FoundationCongress “Culture Powers Europe – Europe Powers Culture”Berlin, 8 th of June 20064