Riga - European Capital of Culture 2014 candidate

expedition insearch of the newamber route 1After considering Riga’s possible contributions,as European Capital of Culture,to the contemporary European culturalcommunication network, we have chosento follow the historic Amber Route,uniting Northern and Southern Europeand transgressing the traditionalboundaries that we call Europe. Muchhas been written about the role of Rigain various time periods as a member ofthe Western-Eastern route, but the roleof Riga and the rest of Latvia in the implementationof the Northern-Southernaxis has been forgotten, and continuesto be shrouded in mystery.In the application for Riga as ECC 2014,the modern Amber Route signifies a newcultural cooperation network betweenEuropean cities located on a Northern-Southern axis. This was inspired by the ancientAmber Route and the significance ofamber in various cultures and fields of life.However, the “New Amber Route” encompassesmore than just amber. Its centralgoal is to bring about a new contributionto the network of human and cultural connections,within the framework of the aforementionedgeographic axis.The creation and renewal process of this cooperationnetwork is an expedition that willattempt to disclose the secrets, keys, andessence of the modern Amber Route, bringingtogether people from various cultural,scientific, and business fields, so that theymay learn together and transfer acquired informationand experience to their activities.The expedition is the main project in thisthematic line; it unites representatives fromvarious fields in a single team, which will visit110 111