Riga - European Capital of Culture 2014 candidate

the cities of the ancient Amber Route. Thissharing of experience and knowledge willlead to an act of cohesion, surprising thoseinvolved and contributing to the creation ofnew achievements and cultural events.Pliny once wrote about a Roman nobleman(eques), who was sent by the patricianJulian to Prussian shores in order to bringback large amounts of amber. Scholarshave argued about whether this Roman noblemantravelled to Prussia simply to bringback amber, or whether he also went thereto discuss the introduction of a unified customsduty, which would lessen the manycustoms duties imposed over the courseof the long journey. 2 Riga’s “New AmberRoute” partnership project is an attemptto break down the boundaries erected bystereotypes (the ‘typical’ Northerner, or the‘typical’ Southerner), and to bring togetherpeople from various spheres for new culturalexperiences and events. The projectalso aims to create, through new culturalnetworks, a type of modern cultural ‘currency’:high-quality partnership projects,which are marked by excellence and theability to fascinate the minds of many andimprove the quality of life.Cities in the “New Amber Route”cooperation network 3Cities in the Northern-Western-SouthernAmber Route partnership:Riga – Liepāja – Klaipēda – Kaliningrad(Königsberg) – Gdansk – Lübeck – Bruges– Vienna – Aquileia in the province of Venice– Rome – Athens.1The working group based its studies of the AmberRoute on research by Latvian and internationalhistorians. Of particular assistance were the studiespublished by the International Conference onAmber in Archaeology, in Talsi, Latvia, in 2001, andthe highly acclaimed book “Ancient Amber Routes”Waterways: Baltic Sea, Vistula – Morava –Danube; Elbe – Rhine – Rhone.Cities in the Northern-Eastern-SouthernAmber Route partnership:Riga – Rēzekne (in association with the nearbyLake Lubāna marshes) – Daugavpils –Sevastopol (formerly Chersonesus) – Istanbul.Waterways: Daugava – Dnieper – Black Sea.Different fields in the “New Amber Route“cooperation network and expeditionCulture – Inspired by the many uses of amberin various cultures throughout history,the “New Amber Route” opens up the opportunityfor projects in and between variouscultural sectors, including, but certainly notlimited to, the fields of art, fashion, design,music, textile art, archaeology, literature, andphilosophy.Business – The Amber Route, as has beenmentioned several times, ensured the lifelinefor commercial transactions in varioustime periods, throughout the European continent.The “New Amber Route” offers tocollaborate in the process of sharing economicknowledge and supporting creativeindustries.Science and medicine – Scientists haveconfirmed the healing properties of thisvaluable mineral. Artwork and cultural experiencesinspired by physics are currentlyvery actual in the world of art and multimedia.In this context, the relationship betweenculture, medicine, and chemistry has a future,especially taking into account society’sgrowing interest in ‘eternal youth’ and othermatters related to public health.and the Geographic Discovery of the Eastern Baltics(Zelta ābele: Stockholm, 1962), by Professor ArnoldsSpekke. We would like to express our gratitude toIlze Loze, of the Latvian History Institute, and Dr.Māra Kalniņš, professor at Corpus Christi College,University of Cambridge, for their generous support.Climate Change – The conditions thatbrought about the creation of amber highlightthe importance of climate change. Itseems as if the relationship between cultureand climate change could heat up, asglobal discussion and activity regardingclimate change and environmental issues inthe twenty-first century continue to grow.Person to Person – This dimension of the“New Amber Route” provides for closer contactbetween individuals. It also foresees theeradication of superficial impressions anderroneous stereotypes about people in thenorthern and southern parts of the continent.The results of other projects in the afore-mentionedfields reach their culmination, their ‘dayin the limelight,’ by involving a wide range ofpeople from local society. This perspectivereflects, in modern form, the people by theBaltic Sea described in ancient Roman texts,as well as their unique customs and rituals.Schedule for the “New Amber Route”cooperation network2009–2010 – Research of possible cooperationprojects and initial contact with cities.2011 – Basic development of projects; reinforcementof direct contacts with peopleinvolved in projects; budget approval.2012–2013 – Project development and finalization.2014 – Project implementation, withinthe framework of the European Capitalof Culture programme, in Riga and othercities involved in the “New Amber Route”project; exploration of future possibilitiesfor the project; contact with upcomingECC cities.2Spekke, Arnolds. Ancient amber routes andthe geographic discovery of the Eastern Baltic.Stockholm, 1962. p. 58.3Other cities may become involved over the courseof the project.one day in europeA single 24 hr period in the life ofEuropean member states, which issimultaneously recorded, in all theparticipating countries, through thelenses of thousands of professionalphotographers and hundreds of thousandsof amateur photographers.After the campaign, the photographswill be featured in many travelling exhibitions,thereby strengthening theinternational connections forged duringthe campaign.The international photo campaign “One Dayin Europe” is a photo project of unprecedentedscale in Europe. It will not only provide achance to create and strengthen an internationalcooperation network in the photographyfield, but will also inspire European citizensto look at the distinctive features of theirhome country through the camera lens. Thisproject not only tears down boundaries andunites practitioners and enthusiasts fromthe photography field, it also provides inspirationto record and appreciate that which isdifferent about each specific place, as wellas to repeat this unique experience after fiveor ten years.The photo campaign “One Day in Europe”offers a chance to record, through thecamera lens, the peculiarities of theAmber Route, on each stage of its path.The campaign unites practitioners of thephotographic arts by tearing down andexpanding existing boundaries, inspiringand attracting young talent, and creatingan international and enduring culturalproject. In this project, Latvia is not just amember state and Riga is not just a city;they are both the initiators and organizersof the project and the centre of the action.This is an international photography campaignthat will combine both professionaland amateur photographers.Like the photo campaigns “One Day inLatvia,” organised in 1987, and “One Dayin Latvia: Twenty Years Later,” in 2007, theaim is to record or document a single day –24 hrs in the lives of the participating countriesthrough the camera lens, accordingto previously established methodologicalprinciples. If all goes according to plan, thecampaign will be repeated after five or tenyears. In this way, the project will achievenot only artistic results but also a historicallysignificant documentary of a specifictime, revealing the individuality and distinctivenessof each nation.What: International photo campaign.Where: Planned campaign locations include:a) all countries in the Baltic Sea region,b) all European Union Member States.The number of states participating in thecampaign is largely dependent on the capacitiesof the partner organizations andthe amount of EU funding.The organizational and principal coordinationpoint of the campaign will be Riga. Incollaboration with the partner organizations,the organizers will formulate basicprinciples according to which routes willbe planned for the professional photographersand themes will be developed forthe amateur photographers.When: The international photo campaign isplanned in two stages:1. Pilot Project.One 24 hr period in the year 2011, sometimebetween May and September. Followingthe pilot project, the photo archive accumulatedduring the event will be used tocreate a travelling photo exhibition and topromote publicity for the 2014 photo campaign.2011 marks the sixtieth anniversaryof the founding of the European Union.2. International photo campaign “One Dayin Europe”The time period for the campaign is a single24 hr period in 2014, sometime betweenMay and September. Project participantswill include professional photographers,amateur photographers, and photo enthusiastsfrom the participating countries.Photography professionals from each participatingcountry will be given previouslyplanned routes, and the photographers willbe divided into two groups:Group 1 will record events in a participatingcountry other than their own during the24 hr period (similar to the pilot project).Group 2 will record events in their owncountries during the 24 hr period.Photo enthusiasts and amateurs will recordevents in their own country over a 24-hour period,choosing one or more of the previouslydeveloped themes. After the photo campaign,all the photo materials will be collectedfrom each participating country; these materialswill then be processed and systematizedand used to create the exhibitions.Concept authors: Ilmārs Znotiņš, ViestursKoziols, and Daiga Livčāne. AssociationViena Diena.lv.www.vienadiena.lv.Organisers: Association Viena Diena.lv.In addition, in preparing the campaign,cooperation will be established withEuropean Union financing foundations, aswell as with Riga City Council, Ministry ofCulture and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.Cooperation Partners: Professional photoorganizations, city and state institutions, andbusinesses in the participating countries.112 113