City of Chemnitz prepares for the legacy of the Capital of Culture Year 2025
Visions of Europe" conference from Wednesday to Friday, 10 to 12 April
Lord Mayor Sven Schulze today provided information on the legacy process for Chemnitz as European Capital of Culture 2025. The aim is to strengthen and promote the city's cultural and social development with a sustainable long-term plan. The conference "Visions of Europe - What remains of Chemnitz 2025?", which starts tomorrow, is the prelude to this.
The legacy plan will not only set out strategic goals, but will also contain concrete measures as to whether and how the projects launched during the Capital of Culture year can be continued, expanded or new ones initiated.
The plan is designed to run for ten years and covers the period from 2026 to 2035. The EU Commission recommends that sustainability be taken into account at an early stage of preparations. As the years 2024 and 2025 are inevitably very labour-intensive, legacy planning cannot wait until the end of the title year.
The legacy process will therefore be launched as part of the "Visions of Europe" conference. The legacy plan will be developed and presented over the next ten months. The aim is to reveal the expectations, experiences and challenges of successfully implementing the legacy. Representatives from six European countries with which the City of Chemnitz wishes to maintain close European relations have been invited. Košice 2013 from Slovakia, Pilsen 2015 from the Czech Republic, Wrocław 2016 from Poland, Rijeka 2020 from Croatia and Leeds 2023 from the UK are represented. After Brexit, the English city was no longer able to become European Capital of Culture and celebrated a "Year of Culture" instead.
Stefanie Reichart is taking part from Essen. She is Head of the Department of Culture and Sport at the Ruhr Regional Association, the organiser of RUHR.2010. At the public launch event on Wednesday, 10 April at 6 pm in the Carlowitz Hall of the Carlowitz Congress Center, she will outline the process of how the last German European Capital of Culture to date has prepared its legacy and is still successfully shaping it today. This includes landmarks such as the title of "European Green Capital 2017", the "International Garden Exhibition 2027" and the organisation of "Manifesta 2026". Essen won the title on behalf of the 53 cities in the Ruhr Regional Association. This was the first time a region had hosted the event. Participation in the event is free of charge. Interested parties can register via the link: https://mitdenken.sachsen.de/-gG8ahS89
Lord Mayor Sven Schulze: "The "Visions of Europe" conference in Chemnitz is of great importance for our long-term planning. We want to learn from the European experts of past European Capitals of Culture to ensure that the European Capital of Culture is not just a short-term event, but has a lasting impact. The aim is to define concrete steps as to how we can utilise the impetus from this year and implement it in the long term. I see the conference as the first important step towards identifying and concretising the fundamental priorities with the invited experts from associations, chambers, ministries and the gGmbH in order to develop a binding roadmap for the future in the coming months."
On Friday, 12 April at 12 noon , the first results of the conference will be presented at a press conference in the Chemnitz project office of the Saxon State Centre for Political Education, Brückenstraße 10. Representatives of the media are cordially invited to attend.
Further information: www.chemnitz.de/chemnitz2025
The conference is co-financed by tax funds on the basis of the budget approved by the Saxon state parliament.