The two European Capitals of Culture 2025 Chemnitz and Nova Gorica/Gorizia are hosting a conference of the same name at the Carlowitz Congress Centre Chemnitz on Friday, 4 April to mark the anniversary of "40 years of European Capitals of Culture". The focus will be on the presentation of the white paper "40 recommendations from 40 years of ECoC*: Insights for the European Capitals of Culture from 2034". It is intended to form the basis for a new legal foundation for the European Capitals of Culture.
200 participants from various European countries are expected to attend, including representatives from around 50 European Capitals of Culture, delegates from the European Parliament, the European Council, the European Commission and the federal and state governments. The conference language will be English.
The results of the meeting will be presented at a press conference on Friday, 4 April at 12.30 pm in the Carlowitz Hall of the Carlowitz Congress Centre Chemnitz. Please note: The press conference will be held in English.
The supporting programme begins on Thursday, 3 April at 7 p.m. with a reception hosted by Lord Mayor Sven Schulze in the Hartmannfabrik.
On Friday, 4 April, panels and working groups are planned from 9 a.m. in the Carlowitz Congress Centre. The day will end with a celebratory event to mark "40 years of ECoC" in the Wirkbau. This event is not open to the public.
On Saturday, 5 April, guests will be able to get to know projects of the European Capital of Culture Chemnitz 2025, including the intervention areas Garage Campus and Stadt am Fluss. Other ongoing European Capital of Culture projects are also part of the programme.
Participation in the conference
The conference is aimed at a specialist audience. A limited number of places are available for interested citizens for the conference day on 4 April. Registration is possible until 27 March via the citizen participation portal. The participation fee is 60 euros and includes catering.
Media representatives have the opportunity to apply for accreditation for the conference via the City of Chemnitz press office at pressestelle(at)stadt-chemnitz.de by 27 March.
More information about the conference at www.chemnitz.de/ecoc40.
Background
The conference marks the start of a process designed to ensure the continued existence and further development of Europe's largest cultural project. In a joint research project, Chemnitz and Nova Gorica have carried out an extensive study among the management and artistic directors of former and future European Capitals of Culture. Under the direction of Italian researcher Valentina Montalto from the KEDGE Business School in Paris, an Italian-Slovenian team interviewed 64 of the 82 cities that have held or will hold the title of European Capital of Culture about their experiences and perspectives.
The findings are summarised in 40 theses in the "Chemnitz White Paper" guide and will be incorporated into the revision of the European directive on the scope of the European Capitals of Culture. The aim is to strengthen the European dimension, simplify the selection and monitoring process and ensure long-term implementation. In addition, the Melina Mercouri Prize is to be revised in order to facilitate early funding.
The dialogue between the European Commission, the European Council and the European Parliament will begin in autumn 2025. The revised directive is to be adopted by 2027 and apply to cities that will hold the title from 2034.
40 years of ECoC*
In 2025, the European Capital of Culture project, an initiative of the European Union, will celebrate its 40th anniversary. Since 1985, cities have been selected to build bridges between countries through art and culture and to strengthen the diversity of European cultures. The programme was launched by the then Ministers of Culture Melina Mercouri (Greece) and Jack Lang (France).
* ECoC - European Capitals of Culture