Cultural ambassadors for the Capital of Culture application presented

Samuel Harnisch, Ute Lierath, Chris Münster, Nicole Oeser and Stefan Tschök are the five cultural ambassadors who are now members of the programme council for the European Capital of Culture bid. They introduced themselves to the public today, outlined their motivation for joining the Programme Council and declared their willingness to support the application process in terms of content and concept.

Samuel Harnisch (16) is a pupil at Johannes-Kepler-Gymnasium. In his free time, he is interested in the eventful history of Chemnitz and the city's development. He would like to become an architect or urban planner later on. Despite his young age, Samuel Harnisch has already gained experience in voluntary work. Since June 2015, he has been a member of the Royal Rangers Christian Scout Association's regular post 138 in Chemnitz. As a cultural ambassador, he would like to contribute "a few fresh ideas" to the Capital of Culture planning and focus on the hopes and expectations of the young people of Chemnitz.

Ute Lierath (60) has applied by telephone to the Capital of Culture Secretariat to become a cultural ambassador. As a cultural ambassador, she would like to contribute her ideas and energy so that people with and without disabilities can experience the city and the potential that Chemnitz has to offer together. She maintains contacts with "Weißer Stock e.V.", the support association of the advice centre for blind and visually impaired people, and would like to use her network to promote the participation of people in Chemnitz in the Capital of Culture project. One of Ute Lierath's first ideas for the Capital of Culture bid is a think tank for culture.

Chris Münster (32) is anchored in the independent scene and subculture in Chemnitz. "Now more than ever!" is his motto and the motto that encouraged him and his friends to found the Lesecafé Odradek as the first cultural establishment in the alternative property Leipziger Straße (Kompott). He organises more than 60 events a year there, including readings, film evenings, concerts, discussions and exhibitions on a voluntary basis. He is attracted by "the former working-class city at the crossroads between decline and a new beginning." As a cultural ambassador, he wants to encourage those involved in the cultural scene to experiment and try something new. He also sees the challenge of allowing the people of Chemnitz to participate as a special opportunity to get up close and personal with the ideas and views, preferences and antipathies of the city's residents.

Nicole Oeser (27) was born in Karl-Marx-Stadt, left her home town twice to study media economics and sports management and has returned twice - out of "love and passion" for Chemnitz and the local sport. She has already been involved as a member of the working group of the Chemnitz FAN project and as a volunteer at the World Athletics Championships in Berlin. As a cultural ambassador, she wants to draw attention to the beauty, opportunities and possibilities of Chemnitz. She is convinced that the combination of culture and sport can convince the people of Chemnitz, those who want to become Chemnitz and everyone else of the magic of the city and show that Chemnitz is much more than just a city in the east near Dresden and Leipzig.

Stefan Tschök (60) is a graduate engineer and economist (transport economics) with a passion for art, culture and literature. As early as the 1980s, he was involved in various circles that dealt with literature, including the "Circle of Writing Workers" at the Heckert combine in what was then Karl-Marx-Stadt. This was followed by the first publications of aphorisms and short stories in the 1980s and two further publications in 2012 and 2014. As a cultural ambassador, he would like to make his contribution in the coming months and years to support the "grandiose idea" of the Capital of Culture bid, which can offer the city many opportunities for development.
He sees it as his task to initiate a broad civic process for Chemnitz's bid to become European Capital of Culture, involving all areas of life in the city and its protagonists.

From more than 50 applications, the European Capital of Culture Secretariat has selected five Chemnitz residents as cultural ambassadors to work on the programme council for the European Capital of Culture bid. The first meeting of the Programme Council, in which the five cultural ambassadors will participate, will take place on 23 May 2017.

The basis for the participation of the cultural ambassadors in the Programme Council is the decision of the City Council on 25 January 2017, according to which five citizens of all age groups of the City of Chemnitz were sought as honorary cultural ambassadors for the Programme Council. The call for applications for the five cultural ambassadors began on 7 March 2017 and ended on 12 April 2017.

Explanation:

The steering group was appointed by the city council on 8 February 2017 to strategically manage the application. It sets content priorities, defines framework conditions and prepares other necessary City Council resolutions.

The Programme Council carries out the creative work for the bid. It develops the concept for the Capital of Culture and collects ideas and proposals. It is advised on the programme work by international experts.

A Capital of Culture Secretariat was set up for project management and organisation by resolution of the City Council on 25 January 2017. During the preparation of the bid, the staff of the Capital of Culture Secretariat are responsible for administrative and controlling tasks and cultural policy work. They also develop concepts for public participation. The head of the Capital of Culture project is Ferenc Csák, Head of Cultural Operations for the City of Chemnitz.

The European Capitals of Culture help to emphasise the richness, diversity and commonalities of Europe's cultural heritage and enable a better understanding of Europe's citizens for one another. The title has been awarded for one year at a time since 1985.