Milestones for Capital of Culture application agreed

The Capital of Culture Secretariat presented milestones for the preparation of the bid in 2017/2018 to the steering group for the European Capital of Culture 2025 bid yesterday, Wednesday. Measures are planned for the participation of the Chemnitz population, the communication of the project and the development of the application document. The steering group discussed and agreed the milestones.

Lord Mayor Barbara Ludwig: "The steering group has paved the way for the bid with the milestones that have been agreed. Now things are getting concrete and now we will go the way, confidently. I am particularly looking forward to the discussions we want to have with the people of Chemnitz and the ideas, concepts and suggestions that will emerge."

One initial measure is the opening of a Capital of Culture office to be accessible and approachable for the people of Chemnitz. The Capital of Culture Secretariat is expected to move into a shop space in the Rosenhof from 1 June 2017. There will be a large consultation room there, which the Capital of Culture Secretariat will set up together with Chemnitz Municipal Theatres. The space will offer a creative ambience for discussions, workshops and events.

To involve citizens, the Capital of Culture Secretariat is planning a "living room tour" through the districts of Chemnitz from the summer. "We want to create a travelling living room in which we can chat with the people of Chemnitz about the Capital of Culture in a cosy atmosphere in the respective districts. Intensive discussions over the last few days and weeks have shown that the people of Chemnitz have an incredible number of ideas. We want to collect these ideas directly from the people with our living room," says Ferenc Csák, explaining the project. The Capital of Culture Secretariat will announce when and where the "Living Room" will stop off in Chemnitz at the beginning of May.

The application lives through projects. For this reason, the Capital of Culture Secretariat would like to support associations, initiatives and players right now and realise micro-projects together with them. The micro-projects can be the first small test balloons for the Capital of Culture year and are intended to show the potential of the future Capital of Culture Chemnitz.

The content of the application will be prepared by the Programme Council, which will carry out the creative work. Small working groups will collate and elaborate content for each sector. Working groups are planned for the visual and performing arts, museums, music, media/film, literature, urban history, architecture, business/trade/industry/crafts, creative industries, festivals, mobility, innovation culture, industrial culture, churches, sport and allotment gardening. The topics of cultural education, cuisine, youth and socio-culture, administrative culture, migration, inclusion and sustainability will also be included in the application across all sectors.

The first official meeting of the programme council is planned for the end of May. Five cultural ambassadors from the city of Chemnitz will also take part in this meeting, and the steering group agreed on a procedure for their selection yesterday (Wednesday).

To determine the milestones, the Capital of Culture Secretariat consulted representatives from the independent cultural scene, Chemnitz Economic Development and the 875 Years of Chemnitz team, the Cultural Advisory Board, the Contact Centre for Cultural Education, the Adult Education Centre and the University, the Morgenstadt Initiative and the administration in a workshop lasting several days. The workshop primarily served to collect ideas and provide an overview of the Capital of Culture project. Together, the stakeholders set priorities on the way to the application.

By way of explanation:

The steering group was appointed by the city council on 8 February 2017 to strategically manage the bid. It sets priorities in terms of content, defines framework conditions and prepares further 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 by international experts on the programme work.

Following a decision by the City Council on 25 January 2017, five honorary cultural ambassadors will also be involved in the Programme Council. The cultural ambassadors are citizens of all age groups from the city of Chemnitz who have agreed to support the application process in terms of content and concept.

A Capital of Culture Secretariat was established for project management and project 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 European 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 facilitate a better understanding of Europe's citizens for one another. The title has been awarded for one year at a time since 1985.