The institution of the European Capital of Culture is an excellent tool, through which cities tirelessly explore new ways to highlight their culture and build trust between communities across our continent, Deputy Minister of Culture, Vasiliki Kassianidou said on Monday, addressing an event aiming to raise awareness on the “European Capital of Culture for the year 2030” organized by the Deputy Ministry of Culture in Nicosia.
During the event attended by the candidate cities of Cyprus, the application procedure was explained and questions from representatives of the candidate cities were answered.
The Deputy Minister of Culture, Vasiliki Kassianidou, said that “this institution, in addition to contributing to cultural development and creativity, through synergies of cultural bodies from the international arena, contributes equally significantly to the improvement of the cultural infrastructure of the city, turning it into an attractive cultural destination”.
As Kassianidou explained, the title of European
Capital of Culture 2030 will be awarded to a city in Cyprus, a city in Belgium, and a city in a third country, which is a candidate country or a potential candidate for EU membership. She added that the Deputy Ministry of Culture, as the competent administrative authority, is responsible, in close cooperation with the European Commission, for conducting the competition, the selection of the city, and for all other related procedures.
The process, as the Deputy Minister of Culture said, includes two phases. The first phase of the pre-selection of the top two proposals will be completed in December 2024. The second and final phase of selection, she added, will be completed at the end of 2025, when it will be announced which city has managed to win the title for the year 2030.
“As recently announced by the Council of Ministers, the state will allocate to this city the amount of pound 6.5 million as a contribution for the operating costs required to carry out its programme”, noted Kassianidou, adding that the c
ity, subject to certain conditions, will be able to receive the “Melina Merkouri” award, that provides for prize of pound 1.5 million and is financed by the Creative Europe Programme.
On her part, the Vice-Rector of Academic Affairs of the University of Cyprus, Tatiana Eleni Synodinou, stated in her address that “claiming and obtaining the title of “European Capital of Culture” is a unique opportunity for every city to showcase its cultural identity, its wealth and heritage, as well as to highlight and promote creativity and art in various ways.
Referring to the benefits that the chosen city will reap, Synodinou pointed out that the title of the cultural capital acts as a pillar of innovation and development, as the restoration and development of cultural spaces restructures, transforms the urban landscape and strengthens the city’s economy through attracting visitors and tourists.
“As the University of Cyprus, we will always be helpful in such actions and always ready to assist in the works for the cultur
al capital of Europe and other similar initiatives,” she concluded.
Sylvain Pasqua, senior expert and head of the group for the European Capital of Culture action at the European Commission, said that the candidate cities are invited to study – among other things – applications from former candidate cities as well as the new rules implemented after a decision taken by the EU in 2014. “This large-scale cultural event is not about what a city looks like or its past, but what it envisages to be and do during the year and beyond,” he pointed out.
An application, as Pasqua said, must meet the general objectives at the EU level, which are to promote cultural diversity and the common features of cultures and to foster the contribution of culture to the long-term development of candidate cities. At the same time, he clarified that cities can have their own local objectives that respond to their local/regional needs and priorities.
Referring to the selection process, Pasqua said that it includes formal criteria, ex
clusion and selection criteria as well as the questionnaires that the cities must answer. He noted that candidatures will be assessed by a panel of up to 12 independent experts based on 6 categories of set criteria.
The criteria for awarding a city, he added, are divided into six categories, which have to do with the contribution to the city’s long-term strategy, the European dimension of the application, its cultural and artistic content, capacity to deliver, outreach and management.
In the second part of the session, Dr. Cristina Farinha, independent expert on the cultural and creative economy, spoke about the European Capital of Culture as a tool for European cultural cooperation and urban development, referring to examples of cities that have been European Capitals of Culture.
Source: Cyprus News Agency