or how to respond to global challenges within cities when Europe is
under construction?
Hatto Fischer
Athens
23.October 2007
Culture with C in Cities
• From 1985 to 2010 and beyond
European Capitals of Culture
• A vision of Melina Mercouri expressed in 1985
• At network level continued since then by Spyros
Mercouris and the ECCM Network
• European Capitals of Culture constitute a
successful story since 1985 with ever more cities
wishing to become Capitals of Culture
• From a concept of culture as meeting place for
people to culture as motor of urban regeneration
to culture as new identity for an entire region of
54 cities e.g. Ruhr 2010 as a way into the future.
and Kids’ Guernica Exhibition
• ECCM Symposium in Athens and the Kids’
Guernica Exhibition was a joint event involving
60 people who discussed cultural policy,
dialogue between cultures, cultural planning, the
relationship between culture and the economy,
and what new networks may result out of all of
this while 15 Kids’ Guernica paintings were
exhibited.
• More information about the Symposium can be
obtained at www.productivity-of-culture.org
Kids’ Guernica means children, youth and adults
paint together peace murals the same size as
Picasso’s Guernica
Informal or formal Networks
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The tendency of the newly designated cities such as Liverpool 2008 and
Essen 2010 is to seek informal discussion rounds to answer pressing needs
cities have when faced by the demand to organize cultural events for one
year
The critical question is whether culture as an event does justice to what was
envisioned by both Melina Mercouri and the European Commission when
creating this institution? That question was asked at the Berlin Conference
“Culture empowers Europe” whether the Capitals of Culture can and should
succumb to such concepts as cultural tourism and therefore to a kind of
planning which foresees only a series of events
The crucial questions for all designated cities are not merely what measures
to take to prepare or how then are things realized, but what is the
sustainability afterwards? Most of the cities cannot answer that part of
question.
Many realize informal networks are flexible and innovative.
At the same time, it is realized that the dialogue between old and newly
designated cities should continue as this can provide orientation through an
exchange of experiences. Yet can this be done by remaining only in contact
at informal level?
• The ECCM stands for European Cultural Capitals and Months
• It has Spyros Mercouris as honorary president
• Since the General Assembly in Patras March 2006 and the ECCM
exhibition of twenty years of Cultural Capitals, the ECCM has
entered a critical period.
• It is not only about informal versus formal tools of networking but
equally how a European Network meant to support Capitals of
Culture faces the global challenges to culture and seizes upon
opportunities created by the concept being imitated by now all over
the world.
• The Symposium in Athens was designed to provide a forum of
reflection on substantial issues as well as what it takes to advance
with the idea of creating a Network of Networks.
• There are several proposals being circulated right now while the
informal networking continues thanks to the Internet and Web based
sources of information being provided by all cities.
European Union
• Since the defeat of the EU Constitutional
Treaty the difficulty of saying ‘yes’ to a
European Union and the Lisbon Treaty
Critical issues with Capitals of
Culture
• The European Commission has gone from subsidy to giving a prize
for the best European Capital of Culture; such a prize giving system
encourages still further competition between cities.
• The global challenge to culture has not yet been answered but it will
have to include the external relationships Europe has with the rest of
the world.
• It will have to look again at what the relationship between culture
and economy can bring about.
• We know the European Commission has designated 2008 to be the
year of intercultural dialogue while 2009 shall focus on ‘creativity
and innovation’.
• All this means not only a change in the cultural agenda, but how
cities see the value of the arts and culture for their economy.
• The knowledge base of each city depends upon finding answers to
these and other challenges while governance through culture has
yet to be understood as the making of the ‘cultural economy’.
Lisbon agenda for Universities
• To create a knowledge base by means of
the Information Society
• Dialogue in the Internet
• Web based information systems
• Digitalization of Libraries
• Cultural infrastructures
• Dissemination of Information
• Sharing of experiences
Knowledge
• Clearly the trend goes towards refining knowledge
especially about culture and economy.
• Not only emphasis shall be placed on creativity and
productivity to link up with innovation, but crucial shall be
what future role universities shall play in advancing
knowledge
• Cultural studies, cultural management, cultural tourism,
cultural planning have or will become new domains
• Evaluation and monitoring of cultural policy will be even
more important as is already well known how important
are cultural statistics and cultural sustainability
• The new epistemology will have to include other
viewpoints from China, Japan, India etc. as much as that
of indigenous populations with another access to reality.
Role of Universities
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Universities are public spaces within the life of cities.
They are structured according to various disciplines but should safeguard equally open learning
on a life long basis – the difference between day and night time studies.
In terms of culture the learning process has to be defined as not only speaking different languages
and getting to know other cultures.
Needed are anthropology and ethnology to question one’s own societal self-understanding
(Foucault).
Formal knowledge gained at university level should be compared with what e.g. museums and
such actions as Kids’ Guernica initiate through informal learning processes.
If culture expresses itself through self understanding, then what gives to people this self
understanding if not writers and poets, but who are often for universities not a source of truth?
Human values need to be studied and followed up in all other fields of studies to ensure the
cultural component e.g. like culture has to be included in all Community actions by the EU.
Cultural development derives from cultural investments made in the past and can be linked to
good practices in preservation and promotion of cultural heritage as ‘memory of the future’.
A new trend is to complement social with cultural work to give people in neighborhoods and all
walks of life in cities a chance to activate themselves.
Given the failure of the multi-cultural model for integration and despite the UNESCO initiative on
cultural diversity, needs for different expressions at not heeded nor sufficiently recognized so that
cities face new forms of all kinds of violence and unknown tensions in need to be dealt with.
Cities without active universities cannot become creative hubs but the old problem addressed by
Kant still remains: can practical judgment be taught and what is action without theory?
From information to validation:
some simple rules
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Universities are known to have at least some simple rules to guarantee a
validation process hence scientific (rational conclusions) and cultural
methodologies (work with intuition and empathy for ‘others’) are needed.
To go from information to knowledge as basis of future actions means
investing in theory which can be acted upon in time to form “le vecu”
(Sartre) – lived through experiences while working through memory
Archaeology of knowledge (Foucault) and practical discourse means
interpreting and rewriting original texts to create a new knowledge base
which has to be a source of cultural consensus around human values.
Humanity is vulnerable, so the individual – both need care.
Not all students should just go into business for governmental policies have
to evaluated in terms of their impacts, successes and failures.
Much more research is needed but for whom with what resources to answer
what questions?
Societies can only learn out of mistakes if there is an independent
knowledge and critical judgment.
Learning has become a life long process based on knowing what measures
to apply for the tasks ahead.
Conclusions
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The ECCM as a network seeks to continue the dialogue between old and
new cities
New cities seek answers to respond to what needs, some of which are
unknown, lie ahead
Universities can facilitate that culture develops further even though the
tension between artists, writers, poets and academics remains critical
Studies of the European Capitals of Culture should entail also tracing the
evolvement of European culture from year to year
European identities are based on the possibilities of working together and
for this networks are useful, therefore cultural cooperation is needed
The ECCM wishes the University Network of European Capitals of Culture
all the success and looks forward to a fruitful collaboration in all fields.
To begin with there are many stories to be told by those acting in a practical
way. A lot can be learned from Eric Antonis who conceived for Antwerp 1993
the significance of doubt for the creation of new culture while Nori Colakoglu
from Istanbul 2010 wishes dialogue.
http://poieinkaiprattein.org/productivity-of-culture/