ECCM Network

Network of European Cultural Capital Cities and Months

In 1990 another important event took place. The European Union and the city of Glasgow, then Cultural Capital of the year, held a meeting of the then organizers and coordinators of Cultural Capitals in order to benefit from their collective experience. As a result the Network of Cultural Cities of Europe was formed, and a big step taken towards a more concrete, practical and close collaboration between all Cultural Capitals. Since then the Network also undertakes as one of its many tasks to promotion of the idea of European Cultural Capital City in order to persuade the peoples of Europe through such concept the essence and value of culture.

The membership of the Network is limited to representatives and organizers of former and future cities of Culture and cultural months, representatives of the cities themselves, of national government and also of the founding personalities.

These people worked together with their governments, their municipalities, institutions, organizations, artists, intellectuals and citizens. They analyzed situations, they selected the right people to organize new projects and they coordinated the events of the Cultural Capitals of Europe.

The main aims and objectives of the Network are as follows:

To assist the European cities of Culture and cities with European Cultural Months.
To organize European and world-wide co-productions.
To enhance cultural co-operation and promotion on a European-wide basis.
To share information, skills and contacts concerning the managements and financing of European cultural programs, especially relating new ways of financing cultural activities, including the raising of private and corporate sponsorships and donors.
To maintain an archive of information about innovative cultural practice and creations.

Furthermore, members of the network have been regularly involved in international forums on general matters of European cultural affairs and on themes related to city planning and development in relation to arts and culture, sponsoring and tourism. They are also regularly asked to forward information to journalists, researchers and university students, interested in the various aspects of the program.

The Network of Cultural Capitals and Cultural Months of Europe serving both the Cultural Capitals and the European Union has had a significant cultural impact and contributed to a deeper understanding of the diversities of European cultures.

From what has been said up to now, it is clear that the event is not only what a cultural city offers and does on its own, but the contribution of all the Cultural Capitals and Cultural Months together as a whole.

Each city shows its cultural heritage, its traditions, its physiognomy and its contemporary creations.

Over the years, and linked by the Network to pass on the experiences made, this cultural event has become an outstanding European institution.

Another area of activity has been the direct generation of specific activities and projects which have come about because of the network members and their contacts. Some of these projects have been:

Solidarity with Sarajevo: The network has organized cultural events in ten different cities of Europe on January 28, 1994, in support of the artists and cultural activities of Sarajevo.
The Waves of the Black Sea brought together writers and translators from 13 countries around the Black Sea by means of a cruise ship sailing to different ports, as well as representatives from 33 countries.
Art Genda Biennale is based on the network of 14 cities around the Baltic Sea with the aim of presenting young artists. This was initiated by Copenhagen ’96 and now taken over by Stockholm ’98 and Helsinki 2000.
Aegean Archipelago: an event inspired by the late Melina Mercouri to focus on the Aegean cultural tradition and to protect its environment (September ’94).
EU – Japan Festival is based on the extensive co-operation between Japan and the cultural city of the year and has generated ambitious projects in Antwerp ’93, Lisbon ’94, Luxembourg ’95, Copenhagen ’96. Thessaloniki ’97 and Stockholm ’98.
Experiences and Visions; an international symposium organized by the network in the frame of Thessaloniki ’97 together with the Melina Mercouri Foundation and the European Writer’s Congress to debate on Cultural issues and visions at the end of this millennium.

Furthermore, a research study was commissioned by the network to John Myersough about the impact of the institution of cultural capitals and cultural months of Europe, on culture, tourism, employment, economics, finance and sponsorship from Athens ’85 to Lisbon ’94.

Mile stones of the Network have been:

Declaration of Delphi, 3^rd July 1999 in which representatives from 22 cities declared that it is not sufficient to pursue solely economic and technocratic goals, but that there is a need to put greater emphasis on the cultural dimension, “which draws on the accumulated cultural richness of the people of Europe, respecting their diversities and promising to re-awaken interest and hope in the European idea.”
To initiate a day of culture as of 5^th of May every year with a start thereof being made in Athens 5^th of May 2000 to promote “Freedom of Expression and Dialogue”. Its organizational principle is that while each city is absolutely free to organize a project of its own choice, steps shall be undertaken to link these various activities by means of the media and communication based on the Internet as demonstrated in 2000 by the idea of Café 9 to demonstrate the possibility of horizontal and vertical dialogue at the same time between Cultural Capital Cities and citizens so as to create a basis for European debate. Here can be cited what one of the key speakers at the May event in Athens, namely Michael D. Higgins, former Minister of Culture of Ireland, described as the need to set a new European agenda and at city level to include cultural education and cultural impact studies.
In order to focus on the link between European cultures and the very concept of European civilization the Network decided to initiate further discussions around the theme “diversity versus uniformity”. The basic belief is that various people and nations that make up Europe all with their own languages carries within itself its own system and conceptions of cultural expression. It is retained in cultural works by distinct personalities and provides for the basis of cultural individuality. Altogether it embodies the European civilization in its present form. Carried forth by an ongoing dialogue and flowing on like the rivers through the continent of Europe, there exists by now a common framework and a sense of Europe as a single geographical space. Key to the cultural success of Europe is its remarkable creativity and dynamism which ought to be brought out by the European Cultural Capital Cities so as to give further evidence and support to the enhancement of European civilization.
As part of the May 5^th 2002 activity connected with the European Day of Culture an essay competition was organised around the theme “Europe’s cultural diversity: a threat or a chance?” There participated 20 cities and three awards were given.

Athens Symposium 2005 The Network of Cultural Capitals and Cultural Months of Europe and the Melina Mercouri Foundation, with the support of the then Mayor of Athens, Mrs. Dora Bakoyanni, organized a meeting in Athens, 13 – 16 October 2005 at the Zappeion Megaron. The aim was with the participation of the cultural networks to declare faith in culture and to prove that culture can be a unifying factor between politics, economy and society. The President of the Hellenic Republic, Mr. Carolos Papoulias, inaugurated this symposium.

On Sunday the 16^th of October at Pnyka (the seat of the ancient Athenian assembly) all the Networks and participants made a declaration on the importance of culture, dialogue, freedom of expression and respect to the diversities of cultures, especially in a period of terrorism and wars.

To underline the fact that the network was becoming in fact a network of networks’ following networks participated:

 the network of the European Capitals of Culture & Cultural Months

 the network of Cultural Capitals of the Volga region

 the network of the America's Capital of Culture

 the network of the Capital of Catalan Culture

 the network of Cities of Culture of Central Europe

 the network of Cities of Culture of Canada

 the network of Women Artists of the Mediterranean (F.A.M.)

The Municipalities of the Region of Attica participated as well since it was involved in the organizing of cultural events when Athens was the first Cultural Capital of Europe in 1985.

Moreover there came personalities like Sergey Kirienko, who is the special envoy of the President of Russia, Mr. Putin, Mr. Volker Hassemer as ex Senator for Culture of Berlin (West) and other personalities. Mr. Jack Lang, ex–Minister of Culture of France, who was a close collaborator of Melina Mercouri, was invited but due to other commitments could not attend and send instead his greetings to the participants of the symposium.

Mr. Sifounakis, President of the Culture Committee of the European Parliament, Mrs. Jacqueline Pacaud, Member of the European Commission, the 24 ambassadors in Greece of the E.U., the Ambassadors of Russia, Mexico, Brazil, Lebanon and Jordan and institutes like the Goethe institute and French, British, Italian, Spanish institutes, participated as well while coverage was guaranteed by the local and international mass media.

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