Summary of the C贸rdoba 2016 Cultural Programme
1. why CÓRDOBA 2016?
3. FOUR PRINCIPLES OF THE PROPOSAL
Córdoba is bidding to become the 2016 European Capital of Culture in the conviction that its history, as a place of peaceful dialogue between civilisations, can contribute to the shaping of a new European citizenry, especially at a time when the city constitutes a major added value in addressing the challenges facing Europe. Contained within Córdoba’s own history – in its Roman, Muslim, Jewish, Christian and Gypsy ancestry – are a series of ideas that, duly reappraised, provide key resources for tackling contemporary challenges. Presented with the opportunity to bring these values up to date, the city has achieved a broad, inclusive consensus to put itself forward for the 2016 challenge. Córdoba was the first city to announce its bid, in 2002, following an civil-society initiative that found its echo in public institutions.
We believe that our proposal is right for Europe and – it goes without saying – right for our city. The Cultural Capital bid forms part of an integrated modernisation strategy for the city of Córdoba and its metropolitan area, that places a high value both on the intrinsic cultural benefits and on the concomitant socioeconomic benefits. When considering the goals of the European Capital of Culture, it is essential to take into account the present economic situation of a city, with unemployment rates of over 25% in late 2009. In order to tackle this issue, Córdoba is engaged in a radical transformation of its socioeconomic situation, making full use of its location and its improved interconnections with Europe, and seeking to stimulate creativity, knowledge and technical development. Taking as its basis a valuable cultural heritage, a desirable location and a remarkable urban situation, Córdoba is implementing a strategy aimed at attracting the most creative and influential professions and industries in the years ahead. Core elements in this transformation will be technology and healthcare companies, as well as companies specialising in the management of knowledge and culture. Various projects are in place to promote these core elements; the most important are a whole series of cultural infrastructure projects, the Rabanales 21 Science and Technology Park and the Campus of Excellence in Agrofood, led by the University of Córdoba. The European Capital of Culture bid is the city’s overarching strategic project: first, because of the heritage and the cultural scene already in place; second, because of its connection with the tourist industry, probably the city’s best-
established industry but also the one with the greatest short-term growth prospects; and third, because of the synergies that cultural activities can create with earlier projects, and their capacity for fostering urban regeneration. In short, the Córdoba 2016 project will help to shape a city that will prove attractive for the most dynamic and influential industries and professions in the contemporary economy - the creative industries. The availability of diverse leisure and cultural pursuits, together with the city’s multicultural and tolerant character, are essential in order to attract professionals, initiatives and ideas.
2. THE FUTURE HAS ROOTS The slogan of Córdoba’s bid is Córdoba, Europe: The future has roots. We see the bid as a means of sewing the cultural seeds for the future, and supplying the rich loam of the past that will help them to flower and produce new, more meaningful harvests in the contemporary context. The objectives of Córdoba’s bid have been grouped into three categories: · The European objectives are aimed at extending a model of co-existence based on non-violence, tolerance and mutual respect. · The city-related objectives seek to improve Córdoba’s status, enabling it to take its rightful place amongst Europe’s great cultural cities; this will have a positive impact in terms of sustainable development driven by strong cultural activity. ·T he people-related objectives are based on the use of existing participatory mechanisms as a means of making culture accessible to everyone. We hope to make the city a think tank for reflecting on global problems, and use the ECoC to generate a lasting impact.
One of the main strengths of Córdoba’s bid is that it reinforces the value of dialogue and mutual understanding in a Europe that is in need of precisely such a civic effort to overcome differences within a common framework of coexistence. We base this on four cornerstone principles, already evident in the life of the city, that lend great weight to our proposal: interculturalism, participation, innovation and sustainability. Córdoba’s inter-culturalism is an intangible legacy, derived from its past as a city where culture, philosophy and the arts all flourished thanks to the harmonious coexistence of different civilisations; this was particularly so during the Caliphate of Córdoba (tenth century AD), which marked the city’s period of greatest splendour. Córdoba’s symbolic significance, acknowledged throughout the world, can be summed up in just two words, which hold the key to Europe’s future: dialogue and coexistence.
The city has a well-established tradition of participation, key to the development of the democratic process. The City Council has been a pioneer both in the management of this type of activity as well as in the development of partnership programmes, including those involving the public purse. The citizens’ movement’s sphere of interests has moved beyond the parochial, and now extends to gender issues, minority rights and the environment. Córdoba also provides outstanding opportunities for interpersonal relationships, with its festive traditions, exemplified by the Courtyards Festival and the Nuestra Señora de la Salud May Fair, events where people reinforce their sense of local identity. These are activities that are marked by their open, participatory character. Córdoba holds steadfast to the principle that culture must reach everyone. The city’s planning, social and cultural policies embody this principle. All the necessary steps will be taken to ensure that limitations in mobility do not prevent the involvement of people with disabilities. We champion the incorporation of women as active agents, and seek to ensure that no-one is left out of the Córdoba 2016 project. Culture will reach all corners of the city. There will be a specific strategy for the inclusion of Gypsy culture, which the bid regards as one of the five cultures that make up the city of Córdoba. The 2010 European
Summit, which was held in the city, saw the 27 member states establishing their goals for the Roma community; this, and the signing of a pledge of support for Córdoba 2016 by the main representative bodies of the Roma people, are signs of our ambition and set a good precedent.
Córdoba has worked for many years to expand the tools for innovation that enable an illustrious past to be linked not only to tourism but also to the growth of new fields of endeavour based on technology and creativity. The city’s participation in a range of European programmes such as the University of Córdoba’s research projects into open source software and nanotechnology provide ample demonstration of this. There is a creative Córdoba that develops processes devoted to cultural activities, often using networks similar to neighbourhood networks. Social groups are working more and more in areas linked to contemporary art, music and poetry.
Sustainability is a crucial element of this project, in terms of the implementation of the project itself and in terms of what culture can contribute to the overall sustainability of the city. None of the investments to be undertaken will cease to meaningful after 31 December 2016. A number of cultural and social actions are envisaged to ensure the realisation of this aspiration; as a result, the city will become a national benchmark for cultural sustainability, just as it is already for environmental sustainability.
4. THREE MAIN THEMES OF THE PROGRAMME The project’s main themes have been arranged around the concept of The Constellations of Córdoba, a kind of firmament reflecting the diversity of currents and the intercultural matrix of cities and citizens. These are cultural focal points that Europe cannot afford to lose if it wants to offer a high-quality alternative – within the European cultural space – to the cities of the world. This concept is structured as follows… Theme I: Córdoba in the World highlights the links between the city, its immediate surroundings and its wider setting, underling its historical heritage and what that heritage can contribute to contemporary society. This theme comprises three sections: · The Córdoba Paradigm, which will work with the concepts of tolerance, human rights and respect for others, and will reflect on areas requiring dialoguebased solutions. · Córdoba Routes, which will explore the relationship between the city and other cities around the world that bear the same name, highlighting Córdoba’s importance in the Discovery of America, and the significance of exile and immigration. · Córdoba-Poland, a set of programmes produced jointly by the candidate cities of the two countries.
theme II: Culture, the European common denominator, refers to the fostering of dialogue and the enhancement of contemporary culture in all its different forms, as a shared link between the countries of Europe. It comprises four programme areas: · The Word, devoted to cultural activities seeking to explore language in its widest sense. · Art and the Senses, a set of highly-contemporary projects; bold, multidisciplinary, multisensory. · Science and conscience, examines aspects of reason, faith and science within the cultural programme submitted for the bid. · Mixed cultures, tackling creation from the perspective of difference and the mixing of cultures.
theme III: The city and the Days, explores the role of cities in general, and that of Córdoba in particular. It aims to develop a programme focussing specifically on the problems faced by today’s cities, and on citizen participation. It is divided into: · Revolutionising the Everyday, fostering reflection on the city in all its guises, and on the use of common spaces for culture. ·R ivers of participation, focussing on citizen participation in the creative flow. Between 2012 and 2015, the city will implement a series of cultural activities serving to advance, present and promote the programme on an international scale. The work done in conjunction with the Polish cities bidding to become European Capital of Culture is especially important. This dossier includes details of a series of events organised with the authorities of these cities with the aim of putting joint programmes in place. We want Córdoba 2016 to be a truly cultural proposal at both local and European level, but we also want it to transform the city’s socioeconomic situation. To ensure and assess this impact, a research project entitled PIC16 has been designed. The prestigious Andalusian Institute for Advanced Social Studies (IESA-CSIC) will manage the project, and will systematically provide the information required to evaluate the work done, and correct errors; the outcomes will be made available for future similar initiatives. Specifically, this project will measure the physical, social, cultural, and economic impact of the Córdoba 2016 project. During these years the LATIC project will also be put into operation, with a view to forecasting future cultural trends.
5. CÓRDOBA’S CULTURAL ECOSYSTEM Córdoba’s commitment to culture as a means of development has been bearing fruit for some years, so that the 2016 bid is built on solid foundations. Even before the bid was planned, local institutions drew up a programme of regular cultural events with a view to transcending local boundaries. These events included the Guitar Festival, the National Flamenco Art Competition, and the Rafael Orozco International Piano Festival. The ECoC bid has provided the impetus for a number of new cultural initiatives, such as Cosmopoética, Animacor, the White Night of Flamenco and Eutopía, whose future is now assured. These varied events were designed to foster the involvement of local people, and to make unfamiliar cultures more accessible to the general public. More recently, the Capital of Culture bid itself prompted specific events such as The Sky Within My House: Contemporary Art in the Courtyards of Córdoba, Digital Ocean, and Córdoba, the reflection of Rome, expressly intended as part of a solid programme aimed at 2016. The same continuity that we find in the creation of new activities also informs the provision of infrastructure; much of the infrastructure included in this bid is either already in place or currently being built.
Córdoba has opted for a development model in which the concepts of cultural programming and urban regeneration go hand-in-hand, so the infrastructure plan has been designed to take into account the regenerative effects on the ground. The cultural infrastructure for 2016 has been organised on the basis of a specific plan containing projects implemented before the bid and others that have been specifically developed with 2016 in mind, such as the Congress Centre and the Córdoba Centre for Contemporary Creation (C4), although continuity is the goal with all of these projects. The dossier includes a specific timeline showing when the planned and under-construction facilities will come into operation.
Three initiatives demonstrate this link between culture and urban regeneration:
The humanisation of the Old Town, which encompasses initiatives affecting the Old Town and in particular the Jewish quarter. These actions seek to diversify the use and content of the urban space, to prevent the area becoming simply a tourist theme park, so that historical Córdoba can be a place where local people and visitors come together. The ultimate aim is the creation of a cultural space which also involves the recovery of the edges of the Old Town where it meets the river, whose banks, already restored along the stretch bordering the Mezquita (Mosque-Cathedral) will also be integrated into the southern sector of the city as a natural and cultural riverside area.
The city has established a programme of work to reinforce the cultural character of the Guadalquivir River, now to be known as the Cultural Riverbank. Initiatives on the south bank (Conference Centre, C4, Network of Guadalquivir Watermills and Fine Arts Museum) represent an opportunity to upgrade an area that is currently exclusively residential and suffers from serious social problems.
Finally, three ‘cultural streams’ have been created, consisting of a series of urban public spaces and facilities, linked to a network defined by the streets that converge on the river. These are the proposed active routes. These filaments will be connected to pedestrian routes that, like tributary streams, link the various areas to around 50 cultural sites. Public space is thus understood as a way of connecting facilities: 50% of the population will be no more than 15 minutes away from one these cultural systems.
6. HOW ARE WE DOING IT? A project on the scale of this bid requires the involvement of people and institutions. Participation is a hallmark of the Córdoba 2016 bid, and the strategy of getting people involved is a key part of securing our aim. We have received valuable assistance from municipal experts in the field of stimulating socio-cultural activity, who have set up a committee exclusively dedicated to this task. Citizen participation has been achieved firstly through specific cultural projects requiring the direct involvement of the public, and through the implementation of projects for young people based on an eclectic approach and a view of culture as a leisure pursuit. Both strategies have proved successful, even when the cultural activities offered to citizens have been somewhat removed from their familiar realm. Córdoba has put in place a Programme to encourage volunteers, featuring three levels of participation, with the aim of assembling a group of people willing to work altruistically (2016 Cultural Activists, Averroes Volunteers and Maimónides Volunteers).
Especially gratifying has been the Endorsement Programme, an initiative that has amassed 133,738 identified and documented messages of support, from both ordinary citizens and figures belonging to the world of culture, from Nobel Prize-winners to film directors and poets. The candidacy views endorsements as a key initiative because they are indicative of support for Córdoba’s aspirations, and because they acknowledge the city as a confluence of cultures. Turning to new technology, Córdoba 2016 has made extensive use of the Internet, through both www.cordoba2016.es and social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Tuenti, Youtube and Flickr. We intend to extend these efforts with a range of placement and dissemination activities, using all the channels available to us. To this end we have designed a comprehensive plan, known as Digital Córdoba, containing initiatives aimed at all communication channels.
With regard to institutional support, Córdoba 2016 has succeeded in bringing together the political agendas of all the city’s institutions in pursuit of a shared goal. That collaboration is embodied by the Córdoba Cultural City Foundation, created by Córdoba City Council, the Provincial Council, the Andalusian Regional Council and the University of Córdoba, with the support of private companies and civic entities. The Foundation, in partnership with the Municipal Office for Capital Status, has run the candidacy’s entire development process, including the drafting of this preselection dossier. A total of 69 provincial municipalities have added their names to this institutional backing, with a declaration of support, as have scientific institutions and Córdoba’s main businesses. The Foundation has a Board featuring representatives of the institutions mentioned above and headed by the Mayor of Córdoba, an Advisory Committee and a Drafting Committee. In future, the General Directorate of the Foundation will have ultimate executive responsibility. Below this will come the General Coordination, which will in turn be responsible for the following area directorates: Artistic, Communication, Finance and Sponsorship Management. Córdoba already has a programme of regular contributions from all the administrations represented on the Foundation, both for its day-to-day running, and for the implementation of the shared cultural activities included in the Córdoba 2016 programme. Financing for the project will come through budgeted institutional contributions, income derived from ticket sales, income derived from publications, rights management and other channels, in addition to patronage and sponsorship. The candidacy regards a figure of 13% of the final budget as a feasible sponsorship target.
7. why córdoba? 1:
Córdoba offers a Mediterranean alternative with a wide geostrategic reach, in one of the most influential cultural areas in terms of the emerging cultures of peace and tolerance in Europe and all over the world.
2:
Córdoba lies at a crossroads for North-South and East-West migratory flows and is a city with a symbolic history, where civilisations and religions have coexisted in peace.
3:
Córdoba’s future cannot be imagined except as a European city of culture, a city that unites worlds, generations and cultures from Europe and beyond, acting as a focus for artistic, scientific and cultural endeavour.
4: Córdoba
boasts a wealth of archaeological and heritage sites, together with its own resources and new facilities that exemplify the diversity of European cultures; the challenge is to create a programme that links up with the network of European Capitals of Culture in search of a new model of the twenty-first century city, one based on values of diversity and respect, on tradition and the future in permanent dialogue; in other words, on the type of inclusive city that Córdoba aspires to be. 5:
Córdoba is recognised as a cultural focal point for the major European values: language, space, time, the art of street-life, oral cultures, the tangible and intangible values of its citizens, the civic values of new generations of Europeans, respect towards older generations, and determined support for new communications technology and new social players.
6:
Córdoba has a remarkable capacity for carrying out projects, stimulating artistic activities and coordinating programmes and agents that have a wide impact beyond the local area. It is a European city with a worldwide reputation and, as such, can serve as a modern bridge towards the cultures of the new members of the European Union, as well as the other continents with which it maintains close ties, such as Latin America, Africa and Asia.
7:
Córdoba needs the European Capital of Culture project in order to establish itself as a modern, contemporary city, starting from a new standpoint, contributing its historical heritage and values, to create a new cultural, architectural and artistic heritage.
8:
The time has now come for the citizens of Europe to have the chance to acquaint themselves directly with Córdoba’s heritage, its cultural, human and symbolic legacy; though that legacy is also part of the collective European imagination, it has not yet been fully acknowledged. 9: Córdoba
offers a unique experience, a journey through time and through space: enjoy a Baroque cathedral within an ancient Mosque, explore the Jewish quarter, walk over a Roman bridge and discover the new contemporary art centre. Two millennia of Europe’s shared past, in a ten-minute stroll.
10:
In designating Córdoba European Capital of Culture, Europe will be recognising the city’s ability to create and communicate, as well as its willingness to grow, and to adapt to the rapidly-changing times.
To elaborate and promote the candidacy of Cordoba to became European Capital of Culture in 2016, the Cordoba Cultural City Foundation has been constituted in 2006, formed by: