WALT WHITMAN

“I AM LARGE,I CONTAINMULTITUDES”

ABOUT THE CANDIDATE:

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In 2021, one of Europe’s cultural capitals will be a city from Romania. The Romanian Ministry of Culture published a call for application in December 2014, and the deadline for applying is 10 October 2015.

Sfântu Gheorghe would like to make a bid on behalf of Szeklerland. The rules of application allows the candidate city to involve partner cities as well – therefore, Sfântu Gheorghe will prepare its candidacy for the European Capital of Culture and its program calendar in collabora-tion with the most important partner cities in Szeklerland and also the institutes, cultural actors, natural conditions and resources of the entire Szeklerland region.

The application of Sfântu Gheorghe is inclusive in spirit and it is based on a grassroots principle. It does not circumvent or ignore local problems, but rather approaches them in a conscious and classified manner, and at the same time, it o�ers solutions to local, national and European issues based on local values – just as it is specified in the call for application.

APPLICATION CALENDAR

November–December 2016

October–November 2016

September 2016

November 2015 (second half) (on the same day, a day later)

November 2015 (second half)

10 October 2015

Date

45 minutes’ presentation, 75 minutes Q&A, 10 person sta�

Visit of the jury in the finalist cities

Deadline for submission, second round (100 pages, RO, EN)

Announcement of shortlist

45 minutes’ presentation, 45 minutes Q&A, 10 person sta�

Deadline for submission, first round (80 pages, RO, EN)

Event

THE THEME OF THE APPLICATION:IDENTITY

The issue of identity is very strongly present in our lives, and it is closely related with the major changes that occurred in the last two decades of the 20th century: the unprecedented increase in the mobility of workforce, goods and capital, followed by the economic crisis and the current geo-political situation. The expanding cultural opportunities and the possibilities provided by the free market have a remarkably positive impact on the lives of individuals and communities, while the traditional links built on neighbourly relations, work, social classes or nationalities have become weaker – life is becoming uncertain and less predictable. The opening of the European labour market has an intensive brain drain e�ect, which is a general problem in Eastern European countries.

Besides the current issues of European identity, Sfântu Gheorghe and Szeklerland have such a particular identity issue, which makes this theme even more complex and peculiar: Sfântu Gheorghe is the largest city in Romania where a national minority is in majority; Szeklerland as a region also finds itself in this peculiar situation; and as a result of the communist regime, which had a destructive impact (individual, community and architectural heritage, rural area vs. urban area, etc.) on identity, the population of the city and the region is in the process of redefining its own identity.

The objective of the Sfântu Gheorghe – European Capital of Culture programme is to facilitate the understanding of individual and community identities, reducing tensions arising from the di�erent nature of identities, the impossibil-ity to live these identities and the lack of understanding and reluctance to acknowledge thereof, as well as the consoli-dation of regional awareness, individual and community freedom and social cohesion by means of arts and culture.

As a result of the programme, people will get closer to understanding their own identity and accept other entities at local, regional, national and European level, thus creating a more open, inclusive, more powerful and stronger society, which has a higher self-awareness and is able to present itself in a more articulated way. Therefore, we regard this programme not as an objective, but rather a means for launching these social processes.

INTERVENTION MECHANISM

coding decoding feedback

In archaic and closed societies, there was a unitary code system, which was understood by all members of the community (those with the same identity). With the opening of the world, the unitary code system was replaced by a particular code systems of several di�erent identities – in the past, for example, all members of the community were able to identify a person and their set of values by looking at the traditional costume they were wearing. As unitary code systems no longer exist, individuals and communities have di�culties in understanding identity – or they are unable to understand it at all, thus they reject it, and other identities remain strange or ridden with tensions.

The Sfântu Gheorghe – European Capital of Culture programme wishes to use the basic model of communication both at the level of the programmes and the entire conception:

addresses as many inhabitants of the city and the region as possible by o�ering them cultural events, artistic interventions, educational programmes, as well as feedback mechanisms ensuring measurability and further improvement.

Our application o�ers a programme in which each and every cultural act consciously manages this model. Throughout the series of programmes, we will put emphasis on feedback, using a specially designed system of mechanisms.

This supposes the addressing, classification and putting into a dialogue situation of identities of di�erent types; the cultural capital programme should create a context, which directly

transmission

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