Culture across bordersSønderborg for Sønderjylland-Schleswig

European Capital

of Culture Candidate 2017

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We have an importanthistory Sønderborg is a vibrant town in a sceniclandscape with more than 200 km of coastline. The town is less than 30 km from the German border in the gatewaybetween Northern and Central Europe.The location in the border area has made Sønderborg the centre of important historical - and even bloody - events, and the mill on the old battlefi eld of DybbølBanke in Sønderborg is perhaps the strongest national symbol in Denmark. It has been destroyed twice, most recently in 1864, nearly 150 years ago, when Denmark lost a third of its land, inclu-ding Sønderborg and Southern Jutland (Sønderjylland). Consequently, Danes from Southern Jutland had to fi ght on the German side in World War I, but after the war, the border was changed by plebiscite to its current lines, and Sønderborg became Danish once again.

Building bridges to Europe

We need reconciliation and interactionBefore 1864, Sønderborg was part of the Duchy of Schleswig, which the border now divides into two. In Schleswig, one was fi rst and foremost a Schleswiger, and Danish, German and Frisian languages were spoken. Today, a German minority lives north of the border and a Danish minority can be found south of the bor-der - both living in exemplary harmony with the majority populations. The minorities have their own schools, associations, newspapers and political parties. However, the reconciliation between the Danish and the German population is still an issue. Even now, the wars have not been forgotten and still create a bar-rier, and there is a potential for much more collaboration and interaction across the border. That is why Sønderborg has teamed up with the entire region of Sønderjylland-Schleswig to become European Capital of Culture.

Our motto isCULTURE ACROSS BORDERS- we want to build bridges - not just across the physical border, but also across the psychological, social and economic borders. And not just across the border between the Danish and the German, but also between different cul-tural identities, between generations and between culture in general and other sectors of society. We want to open ourselves to Europe and invite other Europeans to come and help us create a laboratory for experimenting with borders of all kinds. If we are to meet future challenges, we need to build bridges to Europe and the rest of the world.

Losing the young generation and its energyThe bad news is that Sønderborg and many other smaller cities are headingtowards the abyss. While the older generation continues to grow, the young generation is leaving for the big cities. Out of every ten young people that leave Sønderborg to experience the world, only two return and settle down. The town is being drained of energy and skills and might end up as a beautiful retirement home. The statistics and forecasts label Sønderborg as part of “Peripheral Denmark”, where growth is either stalling or in decline.

The Shoemaker’s House border crossing is the smallest in Europe. This runs across

the point where the river Kruseåen runs into Flensborg Fjord.

Borders of any kind

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We can do something about it! BUT - and this is the good news - we actually believe that we can do something about it. Working closely with our neighbours, we can turn the tide. History has taught us that when we team up, we can make the seemingly impos-sible happen. With just over 76,000 inhabitants, Sønderborg is not a large municipality. But with Sønderjylland-Schleswig, we are more than 700,000 - and with Southern Denmark and Schleswig-Holstein, we count over four million inhabitants. As a frontier area with multiple cultures,we are also in a unique position to becomea place where cultural diversity is perceived as a resource rather than as a threat. There is a need for this kind of perception in the rest of Europe, where the polarization between “us” and “them”has increased in recent years with rising intolerance and discrimination against minority groups. It is a social problem, but also a socio-economic problem, since the proportion of the elderly in popula-tions across Europe is increasing. At the same time, the workforce will decline by 50 million people over the next fi ve decades.

In the future, Sønderborg and all otherareas will benefi t from opening the borders and sharing the territory with people from other countries who may want to live here: These might include people from Central and Eastern Europe, China, India, Russia, the Middle East and Latin America. That is why we want to develop the cultural intelligence with our fellow Europeans - the ability to under-stand and relate to other cultures.

We want to use this cultural intelligence to create a greater creative capacity andcultural entrepreneurial spirit. Here in Sønderborg, there are several entrepreneurs and inventors who have created manufacturing companies. And there is a very ambitious and far-sighted urban planning, where culture is being integrated. An example of this is the building Alsion (2007), which houses a university, research park and concert hall. Here, you will also fi nd the South Jutland Symphony Orchestra. Another example is the port area across from Al-sion. Architect Frank Gehry has designed a plan for the area with an art centre for digital art, a multi-cultural venue, Urban Square, a knowledge centre and a hotel and a conference centre. These examples express the cultural entrepreneurial spirit that we want to develop and share with others.

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Creating a Countryside MetropolisAs a smaller town in a rural area, we believe that we offer some qualities that will be in demand when they are developed and made visible. Here, the rhythm of life is more tranquil, nature is just outside the door, and there are strong communities. You will also fi nd a greater sense of the “rooted identity”, which often evaporates in the hustle and anonymity of the big cities worldwide.Here, we want to cultivate the distinctive characteristics and rustic qualities. We also want to maintain a cultural focus and develop creative ideas in a way that is otherwise only known from bigger cities. We call it a Countryside Metropolis. It might sound like a paradox, but we believe that it is possible to bring the countryside to the metro-polis - and vice versa. It will then be an inspiration to countless communities throughout the world, where cities are growing exponentially, while rural areas are drying up.

We need you!In our bid for European Capital of Culture, we have started a popular movement. This is how we create change. And we believe that the movement has already had an impact in our area. Thousands of inhabitants and other people from both sides of the border have been involved in workshops and focus groups on which we build our themes and ideas for the cultural capital programme. This is a process that will continue to accelerate, and we will con-tinue to collect ideas and inspiration. We are proud to help the inhabitants win the candidacy for European Capi-tal of Culture and to successfully see it through. So - follow us on our website sonderborg2017.eu and feel free to contact us with your ideas! Can we count on you?

Our artistic programme rests on three bridges, all of which will have their beginnings in the border country and take us on a journey into the future:RAINBOW BRIDGE - Building a bridge across cultural, mental, social and geo-graphic dividesMIND BRIDGE - Building a bridge to create a spirit of cultural entrepreneur-shipVITALITY BRIDGE - Building a bridge between country and town, between past and futureOur entire artistic programme is encap-sulated in two main principles which are, in essence, common to all the elements of the programme:

• The programme will develop our cultural intelligence: the inhab-itants’ and our visitors’ ability to under-stand and relate to other cultures and to actively use the insight gained from these to enrich and develop their own view of the world together• The programme will strengthen and develop our creative capacity: the ability of the inhabitants, visitors, the business sector, knowledge institutions and the political system to generate new, progressive solutions that take due account of sustainability and health issues

A Common Cultural Region In recent years, EU funds have helped to develop a number of cultural projects across the border, and in 2013, Sønder-jylland-Schleswig will “reunite” as a unifi ed, trans-boundary cultural region. This is based on an agreement with the Danish Ministry of Culture.

• Danish-German children’s theatre with professional theatre for children aged 1.5 to 16.

• South Jutland Museum has a close partnership with Schleswig-Holstein Landesmuseum Gottorp. They are arranging a major project on minori ties, and especially when it comes to the rich fi nds from ancient and Viking times, it makes little sense to speak of national borders.

• In recent years, the annual Schleswig- Holstein Music Festival has used Sønderborg as one of its concert venues.

Examples: • folkBALTICA - The Flensburg/ Sønderborg area arranges concerts with folk musicians from the Baltic region every spring. This is a project from the Ars Baltica cultural network, which falls under the Baltic Council.

• In 2009, the arts centre Augustiana - a large park for sculptures - opened in a mansion close to Augustenborg Castle. It collaborates with the “big sister”, Kunstwerk Carlshütte in Rendsburg, and there are plans to develop this partnership further.

Thecreative capacity

• Street Mecca Sønderjylland-Schleswig - working together to create life in urban spaces with young skaters, etc.

Art projects for children have also be-come a permanent part of the partner-ship. The artist Rick Towle from Sønder-borg is behind a Danish-German children’sart festival. He says: “It’s a great experi-ence to see how children communicate, collaborate and create understanding through art. I would almost say that it’s a European project that shows how we can enrich each other through art instead of fi ghting each other.”

Other projects in Sønderborg do not cross the border, but are building bridges between otherwise separate genres and sectors. An example of this is when the South Jutland Symphony Orchestra in March 2011 performed Haydn’s “Cre-ation” with a group of rappers from Sønderborg’s social housing areas. The rappers prepared for six months before performing “Creation 2.0” with a high school choir and professional opera singers in the concert hall Alsion, which was built in 2007 and is known as one of Europe’s best for classical music. One of the rappers, David Ssempebwa, says: “We rappers talked a lot about whether it wasn’t a bit daring to stage something like this in a town the size of Sønderborg. We didn’t have any doubt that it would go down well in a city like Copenhagen or Aarhus. But Sønderborg! Luckily, though, we were very positively surprised.”

ManagerElse Christensen Redzepovic M +45 2790 6836 e-mail: ecre@sonderborg.dk

2017 SecretariatetCentre for Culture, Sonderborg KommuneAlsion 2, 6400 Sonderborgwww.sonderborg2017.eue-mail: 2017@sonderborg.dk

European Capital of CultureThe fi rst city to be designated European Capital of Culture was Athens in 1985. So far, 52 cities have been designated. Since 2004, two host countries have been designated annually, and the Cultural Capitals must work together. In 2015, the Cultural Capitals are Mons in Belgium and Pilsen in the Czech Republic. In 2016, San Sebastian in Spain and Wroclau in Poland have been designated. In 2017 Denmark and Cyprus are next in line.The potential cities in each country must go through an application process - in Denmark, it is only Sønderborg for Sønderjylland-Schleswig and Aarhus that are candidates. The jury, which consists of six members from the country in question and seven appointed members in Europe, will announce the winner in the second half of 2012. You can see the application from Sønderborg for Sønderjylland-Schleswig at our website:

sonderborg2017.eu

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