Lublin 2029 is not only about the events – it is also thorough research and the reflection on the future of the city and its community.
Last week, members of the Lublin 2029 Monitoring and Evaluation Team took part in the Monitor 2024 conference in Bodø, which summarised the experiences of the first arctic European Capital of Culture. The #Bodo2024 analysis conducted by the Nord University under the direction of Anatoli Bourmistrov is one of the most methodologically reliable studies in this field, combining Theory of Change, Social Return on Investment (SROI) and an innovative model of economic scenarios.
We have to give huge credit to Bodø for the flexible and multi-level approach – that is creating a social jury and a digital twin of the city as well as using the data consciously, and presenting the results in a credible manner. The narrative did not only emphasize the success – both positive changes and more challenging aspects of the process were showed. The conference served as a reminder about the difficulties that the local communities face – from the symbolic inclusivity during mega-events to infrastructural gaps for the artists and the audience. Articulating these needs shows that most of the ECoC cities face similar problems, and are not immune from criticism. Despite the complexity of the processes, the ECoC cities are not afraid to make bold decisions.
Moreover, experts highlighted that one of the biggest challenges for the development of the Arctic and Subarctic regions are the demographic changes, such as youth migration, aging society, the growth of large municipalities and the decline of small towns. At the same time, it has been observed that investing in culture increases the community’s resilience, even if the impact of culture takes time to be accurately assessed. Thanks to the observations gathered by the researchers from different ECoC cities: Umeå 2014, Tartu 2024 and also Oulu 2026 – the next year’s European Capital of Culture – we were able to hear the conclusions of research, which will be incredibly useful for further study. Special thanks go to Valentina Montalto for reminding the key guide principles from the White Paper: Europe is everything you do, celebrate what you change and keep your promises.
Marta Ryczkowska
ranslated by: Gabriela Niewadzi
Proofread by: Zofia Świerszcz
