ESK

During the session of the Youth Council of the City of Lublin on June 25, a resolution was adopted regarding support for activities aimed at obtaining the title of European Capital of Culture 2029 for Lublin.

Youth councillors support the City’s bid and declared cooperation in the bid for the European Capital of Culture 2029. Young people from Lublin are aware of the impulse winning this title can create for the city as a whole, but also for individual social groups. Applying for the title of European Youth Capital a few years ago triggered strong integration processes focusing on a common idea and goal. Preparations for the Youth Capital of Culture in 2023 emphazied the role of young people in shaping the present and future of Lublin, as well as the sense of agency and influence on the activities of the local government. We count on intensive cooperation with young people, and the opportunity to benefit from their energy, ideas and experience in receiving and creating culture.

On Thursday, June 20, 2024, representatives of the Lublin NGO community met in the Courtyard of the Centre for Culture in Lublin.

The conversations concerned the future and development of their organizations in the context of the bid for the European Capital of Culture 2029. Activities undertaken in connection with the application become a pretext for defining long-term cooperation plans of the city of Lublin with non-governmental organizations.

Entrepreneurs and company representatives from Lublin signed a declaration of cooperation to implement ECoC 2029. The Business Union created in this manner is an opportunity to develop new standards of mutual support for culture and business.

Sector declarations are an integral and essential element of the final application in the competition for the title of European Capital of Culture. The title requires meeting high criteria, but it is also an impulse for the city and the region. An increase in tourist traffic, giving the city a new meaning, and creating an image on the map of the European Union are the benefits of winning. More profound changes will include the creation of a new promotional strategy for the city and region, developed in the light of European values.
Four-year preparations are a time to systematize our thinking about the city, culture, social relations, infrastructure needs, and development directions. The business sector will benefit from these changes, and for the companies involved in the process, it is a unique opportunity to become a part of a historic event in the history of Lublin.

The following companies expressed their willingness to cooperate and engage in the implementation of ECoC 2029:

ABM Greiffenberger Polska Sp. z o.o.
AGRAM S. A.
Aliplast Sp. z o.o.
ALTER HOTEL&SPA
ARCHE HOTEL LUBLIN
Ball Packaging Europe Lublin Sp. z o.o.
Bogdanka S. A.
Chemnovatic Sp. z o.o. Sp. K
Concentrix CVG International Sp. z o.o.
EUROPIEK Sp. z o.o.
Focus Hotel Premium LUBLIN
GRUPA LUBLIN MARCIN POLAŃSKI
HEMPLAB Sp. z o.o.
HERBAPOL – LUBLIN S.A.
HOTEL MERCURE LUBLIN CENTRUM
IKEA Retail Sp. z o.o.
Infinite Sp. z o.o.
InPost Green City
Inter – Broker Sp. z o.o.
KOM – EKO S.A.
Lift Service S.A.
Lubella
Lubelskie Zakłady Tytoniowe
LUK WYSOKIŃSKI Sp.k
Maik Agencja Reklamowa Sp. z o.o. Sp. J.
MEDISEPT Sp. z o.o.
Modern Expo S.A.
NOYEN Sp. z o.o.
Orange Polska S.A.
Perła – Browary Lubelskie S.A.
PGE Dystrybucja S.A.
Plastic Omnium Auto Inergy Poland Sp. z o.o.
Pyramid Games S.A.
Raben Sp. z o.o.
Sii Sp. z o.o.
SKENDE Shopping
Stock Polska Sp. z o.o.
Tarasola Sp. z o.o. Sp. K
Turck Sp. z o.o.

The rectors of all 9 universities in Lublin joined in a declaration of cooperation in the ECoC 2029. Academia is one of the pillars of Lublin’s development, and the cooperation between universities and the city is crucial.

Years of cooperation between Lublin universities and the City resulted in the implementation of many projects and initiatives, such as Study in Lublin, Visiting Professors and Lublin Academic. This shows the ability to cooperate on the basis of partnership and complementarity, which is crucial in the context of the bid for European Capital of Culture 2029, with the running slogan RE:UNION. It is necessary to emphasize the importance of cooperation with the cultural community, as well as mutual benefits. If we unite to win the Competition, we do it with the future of our city and the well-being of its inhabitants in mind.
By signing the letter of intent, the universities and the city declared that they would continue cooperation in accordance with the adopted Lublin 2030 Strategy. They also committed tto jointly implement a special cultural program, referring to the current cooperation based on principle of partnership and complementarity, should the City win the title.

Last week, three initiatives aimed at developing entrepreneurship, creativity and preparing young residents of Lublin for their future professional careers were summarized.

On Monday, June 11, the Inter-university competition for the best business idea announced its winners. The competition is a part of the Lublin Up! Project during which students, PhD students, and young scientists from Lublin’s leading universities present their innovative business ideas. The presentations were assessed by a panel of experts, including representatives of individual universities, the business community and the City of Lublin.

The aim of the Lublin Up! competition is to support the most promising business projects and help young talents in the process of commercializing their innovative ideas. During preparations for the final, the originators were supported by business experts. The competition is organized by the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, the Medical University, the University of Life Sciences in Lublin and the Lublin University of Technology, which are associated in the Association of Lublin Universities, in cooperation with the City of Lublin. The competition is coordinated by the “OIC Poland” Foundation, supported by experts, mentors and Unicorn Hub Partners, such as Open Innovation House and INNOventure.

The third edition of the Entrepreneurial Youth project, nearly 300 students from 10 secondary schools in Lublin expanded their knowledge of entrepreneurship and cooperated with project partners, i.e. representatives of enterprises and institutions from the Lublin Metropolitan Area. Young residents took part in a number of activities, including workshops supporting entrepreneurial attitudes and creativity. The program included traditional study visits to partners’ offices and a competition for the best consulting project in the field of promoting the company or its product in social media.

The City of Lublin for the sixth time running invited children aged 6-10 to participate in the “Entrepreneurial Kids” project. This year’s edition was attended by 340 children from 15 educational institutions in Lublin, 15 teachers and 51 students of the Faculty of Pedagogy and Psychology of Maria Curie-Skłodowska University. Children could participate in two competitions. The first of them – “Creative Spaces” – is an initiative that involves creating, in one of the educational institutions participating in the project, a place where children will be able to develop their passions, interests, creativity, cooperate and meet with peers in an unconventional way. The main aim of the second competition – “Green Creative Ecospace” is creating spaces where children, through contact with nature, will have the opportunity to calm down, relax and rest.

The “Entrepreneurial Kids” project is organized by the City of Lublin and the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin. He took first place in the “Promoting the entrepreneurial spirit” category in the European Enterprise Promotion Awards 2022 (EEPA2022). The project was also nominated for the final of The Innovation Politics Awards 2023 in the Education category. Of the 337 projects submitted from 26 countries, only 80 made it to the finals, including “Entrepreneurial Kids”.

Iwona Kornet and Marcelina Gzyl from the Culture and Folk Art Studio of the Workshops of Culture in Lublin participated in a 4-day meeting of the Circostrada network, which brings together organizers, programmers, creators, artists of circus and street activities and events from Europe and the world.

The representatives returned from the Meeting with a number of ideas, and inspirations.

The Annual General Meeting took place this year in Germany (Karlsruhe and Rastatt) as part of the tête-à-tête and ATOLL extra festivals. This year’s network meeting focused on presenting the achievements of the German circus community. The meetings, conversations, presentations and the rich artistic program of both festivals were very inspiring, which will certainly result in the development of the Carnaval Sztukmistrzów festival, as well as the Polish Incident, i.e. projects implemented by the Culture and Folk Art Studio. The representatives held key talks regarding possible cooperation with the Berlin Circus Festival or the newly established Rīgas cirks space in Latvia, as well as networking with Zirkus ON, an organization associating circus artists, cultural and educational institutions implementing a project similar to the Polish Incident in Germany.

The 17th edition of the East of Culture – Different Sounds Festival will be held between June 27-30th, 2024 in Lublin. It is one of the largest summer events, filled with concerts, book premieres, film screenings and exhibitions.

Different Sounds are organized by the Workshops of Culture and are a part of the East of Culture, a project implemented by the National Center for Culture, and funded from the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage in three cities in eastern Poland: Lublin, Białystok, and Rzeszów.

The festival is about music. The stars of the world’s alternative scenes who will appear in Lublin include: New York composer and guitar maestro – Yonatan Gat, Halina Rice – one of the leaders of the British electronic music scene, and the Mexican group Sonido Gallo Negro. One of the stars of this year’s edition is also Lubomyr Melnyk – a piano virtuoso, a master of creating mood, a visionary seamlessly combining the worlds of classic and avant-garde. Polish gueste include Marek Pospieszalski’s octet in a special project with guests Anna Pašić and Tamara Kurkiewicz, the electronic-hit Coals and the jazz-dance Tropical Soldiers in Paradise.

Accompanying events include 9 book premieres Literary Eastern Express (LEE) project, which complements and develops the activities of the “Wschodni Express” series. The new releases include genres such as comics, historical essays, and children’s literature. The premieres will be accompanied by discussions related to both the topics of the books and the socio-cultural context in which they were created.

The Literary Eastern Express project and the Different Sounds festival are part of Lublin’s bid for the European Capital of Culture 2029 title.