Bergen a City of Culture Bergen a Capital
Bergen – a City of Culture
Bergen – a Capital of Culture • Norway: 4, 7 mill people in a ”large geography” on the northern edge of Europe. Not an EU member. • Bergen – Norway's second city – urban area 350 000 people – Marine and maritime clusters, oil and gas, research and education, tourism, public and private services. • UNESCO World Heritage site and Memory of The World. • Strong and broad professional cultural and artistic life: – In all genres, of national and european relevance. – Successful European Capital of Culture in the year 2000 – with “Eurocities” Bologna, Helsinki, Brussel, Praha, Reykjavik, Krakow. – Current city culture budget of ca 27 mill. euro/ 2, 9% of total budget.
International plan – the ”whys” • A need for a structured approach: – Using local resources well – “bigger bang for the buck” – Coordinating partners locally & a platform for national financing. – Political visibility and viability on a local level. • A need for internationalisation: – Strenghtening our professional cultural life with new challenges on a European level. – Ensuring quality and “the new” for local audiences. – Visibility for Bergen in Europe, bypassing the national level. • A need for long term quality partnerships: – Best results, in the right partnerships, in the right places.
The plan • A first essay for us – a starting point for future policy. – An opportunity for us to learn from Europe. • A short strategic document – with a 4 year plan. • Based on 5 strategic areas & 33 actions. – The 5 areas: New contemporary arts, network and process focus, participation in international organisations, better coordination and collaboration locally, broad intercultural will. • Ca. 400 000 euro in extra city financing per year. – As support for projects run by professionals in the arts and culture
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