Lublin 2016 – Appendix - Kultura Enter

THEME /CULTURES IN DIALOGUE/
The idea of ​Cultures in Dialogue will be a central theme of cultural development in the decade of 2010-
2020. It is closely related to our proposals for 2016 when a Polish city will host the European Capital of
Culture. It reflects the diversity of Lublin, its geographic position at a crossroads of cultures and our belief
that the dialogue of all the cultures converging here is essential to the city’s search for a better life.
Cultural Development
Strategy
AIM /TO MAKE CULTURE PART OF EVERYONE’S LIFE/
The aim of the cultural strategy is that culture - understood in its broadest sense - should be a valued
part of everyone’s life.
PROGRAME FRAMEWORK /CITY IN DIALOGUE/
The thematic pillars of European Capital of Culture 2016 we see as perfectly mirroring our cultural
specificity, as well as corresponding to the universal challenges of today and tomorrow. These pillars
further branch into the fundamental programming axes of this strategy. And thus:
City and Region - we see as a challenge arising from the fact that a considerable portion of the urban
community maintains strong family and cultural links with the whole Lublin region, which abounds
in different historical, ethnic, religious and environmental traditions nurtured in the villages, former
country estates and noble manor houses, in small towns and cities. We want all these people to have
their say in culture, while still cherishing their identity and being able to take pride in it, and enriching
the urban cultural landscape by integrating it with the region.
At the same time we recognise a universal need for the city to restore its position of a bona fide region’s
leader, serving the surrounding region and its people. We want to overcome the creeping egocentricity
of large cities by building transparent and partner relations with the neighbouring region’s
communities. We believe that this is also a way to establish and enhance the cultural identity of Lublin
and Lubelskie.
Remembrance and Anticipation - we see as tools for the reviving of multi-generation memory and
the rebuilding of historical awareness, both of them inspiring courage and provoking future-oriented
thinking. It helps bring back a living memory of the past city grandness; reconcile ourselves with the
disasters and tragedies of our history; understand the sources of our culture, in order to respect cultural
heritage and be able to continue it and hand it down to our successors. This is a creative form of
opposition to amnesia resulting from the funnelling of human needs to mere consumption.
We want the celebration of the 700th anniversary of city rights to be not only an invitation to pondering
upon the local history but also the opening of a new era, a breakthrough stimulus boosting the
city and its further urban development.
Facing East - is understood as the need for re-discovering the cultural values of eastern Europe and
their inclusion in the domain of the European culture. This is a challenge of our times ensuing from
the transformation of the early 1990s that enabled us to re-establish the ties broken by the many decades
of the post-Yalta political order. This is a chance for two rich cultural zones to come together so
that Europe is able to „breathe with both lungs” again.
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