Presentations of Brussels event now online

Last week, the ECoC Policy Group launched the final report, presenting a research framework for European Capitals of Culture. The launch took place in Brussels and saw some 60 delegates from 17 countries across Europe, discussing the recommendations presented in the report.

The presentations by Martin Thompson (Impacts 08 – University of Liverpool) and Neil Peterson (Liverpool City Council) are now available for download. To access Martin’s presentation on the research framework, click here and follow this link to access Neil’s.

Jordi Pascual, coordinator of Agenda 21 for Culture, and Ann Branch, Head of Unit ‘Culture Programme and Actions’ from the European Commission, participated in an exciting panel discussion in the afternoon.

Many thanks to all speakers and delegates who participated and contributed to an excellent exchange of views. Continue to watch this space for any updates on a possible future of the Policy Group.

Research framework

The outcomes of the ECoC Policy Group’s research strand are presented in the final report ‘An international framework of good practice in research and delivery of the European Capital of Culture programme’.

To access the report, please click here: ECoC Policy Group_Research Framework.

The report is the result of the ECoC Policy Gr0up, working together for one year (between August 2009 and July 2010) to produce recommendations for research and develop a research framework for European Capitals of Culture. The report can be used as a guideline for research and evaluation by cities hosting the title. The report may also serve as a guide for evaluation of other cultural initiatives.

Please leave your comments if you would like to give us feedback on the report. We would like to hear from you.

Happy reading!

Derry to be first UK City of Culture in 2013

Yesterday, the UK government announced the first UK City of Culture for 2013. Derry has been awarded the title and has the opportunity to transfer their bid of hosting UK City of Culture to an exciting year-long programme!

The UK City of Culture Programme builds on the success of the European title awarded by the European Commission: European Capital of Culture (ECoC). Liverpool was ECoC in 2008 and the city has made an impression in the UK that the government is now building on the programme at a national level.

It is important not to confuse the UK City of Culture title with the European Capital of Culture Programme! To read more abouth the UK’s initiative, visit the website of the Department for Culture Media and Sport. Derry will be hosting the national title at the same time as the European Capitals of Cultures in 2013 based in Marseille – Provence (FR) and Kosice (SK).

Brussels event

It’s the end of the day at Brussels and the final event of the ECoC Policy Group went very well! Watch this space for updates and the odf version of our final report. There were plenty opportunities for discussions and the outcomes of the event will be presented soon.

Final event in Brussels tomorrow

Our last event is coming up and all of our Policy Group members will be gathering in Brussels tomorrow to present the outcomes of our discussions. We will be presenting a final research report and discussion around impact research on European Capitals of Culture will take place.

We are expecting 50 delegates at our event ‘What culture does for us: researching and evaluating European Capitals of Culture’ in Brussels. Watch this space for news from the event and, in particular, watch out for the final research report. You can already have a sneak preview at the cover of the report by clicking the following link: ECoC Policy Group_Cover.

Consultation on the future of the European Capitals of Culture Programme

Get ready for a public consultation on the European Capitals of Culture Programme beyond 2020. The European Commission is preparing to launch the consultation this autumn. There will be an online consultation and a public consultation meeting. The European Commission’s website states that

The consultation will be part of a general evaluation of the scheme [...]

Don’t miss out on this opportunity to have your say.

Turku workshop_June 2010

We have been busy in Turku at our final workshop where we have been finalising the recommendations for a replicable research framework! It’s now almost two weeks since we are back and it’s heads down for the final touches. All will be ready for our event ‘WHAT CULTURE DOES FOR US: RESEARCHING AND EVALUATING EUROPEAN CAPITALS OF CULTURE’ in Brussels on 13 July 2010. You can still register for the event here: http://ecocresearch.eventbrite.com/ 

Turku is only 6 months away from its big European Capital of Culture year and here are some impressions from the city!

New reports on responses to Liverpool’s ECoC

Impacts 08 has just published two new reports on Liverpool’s European Capital of Culture in 2008:

• Neighbourhood Impacts is a longitudinal research study into the impact of the Liverpool European Capital of Culture on local residents. It explores what local people felt about the Liverpool ECoC, their levels of cultural participation, and their perceptions of their city and some of its individual neighbourhoods.
• Tourism and the business of culture gathers the views of small and medium-sized tourism businesses on the Liverpool ECoC, and is the result of in-depth interviews and an on-line survey of businesses within Liverpool and Merseyside’s visitor economy

Further reports are available on the publication section of the Impacts 08 website.  Happy reading!

Registration now open!

You can now register for the event ‘What Culture does for us: researching and evaluating European Capitals of Culture’ taking place on 13 July 2010 at the Istanbul Centre in Brussels.

To secure your place at this exciting event, please register your details on http://ecocresearch.eventbrite.com/. 

What culture does for us’ is organised by members of the ECoC Policy Group. You can acess further details and the agenda for the day on the above website. Should you have any queries, please get in touch with the organisers by emailing Matti Allam on mallam@liverpool.ac.uk

Registration for Brussels event to open soon!

The work of the ECoC Policy Group will peak in the presentation of recommendations on a common research framework . As mentioned in previous posts, the recommendations will be presented at a final event in Brussels, taking place on 13 July 2010.

You will be able to register for the event from the week of 7 June 2010 onwards and participate in this exciting opportunity.

Watch this space for the link to the registration and for more details about the agenda of the day!