Mission Statement: The European Capital of Culture project serves to establish connections among cities that have applied for the title of “European Capital of Culture” and also those that received it. This allows the cities to discuss their cultural concepts with one another and to benefit from their respective plans.

Description: Each year, the European Union bestows the title of “European Capital of Culture”. Cities applying for the title of European Capital of Culture develop ideas for a culture-driven European urban development strategy. The goal of the project group is to strengthen the cooperation among European Capitals of Culture and to make use of the strategies that they have developed for the purpose of a culture-driven urban development policy. Together with the successful candidates, but also runners-up in the national selection process, the project aims to highlight and further develop the methods of such a culturally conceived urban strategy. In this way, the project group hopes to give rise to a set of tools also for cities that do not apply for the title of Capital of Culture, but that do indeed want to pursue an ambitious urban development policy. For what is at stake is the development of strategies ensuring that local and national and, ultimately, European development policy all make use of the cultural potential of Europe.