CANDIDATE CITY: GYŐR

Transcription

1 EUROPEAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE 2023 CANDIDATE CITY: GYŐR

2 Introduction General considerations Why does your city wish to take part in the competition for the title of European Capital of Culture? As a European Capital of Culture, our topic will be the FLOW. We have several powerful reasons to choose this topic in preparation for the 2023 ECC year in Győr, and these coincide with our reasons for participation in the first place. We looked for a topic we could call our own, on the one hand, and contribute to shaping the future of Europe, on the other. Győr is situated at the conflux of rivers. The history of the city can serve as an example in Europe, showing how the cultural stimuli accompanying the flow had been used for good in the past, how the flow of information is used in the present, and the perceived possibilities of the flow in the future. Building on its own history, establishing its cultural identity and future, the European Capital of Culture competition now gives Győr a chance to summarise, reposition, and preserve for its posterity the message of its experiences and tradition that lie in the flow. At the same time, these surveys can help us utilise the possibilities that are inherent in the flow and in the geographical situation of the city even better. Thus, our first reason is found in space, in our geographical situation. The second reason is timing. Literacy, the carrier of Europe s cultural history is moving from paper to the cyberspace during these decades for good. The information preserving the history of Europe and its lessons on the shelves of libraries and archives until now are being transferred to digital data storage devices. Much will be easily and more rapidly available all at once, and the overproduction of information can lead to a crisis. Europe s future is based on the question of who, when, and how will carry out the selection and systematization, and whether or not the information will be overt or covert. Therefore, we feel a historical responsibility to discuss this question today. The third reason is spelled out by life itself and though we have no means to know what it will be like at the end of the day, one thing is for sure: the present flow of people will have a serious impact on the future and culture of Europe for a long time. We must be prepared, simply because defending the European values requires that we be aware of them. The European Judeo-Christian culture and the productive coexistence of historical churches are part of the foundation of what we can now call European culture. The collapse of this balance is a grave heritage of the 20th century. Because of its geographical location and with the help of its chosen theme, Győr considers the European Capital of Culture programme a possibility to cooperate and start a dialogue. The fourth reason lies in our hearts, and this is the most cardinal one as far as the local citizens are concerned. Győr needs a collective flow experience, a possibility where each member of the community can feel its strength. Due partly to the flow of the workforce, an increasing number of local citizens are newcomers in Győr. The majority does not have generational roots and family memories here, nor real attachment to the city. One part of the population Győr will have in 2023 does not even know yet that they will live here one day. The 2023 programme of Győr as the European Capital of Culture is also for the local citizens, providing a cultural and community flow experience that will define and confirm their local patriot bonds and their new identity. It is a chance for them and their families to discover the city that is theirs. 2 GYŐR 2023

3 Does your city plan to involve its surrounding area? Explain this choice. Apart from its own region, Győr builds its application concept on the network of European roads. We have invited and will invite our regional partners to join in the organisation of certain parts of the programme. Due to our geographical location, these regional project partnerships include three countries, and we can build on the proximity of the capitals of the two neighbouring countries. For a millennium, the Benedictine Archabbey of Pannonhalma has been a symbol of the successful European integration of Hungarians. Currently, it stands as an eminent example of culture, education, economy, and acceptance. Adopting the European value of an economy and a lifestyle aligned with the principle of an eco-conscious attitude is a vividly up-to-date message. The cooperation of Győr and the Benedictine Archabbey of Pannonhalma represents a fundamental and pressing requirement of our times in several aspects. The interfaces of the ECC project focus on sacral heritage; the maintenance, renovation, and utilisation of listed buildings; education and ecological awareness. The building complex of the Esterházy Palace in Fertőd and its planned natural environment, along with its intellectual heritage, is a true European asset. In its days of glory, the theatre of the castle had visitors from Bratislava and Vienna, its puppet theatre was a marvel, and its garden parties gathered the elite of Central Europe of the time several times, amazed at the music of Haydn. This complex heritage is an integral part of our application, along with the development plans of the palaces and adjacent gardens in Nagycenk, Galánta (present-day Slovakia), and Kismarton (present-day Eisenstadt, Austria). The countryside of Szigetköz (Little Rye Island) and Csallóköz (Great Rye Island) is a natural zone region of Győr, the symbols of continuity in the flow. The landscape that vitalises Slovakia and Hungary with its beauty is a unique environmental treasure, an instructive and eye-opening example of the Earth s vulnerability and desire to live. Its preservation is a transnational duty. Mosonmagyaróvár, the gate of Szigetköz is connected to our application with the development of the base of the Széchenyi István University s Agricultural Department and the fortress of Mosonmagyaróvár. The cooperation with Dunaszerdahely (present-day Dunajská Streda, Slovakia) in Csallóköz is based on geographical and political potentials. The city located in Slovakia has several ties to Győr, and apart from the projects related to our environmental heritage, we shall harmonise our efforts in urbanisation and work on our plans hand in hand. Explain briefly the overall cultural profile of your city. Győr is situated in the triangle of Budapest, Vienna, and Bratislava, at the intersection of mainland and river routes of commerce. Its geographical extension incorporates the confluence of four rivers: the Moson Danube, the Rába (Raab), the Rábca, and the Marcal. As early as the turn of the first millennium, Győr had counted as a major Hungarian city; soon it became the seat of a separate diocese and land-stewardship. During the Ottoman Conquest of Hungary ( ), it was the most important frontier castle protecting the route leading to Vienna. During the 17th and 18th centuries, with the rise of local trade and industry, Győr became one of the most beautiful Baroque cities of Hungary; by the early 20th century, it had developed into a major industrial centre, maintaining and even increasing its economic impact ever since. Győr as a representative of the Pannonian cultural heritage As the centre of the Northern Pannonian region, Győr embraces and enriches the European spirit, expands international and regional co-operation transcending geopolitical borders, as well as its own network of partner towns and cities. GYŐR

4 Past In Roman antiquity, the city was called Arrabona. It hosted Celts, Romans, Slavs, Germanic, Avar, and Frankish tribes for varying time periods, and local lore accumulated over the centuries. This special stratification has contributed to the characteristic constitution of what we may call the Pannonian heritage. This continues to determine our relation with the global world. and present. Győr is the dominant agricultural, commercial, industrial, educational, and cultural centre of Northern Transdanubia. The openness and integrative power of the Pannonian mentality and the inclusion of divergent cultural identities and subcultures have defined the past, present, and sustainable future of the city s intellectual development. From a walled city to a centre of guilds and merchants Events related to the cult of St Ladislaus, the traditions of Baroque architecture and artistic heritage, as well as to the memory of the Napoleonic Wars, have become the benchmark happenings of Győr s tourism. Their topicality and international embeddedness constitute one of the pillars of the ECC programme year. Past The development of the city s commerce and guild-related crafts was fostered by its geographic location as an inevitable station along the multicultural European routes of early modernity. Győr served as a cultural node between East and West and a site of a number of military clashes. Such battles and encounters turned the city into a site of numerous events with a European bearing, investing Győr with countless exciting and occasionally unresolved lessons to learn from. and present. The renovated historic monuments and castle bastions of the Inner City provide authentic venues for the heritage events of the city, lending an inspiring context to their present-day messages communicated. A city of monuments, Baroque impressions, bishops, and churches In the number of Baroque architectural monuments, Győr is second, in the total number of cultural remains, third in the entire country. Guidebooks describe it as a town of corner balconies. Past Through reconstructing the Baroque Old Town, Győr earned the Europa Nostra Award of cultural protection for the year The city s ground plan is unique in Hungary: adjacent to the homogeneous expansion of the bishopric seat, a multicultural market-town also developed, its significance vying with that of the Baroque Old Town in the 19th century. What used once to be a fully Catholic episcopal centre proved an inviting place for a number of religious orders: monasteries were built by Benedictine, Dominican, Franciscan, Carmelite, Camillian, Johannite, and Jesuit monks. The market-town welcomed other religions and confessions, too: Calvinists, Lutherans, Orthodox Christians, and Jews, each raising their own shrines. and present. The Baroque assets currently owned by the municipality Esterházy Mansion, Hungarian Hospital, Kreszta House, Iron Trunk House, Napoleon House, and Zichy Mansion are culturally utilised by the City Council devoted to heritage protection. The bipolar city is a textbook example of urbanisation in Hungary. Recently, the church-owned buildings of the bishopric seat have also undergone substantial redevelopment, expanding the sacral touristic spectrum of Győr. The ongoing complex communal reconstruction of the so-called Insula Lutherana (Lutheran isle) has opened a new gateway into the street of Five Churches. University city, centre of education Due to its dynamic growth, Széchenyi István University has becoming an ever more prominent actor in the life of Győr. Today, some 15,000 students are catered for by nearly 1,000 teachers 4 GYŐR 2023

5 and assistant staff. Both the size and the radiantly intellectual environment of the university make it a primary basis for education as well as culture. Past The first school in the bishopric seat of Győr was founded in the Middle Ages. The traditional regional bureaucratic function of the city, which has spanned many centuries, complemented by a commercial and increasingly prominent military presence, further intensified direct education. The school expansions in the 18th and 19th centuries were governed by rational needs and demands. Advanced trade, complex structures in production, and the need for related economic and legal know-how led to the diversification of primary and secondary education, vocational schools, and higher education. and present. At the dawn of the 21st century, Győr boasts a school network on par with the best European practices. Teaching has had a primary focus on the areas of technology and science, while quality education in the arts (ballet and creative arts) has so far been limited to the secondary level, with the exception of music. Recently, however, the fundaments of advanced-level courses in the humanities have been laid, and it is our responsibility now to set the directions of further development and consolidate the groundwork in order for Győr to maximise its potential in the realm of culture and creativity, catching up with the current level of the economic and industrial capacity of the city. A city of the arts Theatre, dance, music, puppeteering, and singularly rich creative art collections and ateliers give reason for pride in Győr, with an art-loving public receptive to creative achievements and a local government committed to the patronage of culture. This conglomerate of factors explains the success of local artists within and beyond the borders of Hungary. Past Győr offers a wide range of architecture and public sculpture, as well as masterpieces of fresco painting. Early gems of church music are attested to by 18th-century scores in the Cathedral archives. Book publishing was first introduced by the Streibig family of printers saw the inauguration of Győr s pioneering permanent theatre, where the first ever Hungarianlanguage company of the country was installed in A musical society was established in 1846, transmuting into the city s professional Philharmonic Orchestra in and present. The National Theatre, the Ballet Company of Győr, the Győr Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Vaskakas (Iron Rooster) Art Centre represent an outstanding standard of art and creativity. The city has gradually advanced to the rank of Hungary s capital of dance art. The uniquely rich art collections of Győr are shared with the public in the form of permanent and temporary exhibitions in the historic buildings of the Rómer Flóris Museum of Art and History. Contemporary literature and criticism has its own outlet in the form of the Győr-based Műhely (Workshop) periodical. The city has a four-decade tradition of summer artist s colonies, where guests from all continents are welcomed by the Graphic Studio of Győr. From global industry through technological and scientific research Urban development initiatives have recently set out to expand a tradition of industrial production towards research and development in both human resource management and hard technology. The achievements of innovation have had a positive impact on culture as well. Past In terms of industrial activity, Győr is second only to Budapest within Hungary. While traditional areas of manufacturing, automobile production, and textile factories have been declining, the improvement of industrial know-how has become increasingly prominent. The structural reorganisation of production raises the dual mission of preserving the monuments of our industrial history and of protecting the institutional cultural circles, clubs, and societies formerly operated by industrial workplaces. GYŐR

6 and present. The arrival of industrial enterprises, the state-of-the-art research centre of the Széchenyi University, and the Regional Research Centre of the Hungarian Academy of Science constitute the three pillars of technological innovation and experimentation. Győr is a pioneer of technical and social research in Hungary, where the investigation, exploration, and presentation of local industrial traditions constitutes a fruitful challenge for the future. Explain the concept of the programme which would be launched if the city is designated as European Capital of Culture. The central theme in the application of Győr is the FLOW. Flow as a natural phenomenon, flow as the real or virtual opportunity to transmit information, and flow as a key concept of a positive philosophy. THE FLOW OF NATURE Győr is the city of rivers. Rivers flow across its immediate and wider environment, and even across its city centre. These are European rivers, including the Danube, which connects the highest number of nations. The Danube itself could provide us with cultural content lasting for decades, because it gathers, carries and floats the history of Europe across countries on its waves. It is the focus of several cultural endeavours across borders already completed or still in the planning stage. Győr is also part of several of these past or future projects. We are in a unique position, as this geographical factor enables us to cooperate with such wonderful partners as the city of Linz, the organisers of the Linz-Die Fabrikanten project, and EXIT Foundation in Novi Sad, and the RIVE Pro Progressione Non-profit Public Benefit Ltd. with a wide range of Danube project experiences. Should Győr become the European Capital of Culture, then in 2023 and in the preceding years the international projects connected to the Danube will be of great significance in the programme structure built around the FLOW theme, as the Danube with its tributaries is just as important for Europe as the arteries connecting the heart with the mind in the human body. INFORMATION FLOW Due to its geographical location, Győr has always assumed the role of a conduit between the eastern and western part of Europe in the history of modern culture. Apart from the years between the World War II and the fall of communism, Győr always stood as an open door, through which merchants, artisans, armies, rulers, conquerors and fugitives had flown, driven by various reasons and individual ambitions. This flow included roads, rivers, people travelling, and goods transported, along with the knowledge they brought. Up until the end of the 20th century, information could spread in real space only, crossing the city on wagon, ship, train, or horseback. However, by the end of the Gutenberg-galaxy, the opportunity of information flow shifted from the European driveways crossing Győr, to the cyberspace. The concepts of time and distance received a whole new content. Information and experience is no longer the privilege of some. They do not depend on material or geographical conditions. On the World Wide Web, everything is equally accessible to all. But is it really everything? In these years, we are losing the generation which lived its active life in an exclusively real world. At the same time, the youth who spend their everyday lives in two parallel worlds are growing up and will become citizens who shape the city by This world-shaking change fundamentally challenges the relevance of linear processes, the straightness of the paths from A to B, and the keystones of culture consumption, such as books or museums. This radical change in the information flow affects everyone, all over Europe, and in all the civilised world, wherever there is a plug to connect a computer. As a historical node of commercial, military, 6 GYŐR 2023

7 and naval routes, Győr is most suitable to carry out this Europe-wide summary overarching borders and generations, and put the armour of its lessons on the future generations stepping from real space into virtual ones, repositioning and preserving the message of experiences and heritage that lie in the flow for its prosperity. Győr should be the place where the history of the flow of Europe taking place in real space is summarized and documented for future generations. A node, where along with the physical ones, the virtual roads also converge in the future, as pertaining to the topic of European flow. Where upon studying the issue of the flow, we can discover and record along scientific and artistic considerations everything that is now on its way to vanish from Europe, the memory of which will be needed for Europe to take a hold of its own future. FLOW IN CYBERSPACE Our flow theme is relevant, as we are currently in the process of stepping into cyberspace from real space. As part of our application programme, we seek to understand this process, along with getting to know and display cyberspace as the future carrier of European literacy. Our digital strategy is part of our programme in this regard. Apart from getting acquainted with the virtual world, the way we use it is of paramount importance. The European Capital of Culture programme in year 2023 will not be limited to those who come to Győr. Even though personal experience is always more intense and more lasting than watching something passively on a screen, yet that may be the only solution for many to participate. Having said that, we must keep two things in mind. The first is that we are to make sure that personal experiences are indeed personal, and those present are active participants in the events. The second is that we must give something extra to those who can join us only in the virtual space. Consequently, we are interested in the flow in cyberspace as it affects the future of Europe on the one hand; we study the changes in the method of inclusion on the other; and and this takes only third place we use this self-evident tool to introduce and advertise our programme. THE FLOW OF POSITIVE PHILOSOPHY The best moments usually occur if a person s body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile (Mihály Csíkszentmihályi). We assume that the same can be applied to the city as an entity. If the voluntary effort is shared, then the forces combine, and creation becomes an abiding experience that delights us all. For us, the European Capital of Culture programme is an opportunity to experience this flow together. The flow experience is a state of mind where one gets fully absorbed by what one is doing, filled with joy, fully dissolved, seeking to get more of it at any price. A most sure sign of the flow experience is when we instinctively feel a burst of joy while completing an assignment, as though part of the flow, floating with the assignment towards the successful solution that will bring happiness. The flow theory outlined by Mihály Csíkszentmihályi bestowed on humanity the method of how to reach happiness consciously. Yet, the world conquering movement starting from America in the 1990 s in the footsteps of a theory from a Hungarian professor and a book he wrote for a lay audience has not yet reached everyone. The world-famous theory of Csíkszentmihályi is the fundamental thesis of positive philosophy. It is about the study of the state of creative work, and it naturally fits our cultural concept as a suggested mindset one can learn, being valid for the entire ECC competition. Associating the flow theme with the flow theory and the work of Mihály Csíkszentmihályi gives a new, positive surplus to our concept, one that reaches beyond Europe. GYŐR

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9 We can improve our lives by constantly increasing our experience of happiness. Mihály Csíkszentmihályi GYŐR

10 1. Contribution to the long-term strategy Describe the cultural strategy that is in place in your city at the time of the application, as well as the city s plans to strengthen the capacity of the cultural and creative sectors, including through the development of long-term links between these sectors and the economic and social sectors in your city. What are the plans for sustaining the cultural activities beyond the year of the title? The General Assembly of the Local Government of Győr Municipality, with its resolution of 154/2017 (27th of October), demonstrated its interest to participate in the bidding process issued by the Ministry of Human Capacities, to win the European Capital of Culture in 2023 title. The General Assembly of the Local Government of Győr Municipality, with its resolution of 237/2014 (19th of December), adopted the cultural concept of the Local Government of Győr Municipality, which clearly fits the present ECC application. The cultural concept gives a comprehensive view of the present cultural life of the city with roots in its historical past. Its colourful manifestations enhance the definition of priorities aiming for constant renewal, the alternative steps, and the effective local government participation in fulfilling the functions. This enables us to chart out the situation and the unique needs of local cultural life, to lay down the alternatives for purposeful development, and to experience belonging to a community, cultural pluralism, and local patriotism both as individuals and as a community. The local government of Győr seeks to provide cultural services that will successfully contribute to the life quality of the inhabitants, and the domestic and international cultural and tourist recognition of the city. The effective cultural concept of the local government was prepared with respect to the professional concepts of the social and economic sectors, and it includes their urban development objectives directly or indirectly influencing the local cultural life, with emphasis on their cultural aspects. The settlement development concept of Győr Municipality The integrated settlement development strategy of Győr Municipality The economic programme of the local government of Győr Municipality The medium-term child and youth policy concept of Győr Municipality The drug strategy of Győr Municipality Concept to contribute to the life quality of the elderly in Győr The civic programme of the local government of Győr Municipality The tourism development strategy of Győr and its region The effective cultural concept of the local government fixes those developments in organisation, facilities, infrastructure, and financing that serve the successful realisation and sustainability of the application objectives for the European Capital of Culture The Government of Hungary, and the Local Government of Győr Municipality, with the content of resolution 1387/2017 (27th of June), in the framework of the Modern Cities Program, entered into an agreement of cooperation, which provides for the development of the city s crucial performance and art institutions, financed by the central budget. 10 GYŐR 2023

11 In order to enhance the cultural life of Győr, the Government subsidisation has been received for:» the complex renovation of the facility of the National Theatre of Győr, along with the rehabilitation of the II. János Pál square in front of the theatre.» building a new concert hall for the Győr Philharmonic Orchestra, along with» a new, multifunctional conference hall. How is the European Capital of Culture action included in this strategy? The Local Government of Győr Municipality develops a long-term cultural strategy before the end of 2018, for the years between 2019 and 2028, which will be based on the concept, the developments, and the investments of the European Capital of Culture application. The strategy seeks to provide for the sustainability of development plans accepted in the final application materials, and to summarise the plans for most successfully preserve the results of year 2023 once it is over. If your city is awarded the title of European Capital of Culture, what do you think would be the long-term cultural, social, and economic impact on the city (including in terms of urban development)? Since time immemorial, Győr has been a through-and-through merchant city; ingenious, calculating, thrifty, and practical, the Győri Hírlap (Győr Herald) wrote in This practical, thrifty, and ingenious attitude is still present in the city, explaining its prosperity and large-scale developments. Győr competes for the title of European Capital of Culture not primarily for the economic benefits, though such benefits must inevitably follow if we do our job well. It is far more important, however, the available resources be complemented by such a community vision for the future whose attainment forges a unity and edifies the people of Győr. This bid formulates such a vision, upon which we build a strategy that may positively influence the everyday life of our citizens in the long run. Our objective is to centre our cultural strategy on the citizens of Győr, drawing on the thrifty and practical approaches in voicing a message addressing each individual, incorporating the wide-ranging potential of cultural content and its immense variety of channels. This plan will be developed in 2018, yielding a conceptional framework that reflects the needs of every one of us. At the present moment, Győr needs the title of European Capital of Culture in the same way as flour needs yeast to rise. We need the invigorating power of culture in order to mobilise our economic resources and to employ them in improving the emotional and intellectual well-being of the community. It is not our infrastructure that requires the greatest input, but our spirit. It is for this reason that we focus on the citizens of Győr and that our purpose is to benefit from this outstanding opportunity together, to recharge ourselves spiritually for many years to come. From the perspective of our shared future, nothing matches the importance of this community feeling. The bid for the title of European Capital of Culture is an inimitable opportunity for Győr to display its courage in the realm of culture and to experience the success of realising the plans projected here. This would enable us to create new physical spots for creativity, inspiring European forums in virtual space, and thereby such community experiences which connect the people of Győr with one another. Győr will thus be the focus of many cultural and creative actors representing the diversity of European regions, who will be offered a platform to collaborate with us, here in Győr, to GYŐR

12 implement their initiatives. Such programmes will not only attract the forces of culture but also inspire the up-and-coming generations to think creatively and to participate actively. Their subsequent attitudes will determine the future development of Győr s cultural life. A successful year of ECC achievement may boost our city for decades to come, and we may exploit the courage and perseverance gained from our joint efforts when planning for the future. The year of the European Capital of Culture for Hungary promises long-term yields primarily in the areas of culture and society. Through it, we may achieve in culture what our city has already managed in the realm of industry, economy, and digital technology: to pioneer innovation and to be original and individual. Such changes would doubtless lead to economic advantages, too, but in Győr, this would be of secondary significance a surplus which would be reinvested in ever newer cultural programmes, in regional mentoring, and in the sustenance of community spaces once the ECC year is over. Describe your plans for monitoring and evaluating the impact of the title on your city and for disseminating the results of the evaluation. In particular, the following questions could be considered: The result of our most important cultural and social objectives can be very cumbersome to measure with conventional methods. Our job is much more complex than defining success in terms of the square metres of new buildings, the number of overnight stays or tickets sold. At the same time, even now, at the very beginning of the application process, we feel great forces moved by the possibility itself, as well as the positive changes brought by the fact that Győr has set the objective to realise such a great programme of a cultural focus as its next community plan. We consider the ECC project as an indicator, the results and effects of which will serve as a catalyst for the long-term strategic objectives of the city. We take it as a compliment to our efforts in tourism and culture that the city of Győr, along with three other cities, but as the only ECC candidate, made it to the list of 168 European cities called The Cultural and Creative Cities Monitor, assembled by the European Commission. The study published this summer was a great boost in preparing our application. We are also aware of the deficiencies spelled out there and aligned their development with our application objectives. In monitoring our application, we plan to pay close attention to the analyses provided every other year in The Cultural and Creative Cities Monitor (CCCM). The main and final monitor of our programme will be the measurements reports done by CCCM. When we talk about the invigorating role of culture, CCCM puts it as developing an enabling environment. Our objective is for this catalysed cultural environment to stimulate the creative economy and cultural vigour. Enabling environment: human capital development, with emphasis on the development of our university level education, as well as the number of art graduates in Győr. Our additional major objectives include traffic development, along with city and institution improvement, both in real space and in cyberspace. Creative economy: Raising the number of creative jobs receives much attention in the development, which will help newly graduated professionals find a local job. Increasing the number of creative companies and people working in the creative sector will also increase the number of people who think about the city in creative was, which will enhance our lives with additional innovative ideas. Cultural vitality: Increasing the theatre capacity is a major element in the city plans (MVP developing the National Theatre of Győr). In terms of long-term development results, it focuses 12 GYŐR 2023

13 on the more effective use of cultural institutions (e.g. raising the number of visitors in museums), and on of cultural programmes. During the year of designation and the year of bearing the title, we will seek to fine-tune our own measurement system to make it stay in harmony with the measurement system of CCCM. The timing of our milestones will be aligned with the biennial evaluation, while we shall also keep monitoring our results with the assistance of our own surveys, and report on both our own forums and on the on-line platform operated by CCCM. Evaluation will be carried out by the local government or its designated institution. The evaluation time frame will have two major sections. The main evaluation will be done biannually, in harmony with the CCCM system, but the city will also conduct its own flash surveys annually to monitor changes in its cultural and creative economy. The primary focus of the flesh surveys will be the previously designated factors, and the city will conduct a data collection of its own (number of art students, number of new art courses requesting data from the university; number of available jobs for cultural professionals government agency; increase in the number of visitors and in the programme level requesting reports from cultural institutions, along with own research, analysis, satisfaction rates, professional awards and feedback). To assist the evaluation, the 29 indicators used by CCCM will be collected, as they to the extent possible objectively demonstrate the course of the city. Then biannually, we will be able to compare the results of our own monitoring, which will be independent from the CCCM system, but use its measurement parameters, with the results of the research conducted by the European Commission. This will not only give an objective, external control for the indicators we measure, but thanks to the CCCM system, assessing the results can continue with the same parameters after the ECC year, until the results of Győr will qualify the city to be listed in The Cultural and Creative Cities Monitor. Along with monitoring the long-term results, we shall also evaluate the project results of the preparation and the execution stage, as part of our organisational structure, assisted by the evaluation system built into the process (in the Organisational Structure chapter). The project execution can thus be monitored in a fully transparent and exact way. This evaluation system includes the objectives and the milestones, which will be described as parts of our organisational structure. GYŐR

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15 2. European Dimension Elaborate on the scope and quality of the activities: Promoting the cultural diversity of Europe, intercultural dialogue and greater mutual understanding between European citizens; Highlighting the common aspects of European cultures, heritage and history, as well as European integration and current European themes. Győr bids to host the European Capital of Culture 2023 programme in the sizzling geographic and political buffer zone of a wide variety of European visions. It is in our basic interest to unfold the theme of FLOW in seeking solutions for European integration. We consider openness to be the minimum sufficient condition for dialogue. Constructive dialogue is an advance level of verbal communication, but when successful, it releases happiness hormones similar to any other flow experience attainable in creative activity. We trust in the constructive power of dialogue in an urban environment all the more because we have already tested it in practice. For the past twelve years, the dialogue of European religious communities, five Judeo-Christian denominations has been dynamically unfolding in the street of five churches and, by extension in entire Győr. The Festival of Five Churches has built on this exceptional receptivity and mutual understanding. Beyond its unifying European message, it has also generated exemplary processes in urban rehabilitation. In 2017, the Festival of Five Churches, a model for congregations celebrating their respective religious feasts together and helping one another with everyday challenges, proved the first such in Hungary to be selected for the European Festivals Association s most prestigious list of European art festivals. The EFFE Laureate title ensures an outstanding European reach for the next two years, as well as an opportunity to share Győr s message of religious dialogue with the entire continent. Twelve years of experience have brought much success and raised important questions. A pivotal point is the realisation that cultural groups seeming very stable externally are constantly undergoing dynamic change. No flexible solution may be offered universally, but sensitisation appears to be key, coupled with humility, adaptability, and the focused power of harmonious collaboration. Persuasion is best when relying on evidence, and the best evidence is one s own creditability. Through the twelve years of the increasing success of the Festival of Five Churches acknowledged also by the European Festivals Association, the city of Győr has proven that the impact of cultural dialogue has an identity-forming potential in urban development. The attention earned for Győr by this festival and the intensive European dialogue on Judeo-Christian culture serve as an authentic prefiguration of our programme for the European Capital of Culture project. Featuring European artists, cooperation with operators and cities in different countries, and transnational partnerships. Name some European and international artists, operators and cities with which cooperation is envisaged and specify the type of exchanges in question. Name the transnational partnerships your city has already established or plans to establish. GYŐR

16 Many of Győr s regional partnerships involve international cooperation. We view the region surrounding the city as a conglomerate of geographic, economic, and cultural zones. We prefer expanding to our reasonable limits to the servile observation of administrative boundaries. To treat the territory of Szigetköz Csallóköz (the so-called Rye Islands ) as one unit is rational from economic, ecological, and cultural points of view alike. As a strategic partner of our bid, the Arrabona EGTC project represents the interests of the local governments on both sides of the Hungarian-Slovakian border collectively, providing professional assistance in the implementation of frontier partnerships concomitant with the European Capital of Culture bid. The programme complex outlined in our bid falls into three programme packages, all of which will be elaborated and developed with the help of international Artistic Advisors in the future. The artistic partner for the WAY programme package is actor and director Adrian Schwarzstein (ES). His one-man street theatre shows have reaped success on all continents (a number of European countries, Israel, Singapore, Australia, Canada, Brazil, and Argentina). He has led workshops on street theatre and commedia dell arte in Europe, America, Australia, the Indian subcontinent, and Israel. He is founder-director of the Barcelona-based Kamchatka international street theatre company, whose members have taken part in his masterclasses in group improvisation. In Barcelona, they have also done public work to foster the investigation of immigration processes; their performances help a society rent by deep contradictions to face the challenges of integration. From Norway through Japan, Kamchatka have performed more than 400 times at various international street theatre festivals in 27 countries. Adrian Schwarzstein has won the grand prix of the Bremen-based La Strada Festival; he has been invited repeatedly to direct at the La Strada Festival in Graz, Austria. The artistic partner for the CITY programme package is creative artist and director Sergei Korsakov (RUS), leader of the Cardboardia group consisting of Russian, American, English, and Dutch creative artists. Cardboardia is a non-territorial country, which has organised openair workshops since 2008 in Europe and beyond, in order to awaken creativity and solve issues of urban design and other contemporary challenges through the joint imaginative efforts of the participants. In 2012, Sergei Korsakov contributed to Košice s European Capital of Culture programme (USE THE CITY Tributes Festival; currently, he is engaged in preparing the Elefsina 2021 programme. The artistic partner for the DIALOGUE programme package is musician, actor, puppeteer, and director Matija Solce (SLO), who teaches in Prague, at the Theatre Faculty of the DAMU Academy. Despite being a Slovenian citizen, in 2005, he received the award for the best Czech actor. He won the grand prix of the Estonian TREFF Festival; in 2010, the special prize of the Lutka Festival in Ljubljana. He has organised and directed international musical workshops in Slovenia and the Czech Republic, as well as acting symposia and performing arts collaborations throughout the world. His artistic output is based on international dialogue in the languages of music and non-verbal theatre. He participated in the Maribor 2012 programme. The network of cultural institutions involved can be found in Appendix 1. Can you explain your strategy to attract the interest of a broad European and international public? Several parallel efforts and channels serve a better international reach. The most obvious opportunity is to intensify the potential inherent in online marketing. Our prime event elements relate to thematic routes connecting entire Europe (see details below). During the urban development programmes of the period leading up to the ECC year, several international 16 GYŐR 2023

17 projects are planned, whose call for participation will invariably include the idea that they are a part of the European Capital of Culture preparations and will be implemented as such. The strategic foundation for our plans to be executed is the installation of the Arts Faculty of the Széchenyi István University, scheduled to parallel the European Capital of Culture project. When laying the fundaments for art in higher education, we aim to establish a joint partnership with other European institutions of art education. The international embedding of the university is a key feature of the academic cycle about to commence. Since autumn 2017, students from 25 countries attend the university of Győr, now offering foreign-language majors as well as a doctoral school. The background for this new expansion was established by the outstanding infrastructural developments of the past few years. The Széchenyi István University is keeping abreast of the dynamic advances of teaching methodology, serving the increasingly project-oriented demands of progressive enterprises, while the virtual space developed by the university faculty enables every person anywhere in the world to join the courses. The innovations now serving the faculties of engineering and IT will also be available for the future Arts Faculty. Matched with the keyword of the European Capital of Culture programme and based on an international network of actors, Győr will thus offer the opportunity to access art education as well as the ECC programmes from any geographic location. To what extent do you plan to develop links between your cultural programme and the cultural programme of other cities holding the European Capital of Culture title? We will strive to create real partnerships in actual programmes with previous and future ECCs. The programme published for this bid includes a number of elements that reach out towards these potential partners. We are planning a joint Danube project with the organisers for Linz, Austria, and Novi Sad, Serbia. We share a three-century tradition with the city of Galway due to the icon of the Weeping Virgin (the so-called Irish Madonna) in the Cathedral of Győr, which a separate programme centres on. It is crucial to stress that the European Capital of Culture programme is a golden opportunity for individual countries to link up with one another, establishing cultural programmes facilitating mutual understanding and collaboration, while everyone can benefit from the sharing of organisational experience. A key part of our supervision system is to invite the organisers of former and prospective ECCs to evaluate the implementation schedule and progress of the Győr project. We hope those who have already hosted an ECC year will generously help us with their expertise, while we can use the same forum to assist those coming after us. GYŐR

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19 3. Cultural and Artistic Content We consider the bid for the title of European Capital of Culture and the concomitant focus for the year 2023 as though a culturally oriented searchlight were to flood us, its intensity gradually increasing, peaking in 2023, and then turning to another city from 2024 onwards. Whichever Hungarian city will be awarded the honour of being chosen as ECC 2013, it will have an unprecedented opportunity to represent Hungary and to present itself, its own ideas of European culture, for a whole year, as a special intersection of time and space, as it were. This will be a mission and a task where timing and content are equally important. In order that we may take the stage in 2023, there are a great many issues yet to be settled. This project proposal summarises our cultural concepts and strategic plans, while substantial preparatory work will be carried out in the period before the next round of evaluation, and especially the years directly leading up to the event itself. After all, what matters is not what we think, having collected all this information, all these ideas and suggestions, and arranged them into a unified framework. Far more important is for us to continue to draw on the ideas of all the citizens of Győr, be they artists, teachers, high school pupils, kindergarten children, or bus drivers, in filling that skeleton with realistic and attainable contents, promising to be interesting and exciting for all parties involved. With liberty, everywhere where affluence reigns, well-being reigns there, too. Plant in the middle of a broad place a post crowned with flowers, gather the people, and you will have a feast. Better still, give the spectators as a show; make them actors themselves; have each one see and love himself or herself in the others, so that all be better united (Rousseau s Letter to d Alembert). What is the artistic vision and strategy for the cultural programme of the year? ARTISTIC VISION The basis for our artistic vision, the theme of FLOW, is not only topical but also very subtle. The following structure provides a clear, consistent, yet flexible framework to this multilayered conception. The elements of our project are listed under three main thematic headings, WAY, CITY, and DIALOGUE. These categories do not stand for generic or territorial factors but delineate aims that can be attained by divergent means, involving artistic as well as scientific fields. All three programme packages include elements to be launched during the years leading up to 2023, along with flagship projects to be implemented in 2023 (or in 2021; more on that later). Intensity of Programme Packages WAY CITY DIALOGUE GYŐR

20 WAY For the thematic unit of the WAY, all processes are listed as flow which have played a significant role in shaping the modern history of Europe and, at the same time, affected and continue to affect the city of Győr due to its location along the waterways or mainland routes of commerce. The WAY programme package intends to present the European routes crossing Győr and to summarise our experience gained through following these. These ways start from various points in Europe and can be walked in physical as well as virtual space. We hope they will eventually lead the guests of our European Capital of Culture year 2023 to us, too. The backbone of this package, the so-called Thematic Ways are the best representation of the theme of flow. This way, one can observe and familiarise oneself with the reality of such historic processes which have influenced the development of Győr and the entire region. Ways as channels indicate the flow of divergent information and knowledge evocatively, presenting a rich experience as a tourist attraction. From their texture, we plan to create a network encompassing the entire continent, providing the ECC project with a spatially and temporally structured composition. CITY The CITY programme package aims to awaken the slumbering creative energies of Győr. Győr badly needs the younger generation s future vision for urban revival, so that the power harnessed by the economy and the perseverance leading to victories in sport may also help us exploit the forces of the imagination and create a lively cultural scene. The youth of Győr, on the other hand, need support and attention in order to be able to mobilise their creative energies for the benefit of the city. The Cultural and Creative Cities Monitor as well as our questionnaires focusing on Győr in relation to the ECC bid reveal that Győr has too few professionals in the realm of art and the humanities; nor are there many young graduates who repatriate here once they have finished their artistic courses elsewhere. Outside of the public sphere of employment, there is a very limited number of jobs in culture and the arts. It is an important consequence of the trajectory of Győr s development that in the recent past, many employees have moved to our city in order to work in the region. We also need to shape and strengthen their local identity as well as their emotional attachment to the city. The CITY programme package aims to foster fruitful discussions and thinking together through such creative forums, missions, and opportunities which can mobilise all age groups in the city but address the youth in particular. This programme package will channel the creative potential inherent in urban culture, urban development, and urban youth, creating openings for an ever higher quality and ever more variegated reception of culture, the establishment of new artistic workshops, and the strengthening of the Győr-based identity of creative artists. DIALOGUE All discourse in whichever area of European culture provides opportunities for us to learn to know one another s culture and thus come closer to understanding our shared European culture. After all, dialogue (whether addressing the European modes of tile-stove decoration or the current state of contemporary dance) is the pure flow of knowledge and information. The DIALOGUE programme package will generate discussions and debates in the year 2023, in various branches of the arts and in the politics of culture in general, establishing frameworks and forums. At the same time, investments will raise a technological background making it possible to receive such European mobile projects which generate discourse in one or another branch of the arts. 20 GYŐR 2023

21 In the years prior to 2023, on the other hand, dialogue will be key to preparing the implementation of the European Capital of Culture programme in Győr, involving such socialising processes which primarily encourage the local creative sector, the artists of Győr, and, by extension, everyone from all peer groups, actively to participate in the programme. Therefore, albeit logically it is the DIALOGUE item which is last on our list, this programme package will be the first to be launched. The discourse pertaining to culture is indispensable; this discussion may establish the groundwork upon which the emerging programme structure can be filled with such content that enables each participant to see himself or herself. STRATEGY The idea of FLOW not only determines the theme of our ECC year but also fosters an attitude along which all activities are charged to the full with the help of the positive philosophy of flow. Our objective is to involve the spectators as active participants in all ECC programmes; to enable them completely to immerse and enjoy themselves in these activities. Our strategy is based on the notion that we want to transcend passive cultural experiences and create a shared experience of flow. This attitude, in its end result, will not substantially diverge from the objectives of the successful ECC programmes of the past. Surely, when the Library of Riga was relocated, the citizens passing all the books from hand to hand felt they had become active agents in a positive urban change and must have experienced the flow. The main difference consists in the fact that we will prepare for this experience consciously in each of our programmes. As a strategic objective for the ECC year, we plan to teach the scientific basis of the flow experience and the positive philosophy to the city s teachers, museum professionals, art and community programme coordinators, social workers, hospital staff, and basically everyone who strives to improve the quality of life of the population. Once the year 2023 is over, we want the people not only to remember the actual programmes and achievements of the ECC year, but also the personal and communal experience of active happiness. For this purpose, we will organise popular science sessions, workshops, and forums, where the lay citizens as well as specialists working in one or another professional area will be presented with the potential in positive psychology and the flow experience. In addition, the same know-how will be shared with our colleagues contributing to the organisation and execution of the events of the ECC year. For every programme, we will ask ourselves the simple question of what opportunities the given activity will provide the participants with in order to reach the experience of flow we will strive to come up with ever better answers. Describe the structure of the cultural programme, including the range and diversity of the activities/main events that will mark the year. For each one, please supply the following information: date and place / project partners / financing. (Date and place / project partners / financing are optional at pre-selection stage) WAY The items in the WAY programme package will be launched if Győr is awarded the title of ECC 2023 and will become the European Capital of Culture. These events and the large-scale development plans connected with them are integral to the potential ECC year. Their aim is to present Győr as a node of the flow of European culture. They require complex and time-consuming professional preparation, but their outcomes promise programmes with a positive bearing on entire Europe, delineating European ways GYŐR

22 and routes leading to Győr. Their implementation will heavily rely on European cultural institutions, former and future ECCs, towns and villages along the River Danube, international experts in the areas touched by the thematic units, as well as the assistance of Balassi Institutes in regard to foreign sites and programmes. Thematic Ways The Thematic Ways will present the processes of the flow of various types of information in an inspiring manner, laid out as a tourist attraction. By these means, those complex historic processes that have shaped the past and present of Győr and the entire region can be walked through in the literal sense of the word. In the case of each thematic way, we will strive to provide real and available itineraries for those interested, supplemented with pertinent, accurate, and exciting background materials both in print and in a virtual format. When a way takes its beginning, this means that the standardised background materials of the thematic way appear online as well as along the pre-set route, thus giving expert support for the access to, and understanding of, the relevant information. Our objective herein is as follows: when someone decides to visit Győr in 2023, departing from whichever point in Europe, they should be able to choose from a wide range of means to travel, turning the way leading to Győr into a veritable adventure, beginning to grasp the European dimensions of the process of flow in a direct manner. Debrecen Nuremberg trade axis (Debrecen, Pest-Buda, Bratislava, Vienna, Erfurt, Augsburg, Nuremberg) Hungarian grain, the cattle of the Great Hungarian Plains, and the swine from the Bakony Hills were transported as far as the famous German fairs via the city of Győr. In Nuremberg, on the banks of the Pegnitz River, the grateful Germans saved from starvation even erected a statue in honour of the Hungarian Grey cattle, surely herded through Győr. At the 1911 refrigerator congress in Paris, President Leblon called Hungary the pantry of Europe in his Welcome speech to the Hungarian delegation. Győr was the door to that pantry, through which (passing through Austria) the Hungarian recipe of greasy dough could reach as far as the French bakers, who still fold their croissants with butter today, perhaps unaware that their crescent shape was originally intended to mark the Hungarians triumph over the Ottoman conquerors at Buda. This is but an isolated example of the many ways in which Hungarian cuisine, food products, and agricultural produce passed through Győr towards Western fairs via inland routes, waterways, and later even by rail, preserving many a trade and tradition alive in the city. Alongside the promotion of trade, these routes also served as eminent channels of the flow of information. The well-informed city of Győr gained its first-hand data from travelling merchants waiting for the ferry, the boat, or the stagecoach, seated at tables in various inns. Throughout Europe, many legends, recipes, and objects preserve the honourable memory of the generous lands of Hungary. All we need to do is arrange these European stories into a thematic adventure of gastronomy leading to Győr in Pest-Buda Dresden axis of apprenticeship (Budapest, Győr, Bratislava, Prague, Berlin, Leipzig, Dresden, Chemnitz, Linz, Erfurt) Mediaeval journeymen roamed the continent in all directions in order to gain the maximum possible knowledge in the metropolises of Europe and to bring it back to Hungary via Győr once their apprentice years were over. The youth trained in the European workshops of light 22 GYŐR 2023

23 industry gathered technological skills, motifs, new tools, as well as the latest in the current cultural trends of Europe. Many objective remains of guild culture in Győr and in Hungary at large commemorate European study tours, while written documents preserved in the European museums of industrial history also record Hungarian apprentice visits everywhere on the continent. Uncountable personal stories, journals, family correspondences pay witness to these travels and their impact on the individual, the families involved, and the entire society. Today, more vocational skills are obtained virtually than through actual journeys. Still, the manifest way of gaining information and experience through study trips is on the rise again, as European scholarships and competitions help one transcend state borders. The evocation of guild-related customs is not only an adventurous alternative for those who visit Győr in 2023 but also a fine example for the youth of today as to how to make the most of their knowledge gathered on various study trips once they return home. Danube Main Rhine axis of inland navigation (Constanța, Beograd, Budapest, Vienna, Linz, Regensburg, Passau, Ulm) The Danube is the world s most international river. It passes through ten countries, while its drainage area expands over seven more. On its way, it touches four present-day capitals: Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest, and Beograd, three of which can be reached from Győr within one or two hours. After the completion of the Danube Main Rhine Channel, the Danube became part of a transcontinental inland navigation route spanning thousands of kilometres from Sulina, Romania through Rotterdam, Holland. Our travel recommendation related to the Danube is not merely the promotion of the fact that in 2023, Győr can actually be reached from many European countries by boat. We also want our visitors to have access to such culture historical background materials en route to our city which will help them understand what role the Danube played in the history of Győr. For this purpose, we will contact the companies navigating the River Danube and negotiate with them how best to provide such access to the broadest possible public. Disregarding the Capital of Culture year, thematic trips related to the Danube can be on offer for an extended period of time across the borders. For example, by the end of 2020, the bicycle pilgrimage route (Sacra Velo) now under construction will have been completed, providing an unbroken cycleway from the Rába River through the Danube down to the Morava so as to serve those who prefer a sporty form of religious tourism. The Danube is the physical manifestation of the European flow, in terms of not only water management, commerce, and economy, but also culture a symbol of the collaboration and dialogue of the nations. This fabulous river crossing entire Europe and reaching millions of Europeans connects us all together. By handing our Danube-related experiences to one another, we create a singular, shared European history. Győr is halfway between the Black Forest and the Black Sea, the two ends of the Danube. Many previous Capitals of Cultures have already addressed the cultural role this river has played, and further such attempts will surely follow in the near future. In the middle of an inexhaustible flow, however, the best that we can do is to join in with these initiatives highlighting the unity of Europe and the dialogue of nations and cultures. Saint Ladislaus Way The Way of Christianity (Győr, Pannonhalma, Bakonybél, Veszprém, Tihany, Somogyvár, Nagyvárad/Oradea) Saint Ladislaus Herma has been safeguarded in the Cathedral of Győr for more than 400 years. It is Hungary s third most prestigious religious relic after the Holy Crown and the Holy GYŐR

24 BERLIN Erfurt Leipzig Chemnitz Drezda PRAGUE PARIS Nürnberg Regensburg Ulm Ausburg Passau ZÜRICH München Salzburg Linz VIENNA 24 ROME GYŐR 2023

25 LEGEND Debrecen Nuremberg trade axis Pest-Buda Dresden axis of apprenticeship WARSAW Danube Main Rhine axis of inland navigation Saint Ladislaus Way The Way of Christianity Nagyvárad/Oradea Paris Railway Line BRATISLAVA GYŐR Bakonybél BUDAPEST Debrecen Tihany Somogyvár Nagyvárad/Oradea Belgrade BUCHAREST Constanca GYŐR

26 Right Hand of St Stephen. The value inherent in the exceptional artisanship of the sculpture is multiplied by the bone relic housed within it, standing for the lasting message of St Ladislaus the king, knight, and saint and his actions. The citizens of Győr commemorate these in an annual procession as well as religious and secular festivals. The heritage of St Ladislaus Herma transcends the boundaries of the city. Through the life and deeds of the chivalrous king, Győr is linked to the sacral monuments from the time of the House of Árpád ( ). Consistency requires that our governing theme, flow, be presented with an outlook beyond Győr and our attention to St Ladislaus be extended to Christianity in the entire Carpathian Basin. Saint Ladislaus way serves primarily to strengthen the Hungarian identity, whether it is roamed by citizens of Győr, Hungarians from within or outside of the country s borders, arriving from whichever continent. At the same time, the legend of St Ladislaus is also the beginning of an unprecedented fairy-tale of European integration, insofar as King Ladislaus was the one to pacify and settle the Cumanian tribe after centuries of armed conflicts. Nagyvárad/Oradea Paris Railway Line (Nagyvárad/Oradea, Budapest, Győr, Vienna, Salzburg, Zurich, Munich, Paris) The famous fin de siècle poet Endre Ady and his generation of modernist writers travelled to Paris via Győr and returned with the bohemian spirit of the French capital through Győr to Ady s native Nagyvárad (present-day Oradea, Romania). This adventurous journey can be emulated in 2023 by anyone arriving in Győr by train, whether from the West (Paris) or the East (Oradea). We will offer those interested a little literary guide. Paris was life itself, attracting and mesmerising the bohemian youth of Europe in the early 1900s. Writers, poets, painters, sculptors, musicians, and many other creative minds gathered in Paris, hoping to find in the City of Light whatever may make their art exceptional. Meanwhile, they turned Paris into the wonder that we know today. Returning home from Paris, imbued with the cultural tendencies of Europe, the creators of the Nyugat (West) periodical in Budapest aimed to raise the standards of Hungarian literature to the level of Western notably English and French writing. At the same time, Ady, his colleague Mihály Babits, and others founded the Holnap (Tomorrow) literary society in Oradea, the Little Paris on the Banks of the Pece River, and launched their own periodical modelled on the Budapest-based Nyugat. How does this all relate to Győr? Perhaps not that strongly, although a district of the city Adyváros bears the name of this prominent poet and boasts a remarkable sculptural complex depicting him. Our city was a station on the way from Nagyvárad to Paris and this dizzying European dimension is precisely what our all-encompassing theme of flow revolves around: Győr as an important node on the European map crossed by many a prominent route. Ways of Refugees and Settlers Latins, Franks, Germans, Slavs, Hungarians, Jews, Gypsies The way of peoples, nations, cultures through Győr along one of Europe s busiest highways This programme, probing into past and future, focuses mainly on the meeting (in the future) of the (past) traveller and the person (settled in the present). The programme of the Ways of Refugees and Settlers is not a cultural or touristic project leading to Győr. It commemorates the fates of people fleeing and settling or relocating through conferences, reconstructed routes, experimental travelling exhibitions, and scientific research. In the history of modern culture, Győr was not merely a stop on voluntary travel routes. 26 GYŐR 2023

27 Our summary of the travellers profile in the European cultural context cannot be complete without addressing those fleeing out of a historic necessity: the persecuted, the uprooted, the deported. The thematic realms of people fleeing through Győr due to external forces of oppression are crucial for our present-day situation as well. The great wars of the 20th century may provide many painful examples, but our investigation must reach back even further. The afflictions of the Irish bishop Walter Lynch ended in Győr, while he was originally from Galway, ECC in the year The bishop was driven out of his native Ireland in 1649, as a consequence of the persecution of Catholics there. He brought with him an icon of the Virgin Mary praying over the slumbering Infant and thus created a route of pilgrimage between Galway and Győr acknowledged down to the present day. He also established the living connection between the Catholic congregations of the respective cities. In the summer and autumn of 1944, death marches of deported people and hard-labour convicts passed through Győr: Jewish people from Budapest, Southern Hungary, Yugoslavia, and Sub- Carpathia were driven into certain death. In 1947 and 1948, the Hungarians of present-day Southern Slovakia were relocated to Hungary through Győr and Komárom. In October 1956, Hungarian youths university students, workers, entire families, and individual refugees fled to the West via Győr, escaping from the Russian tanks and the prisons of the Communist Secret Police. In 1989, East German Trabants took their way through Győr and Sopron to the Western border of Hungary in order to take a detour through many European countries before arriving in West Germany, just over the German Wall of separation. A modern interpretation of the past and a constructive complex of future questions and possible answers may yield us many historic lessons in terms of persecutors and refugees, with an outlook on potential solutions. Europe has its own identity and the preservation of the European cultural heritage, our Judeo-Christian cultural fundaments require that we deal with the crimes committed in the past, face the misjudgements our nations are guilty of, and thus corroborate the fundamental values of our European existence. Garden Programme Historic horticultural education for the garden of the future ; renewable palace gardens, small garden culture, cultural events in gardens and parks As a practical consequence of the Garden programme, public spaces available for the purposes of tourism may be created in the region, establishing singular new venues for the open-air programmes of our ECC year. Even more important, however, is the notion that through familiarising ourselves with the cultural history of European gardens, we may discover the interactions between park and garden design, European humanism, and human-scale artistic tendencies. The gardeners of the Esterházy counts ranging from Anton Umlauft, imperial garden director of Schönbrunn, who designed the garden at Fertőd, to Aladár Porpáczy, the last prince s gardener not only made their environment more beautiful when planning the zigzags of the promenade paths; they also interpreted the world in a refined artistic way which lifted the concept of path to philosophical heights and created elaborate interiors to house further artworks as well as outdoor happenings. For these feasts were veritable artworks, indeed, for which the backdrop was guaranteed by the care of eminent gardeners. Lest we should forget, Leonardo da Vinci, perhaps the first event manager in Europe, could not have staged sublime and complex feasts in the Milanese court of Ludovico Sforza, either, without the dedication and skill of the Duke s relentless gardeners. The Garden programme gathers the European skillset of these princely gardeners and passes it on at university courses dedicated to horticulture and its history. The complex course is based on the history of European and Hungarian aristocratic gardens, complemented with GYŐR

28 the horticultural history of other regions and the overview of 20th-century public parks, including their impact on urban development and future potential. Those majoring in historic horticulture may obtain both practical experience and culture historical insights, enabling them to provide expert advice for the reconstruction of palace gardens in the framework of Hungary s National Palace Programme as well as to become urban public park designers with impressions from the gardening history of the entire continent. The programme is established in the Mosonmagyaróvár-based Faculty of Agriculture and Nutritional Science of the Széchenyi István University. This prestigious institution has been a major Hungarian centre of agrarian studies since Owning its own agricultural lands, the faculty gives equal weight to practical and theoretical instruction. Ever since its inauguration, this institution has also been committed to the social and cultural education of its students. The wild romantic scenery of the university campus, with the castle of Mosonmagyaróvár in its heart, is set to be reconstructed and modernised in the projected National Castle Programme; to its educational profile, further touristic features will also be added. The gardens established or renovated within the National Palace Programme may become prominent venues for the events related to the European Capital of Culture year, both in Mosonmagyaróvár and in the former aristocratic parks of the region. The authentic reconstruction work complement the exhibitions hosted by the renovated palaces and, in keeping with Mihály Csíkszentmihályi s theory, they may help the visitors experience the flow. The philosophy of contemporary garden architecture is also based on the principle of the flow. The programme may then be extended to community gardens in housing estates, private kitchen and small gardens, providing the feeling of convergence between the individual and nature. The following partners have already been confirmed or projected for the Garden programme in the region both within and outside of the borders of Hungary: Fertőd, Esterházy Palace; Nagycenk, Széchenyi Palace; Kismarton/Eisenstadt (A), Esterházy Palace; Galánta (SK), Esterházy Palace; Gernyeszeg (RO), Teleki Palace. ON THE WAY Thematic Street Festival Art is food. You can t eat it but it feeds you. Art has to be cheap & available to everybody. It needs to be everywhere because it is the inside of the world (Peter Schumann, The Why Cheap Art? Manifesto). ON THE WAY is one of the prime events of Győr s European Capital of Culture programme. It does not seek to establish a tradition, being singular and unique. Thus, it becomes the symbol of an exceptional opportunity that the ECC may mean to a city, its life, and its future. In Peter Schumann s words, we seek the inside of the world when we turn towards street art available for everyone, hosting a feast dwelling in the entire city and omnipresent in all its spaces. We propose a happening which turns Győr s Inner City into a total theatre for a few days, inviting international street theatre production. The free open-air programmes are the best chance culture has to reach the broadest possible audiences. We count on the active participation of the spectators in street theatre performances free of the shackles of language difference. These events are set to celebrate the power of the European community and create a veritable flow experience. The themes of the event as well as the selection of the productions will be based on travel, on being on the way. We will not only seek performances exploring travel and fleeing through the means of art, raising related questions but also invite the La Strada festivals of Europe (La Strada Graz; La Strada, das Festival der Straßenkünstler Augsburg; La Strada Festival Brescia; La Strada Internationales Festival der Straßenkünste Bremen; Le festival LA RUE 28 GYŐR 2023

29 DES ARTISTES Saint-Chamond; Festival Chalon dans la Rue) in order to think together about our shared ways, paths, and roads. Festivals play an increasingly central role in Europe s politics of culture as forums for international and intercultural dialogue. This is particularly true about street festivals, which strive to remove all obstacles from the way of artistic experience. ON THE WAY is not merely the summary of the theme of flow in Győr s European Capital of Culture year but also a potential forum overarching geographical border, which seeks to interpret the European flow and migration of people by artistic means, gathering all possible answers in Győr s ECC year CITY The primary aim of the CITY programme package is the shared consideration of our city s aspects. We raise problems and questions (How can one move around using a wheelchair? What helps tourists find their way round? What have the famous children of Győr left to posterity? How should we live together with our rivers? What advantages does the strong economic background offer for culture? How can art education at the university level change the profile of an industrial city?) and join forces in finding the most innovative answers and solutions to them during the preparatory years, in order that we may present our results in the actual ECC year. We will find out how we, citizens of Győr have become more responsible inhabitants of our city, having learnt to know our own place of living so as to become hospitable hosts to all visitors. We will also hope to have made our hometown an ever more welcoming and satisfying place by the year It is not only the preparation for the European Capital of Culture year that motivates our open discussion of the city. In 2021, Győr will celebrate the 750th anniversary of its privilege as a free royal city. From as early as spring 2018, the CITY programme package is also a conscious preparation for this notable date. In 1271, King Stephen V invested Győr with the privilege of a free royal city, launching it on a trajectory of continuous development. This significant milestone was both the official recognition of Győr s past achievements and a sign of the potential the city had to raise its own standards higher and higher. The title of European Capital of Culture is an opportunity on par with this privilege. The purpose of the CITY programme package is to highlight the long-term impact of such milestones as well as the present responsibility inherent in such gestures of acknowledgement. The citizens of Győr should be made familiar with these aspects as thoroughly as possible. The items in the programme package help us to interiorise the urban lifestyle, to live the experience of Győrness, and to formulate the desire and opportunity for the individual to realise what can be done on their level for the well-being and future of the community. It is precisely this activity that may eventually help each participant reach the flow experience. Becoming a free city and a capital city of culture are two stations along the same route of development. We must strive to enable the people of Győr to have another meaningful jubilee 750 years from now. Who lives in the city? In the preparatory years, this programme will provide professional assistance (museum, archival, school schemes) and project funding for the people in various district communities to acquaint themselves with the development and flow history of their own environment. The solutions emerging from the individual districts and consequently divergent themselves may foster the local patriotism of the inhabitants and the bonding of newcomers. They may also GYŐR

30 prepare the citizens of Győr to welcome the ECC year visitors warm-heartedly. Among the participants of this programme, volunteers may be recruited effectively as well. The financial basis for this programme has been established through the TOP project proposal. The implementation period of the programme is During or after the Who lives in the city? project, the acquired solutions will amalgamate into a texture of personal bonding within each district and indirectly in the entire city also. The research outcomes of the programme will be recorded and preserved in printed and online publications, made easily accessible in the long run. This subjective lore of local history, based on personal stories, will be the groundwork for our next project item. Signs in the city We must consider what signs we leave for posterity. The modes of making a difference and the evocative memory we may thus create for the European Capital of Culture year are also crucial. The Signs in the city programme attempts to catalyse the emergence of such symbols, through different workshops and project complexes, which satisfy the criteria of such an expectation. We think it far more personal and lasting than the installation of carious commemorative plaques if organic signs are born from the interaction of the people, the urban spaces, and creative thoughts. Such signs are capable of carrying transferable messages and hence establishing new traditions. Flag project: Flags are an obvious means to create symbols. In this thematic unit, several art competitions will be organised. We will literally and figuratively invite everyone to gather under the banners and flags of varying sizes and execution, provided they believe in the preserving and integrating power of culture in the urban context. Tower project: during the past two centuries or so, Győr has lost not one but two of its symbolic towers. The spire of the Franciscan church was demolished during the Napoleonic Wars, while the Fire Tower of the city was made obsolete by short-term economic interests. The European Capital of Culture is an excellent opportunity to revive the notion of towers as vantage points enabling far-reaching visions. Promenade project: In the preparatory years, the Who lives in the city? programme will list the prominent children, inhabitants, and guests of Győr. The participants will together decide who can be considered key actors in the development of the city. The riverbank promenade will be skirted by statues in their honour. By adding an interactive dimension to these artworks, the promenade may serve as a point of departure for a thematic city walk, subsequently utilised in the local history instruction of primary school classes as well. City Workshop Thematic urban development projects involving young artists The City Workshop is a forum that primarily exists in the virtual space. It provides young creators with an opportunity to share their emerging thoughts about Győr with each other. It establishes a platform for the free flow of ideas, informal discussions, while its clearly oriented projects, contests of innovation, and guiding questions help all discourse keep the focus of the European Capital of Culture programme. The virtual space is by definition a filter as well, channelling this programme item only to those individuals who react sensitively to the technological challenges of the future, who think about community building in innovative terms, and who eventually contribute to shaping the city by freely sharing and recording their mental associations. The end result belongs to everyone, but the potential for development is only available in the virtual space. The professional basis for this programme package is provided by the architectural training 30 GYŐR 2023

31 in Győr, complemented by industrial design, urban planning, interior design, and applied art, leading to a highly competent collective of young experts in these fields. At the same time, the system makes it possible for people outside of the formal framework of education also to join in. The individual contributors are not evaluated on the basis of their degrees or professional references but according to their ideas and plans. The City Workshop raises a problem in virtual space, to which the community may suggest possible solutions. The given problem may come from the team managing the ECC year, from the leadership of the city, from an institution, or even from a primary school pupil. If, for example, we want to integrate the city s riverbanks into the circulation of the city more intensely, as venues for cultural programmes, we may ask the City Workshop participants how this could or should be done. We may as well ask what solutions may make the concrete steps on the embankment more comfy. If the forum launched in the City Workshop has a majority vote for cushions to be placed on these steps, the City Workshop may then host a competition where various designs may be offered for the manufacturing of such cushions. Once a few tangible, practicable plans have emerged within the City Workshop framework, it is time to step out of virtual space: we may set up an exhibition or a real-world forum discussion where all citizens of Győr may see for themselves the outcomes. Or, alternatively, the problem may be relinked to another forum in virtual space, such as the online platforms of the ECC year or the city itself. Beyond virtual space, the City Workshop also offers an opportunity to organise activities in actual reality. It is a trademark, as it were, which can be subject to a tender. We would prefer if the young artists and creators in Győr invented their own City Workshops and realised their ideas. Workshops may be arranged in design studios, coffee-houses, or community spaces. Touristic pretexts may raise interest in City Workshop walks, just as the personal exploration of problematic venues or districts. Such City Workshop happenings may be initiated by individual districts or the local government before finalising a development project or by the ECC organisers themselves. The professional coordination of such broader workshops, however, is the task of the ECC programme. In effect, the City Workshop is an institutionalised encouragement for all to come forth with the problems they personally face in the city, so that anyone may offer potential answers or solutions. Whether the question is how to pump a soccer ball at the football pitch or how to install a multi-functional open-air mobile exhibition system the platform can be the same. Let it be your place The socialisation of facility management (Let it be your theatre, Let it be your concert hall, Let it be your museum, etc.) In the case of Győr, all the cultural and community investments and developments considered for the implementation of the European Capital of Culture programme are to be executed independent of this bid, partly by funding from the Modern Cities Programme, partly from the city s own assets, and partly from other project frameworks. Hence, the question is not whether we will be able to realise these developments but how we should do it. The renovation of the theatre and the building of a new concert hall encourage us to extend the consultations beyond the leadership of the institutions involved, the local government of the city, and the architectural experts. Parallel with these actors, community forums may be launched concerning the subsequent content of development, the expectations of the public, as well as sustainability and renewal. Thus, the renovation of actual buildings may be a mental as well as physical process. The Let it be your place programme item does not focus on architectural solutions. Instead, it addresses projects in the phase of implementation, helping them to be filled with new contents. GYŐR

32 The first such development will concern the modernisation of the theatre. Let us consider the year leading up to the reconstruction as an opportunity rather than a nuisance spoiling two theatre seasons. Let us create a forum along with the construction work, where the audience can continuously follow the stages of development as well as hear about the future plans of the company later to take back its home base. The prime developments leading up to 2023 are listed according to their dates of implementation. During the European Capital of Culture year, a large-scale summary exhibition will aim to survey not only the construction works but also the lessons to be drawn from a process that has managed to bring together the artists and their audience in a joint effort of renewal. Day of the City Act for your city! Celebrate your city! The Day of the City is primarily a local event, an important tool in the formation of local identity. It addresses the citizens of Győr rather than the outside world. At the same time, it helps us to become integral, honest, and authentic hosts for the year As much as Győr has gained from its gateway role in European history, it also has major difficulties and challenges to face when probing into the integration of its citizens and the history of consecutive generations in Győr. The Day of the City is a good opportunity to bring the people of Győr together in the celebration of their Győrness. The best occasion to inaugurate this tradition will be the 750th anniversary festivities mentioned above. The first Day of the City, therefore, will be held in The essence of the Day of the City is to summarise our shared history and to enumerate our achievements. It is a fine occasion to present awards and to allow art groups and communities to introduce themselves. The more locals experience something positive during this festive day, the more people will feel strengthened in their sense of belonging to this city. If everyone celebrates the city, from kindergarten children to pensioners, from artists to entrepreneurs, the community spirit will benefit from it immensely. One may reasonably ask how the festival of a city may be embedded into the European Capital of Culture year. Our most important argument is the conceptual framework. The history of Győr was determined by the roads leading through it. We are the imprint of Europe s past ebb and flow in this particular geographic location. In 2023, the Day of the City will offer an excellent opening for us, citizens of Győr, to show entire Europe how our vision of the future is nourished by 750 years of past history. For we feel that the lessons to be learnt from our survival among sometimes gigantic floods carry in them a huge promise for days to come. DIALOGUE The DIALOGUE programme package seeks answers to the seemingly simple challenges of information sharing and the spreading of knowledge, which have, however, become a factor of great pressure during the recent collapse of traditional structures. The continuity of handing down knowledge is one of the pillars of human survival. Its present crisis is caused partly by the uncontrolled overproduction of information. The DIALOGUE programme package strives to meet the challenge and exploit the ECC framework in finding answers. To this end, we will mobilise the grey matter of the university as well, along with the Europe-oriented festivals of the city. During the ECC year, these festivals will be thematised according to the tasks we have undertaken. During the preparatory years and 2023, this programme package will be complemented by scientific conferences, exhibitions addressing key questions, and as broad a socialisation of the phenomenon as possible, relying heavily on the support of positive psychology. For the DIALOGUE programmes of our year 2023, one major aspect will be provided by the 32 GYŐR 2023

33 cultural actors of the city of Győr, namely, (i) the Baroque traditions and related events; (ii) those Győr-based companies of performing art, known all over Europe, which are not subject to linguistic barriers the Győr Philharmonic Orchestra and the Ballet Company of Győr; (iii) as well as our three EFFE award winning festivals featuring on the European cultural menu each year: the Hungarian Dance Festival, the Győrkőc Festival, and the EFFE Laureate Festival of Five Churches. Dialogue on the Baroque The central theme of the dialogue addressing the European Baroque consists in the architectural monuments of the period, its intellectual heritage, period artworks, and thematic events that now look back on a tradition of up to twenty-five years (Baroque Ball, Baroque Wedding). In our bid for the title of European Capital of Culture, the Baroque period and style are seen not as an era of history or an architectural asset for the stimulation of tourism. On the basis of the Baroque influences manifest in entire Europe, we launch an international dialogue in all geographic directions of the continent. The Baroque period was saturated with great intellectual trends. By spreading the idea of Enlightenment, it laid the fundaments for modern Europe. We grasp this point in the flow of history. The technical achievements of the Baroque, the boom in the printing of books, music, images, and newspapers, as well as the progress of transportation resulted in an explosion of transmitting information and opened new horizons for the flow of culture in Europe. The restructuring of the availability of art, concomitant with the general improvements in efficient manufacturing, raised the prestige of fashion and introduced domestic music-making, focusing on the home, which also incorporated the concept of the family. This boom in culture and art can be an example and a lesson for us experiencing the IT boom of the 21st century. Therefore, our dialogue on the Baroque will not only discuss artistic styles but will also touch on the potential that technological advancement carries in shaping art and society. Dialogue on dance The Ballet Company of Győr is one of the best-known brands of the city. The Hungarian Dance Festival that they host each year has taken on an increasingly international orientation in recent years. In addition to inviting foreign productions, critics, and professional associations, the online FesztiválON festival, launched in 2017, has extended possible reach and participation all over the world. Dance is the international dialogue of the human body in art. In 2023, the Hungarian Dance Festival will be a domestic forum for Hungarian dance as well as an international event of the profession. It will provide the Hungarian ensembles with an opportunity to introduce themselves to the international public and European critics and professionals. The conference complementing the festival will be an excellent forum for dialogue. The Ballet Company of Győr will be a travelling ambassador for Győr s ECC programme during the preparatory years. Their international standard of artistic quality will be one of the trademarks for Győr s programmes for Dialogue on music The Győr Philharmonic Orchestra is not only a world-class ensemble, but also an excellent artistic unit that has established a solid mode of operation. The basis for the ever-rejuvenating orchestra is provided by the secondary and tertiary system of education, continuously raising eminent artists and, together with them, a receptive audience of connoisseurs. It is high time that this world-class orchestra should have their very own citadel, a project to be realised GYŐR

34 within the Modern Cities Programme framework, establishing the technical preconditions to launch an international music festival. The Danube as an inspiration for music as well as a flowing river of its cultural history is the fundament of an international festival (working title: Musical Danube ), projected by the Győr Philharmonic, which creates a dialogue between European artists in the international language of music. Dialogue of generations The Győr-based Vaskakas (Iron Rooster) Puppet Theatre has hosted the Győrkőc Festival for ten years. Originally a regional event, it has now grown into a nationwide happening. Its development so far justifies its international expansion. The potential granted by the title of European Capital of Culture would accelerate this process and orient the festival as part of the DIALOGUE programme package. After all, it offers a real dialogue between the generations of Hungarians even today. We hope that 2023 will see the encounter of a colourful cavalcade of European children, parents, grandfathers, and grandmothers in Győr. May the Győrkőc Festival organise the community experience of playing together into a coherent memory. Dialogue of religions The bipolar urban structure of Győr, with the mono-cultural Baroque Old Town and the multi-religious market-town called Újváros (New Town), carries a dual cultural identity. The mere existence of the churches in Újváros proves that Hungary integrated the European Judeo-Christian culture centuries ago, and that culture thrives even today. The Festival of Five Churches, first outlined in our 2005 bid for the title of European Capital of Culture and inaugurated in 2006, is built upon this European curiosity, presenting the possibility of dialogue between religions and cultures. Twelve years ago, the Festival of Five Churches chose to focus on Europe s Judeo-Christian culture, the foundations of European culture, and the importance of the dialogue between different religions. Its central conception raised awareness for the importance of human values inherent in our architectural heritage. During the past ten years, this community cooperation became a city brand. The fame of the street of five churches has conquered Europe, drawing the attention of foreign artists, earning the laureateship of the European Festivals Association in Győr celebrates a unique achievement of European dimensions in the Festival of Five Churches, whose example is increasingly topical, due to the selfless collaboration of the five host denominations. The message of the street of five churches is manifest in everyday life. During the past decade, a culturally focused district rehabilitation has complemented the festival s development, enabling such communal developments among the monuments of middle-class architecture renovated on a social basis as the reconstruction of the Menház (Refuge) building with the generous support of the Jewish community of Győr and the municipality or the Insula Lutherana complex of the Lutheran church, renovated and extended with new cultural venues. These developments created new festival sites as well as strengthened the togetherness of the congregations upon which the cultural and community experience of the festival rests. By 2023, Győr will be in a position to set such an example of European cultural and communal development which is based on the solid groundwork of dialogue overarching religious cultures and connecting historic traditions. Dialogue in creative art The Rómer Flóris Museum of Art and History has exhibition halls in several, mostly 34 GYŐR 2023

35 reconstructed Baroque houses in the Old Town. The thematic shows of fine and applied art, the temporary exhibitions, and the firm professional background (graphic studio, artist s atelier, summer art colony) serve as the infrastructure for creative art in Győr. In addition to the museum buildings scattered all over the Inner City, the expansion of the collective atelier in Újváros, as well as the Torula Studio House developed by a foundation will open new frontiers for visual dialogue during the ECC year. Újváros will host the mature artists of Győr, while the Torula centre will help mostly fledgling creators. The two emerging poles will strengthen and complement one another, delineating their respective cultural circles and objectives. This dialogue will be assisted and coordinated by the Rómer Flóris Museum of Art and History by organising exhibitions and forums for the works emerging from the creative centres, intensifying in their activity leading up to the year This triple structure (classical ateliers in Újváros exhibition halls in the Old Town Torula Studio House) will be crowned and served by the new exhibition and conference centre to be completed by the end of 2021, as well as the reconfigured Baroque exhibition sites, the Napoleon House and the Abbot s House. Festival Inn The House of Dialogue The Festival Inn is a conglomerate of actual and virtual spaces, which will serve as a meeting and discussion site in 2023 for domestic and European festivals and professional forums. This novelty will not only serve as a venue for dialogue during the entire year but also an important symbol for the theme of flow; through its extension into virtual space, it invites encounters beyond the city of Győr. As a community feast, the festival arms its participants with the flow experience of unity, enhancing the long-term effects of the information and impulses gained by living through that experience. The cultural dialogues about the social problems pertaining to the destiny of Europe, reaching out towards the younger generation, will focus on festivals as the most effective contemporary channels of transmission. During the ECC year, the Festival Inn will provide a unique opportunity for the professionals of festival organisation to communicate on any level of authority, fostering the preservation of the colourfulness of European culture and forging the unity of its actors. Choosing the best venue for the Festival Inn requires care and circumspection. We must find a place with a character and positive aura of its own, adaptable for outdoor and indoor events alike, meeting international standards of technical infrastructure and spatial layout, flexible enough to host a wide variety of happenings. The venue will not be fully refurbished the mere infrastructural minimum will be installed, potentially with mobile devices. This cost-efficient and mobile festival venue will serve the needs of the Y and Z generations, drawing on their feedback as well. Between each two projects, it can be reconfigured quickly and economically to meet the emerging challenges, thus demonstrating the potential inherent in the flow. The conferences and workshop sessions internationally relevant for event and festival organisation as well as cultural transmission will be held here, while European associations, travelling masterclasses and festivals may also be invited. During the European Capital of Culture year, we will invite the best twelve festivals of Hungarian regions on both sides of the country s borders, to introduce their events and to join in with the ongoing international discourse. The Festival Inn is not merely a place where festivals can be organised. It is the real and symbolic centre of the dialogue of European festivals, the power of dialogue in the transmission and propagation of culture. How will the events and activities that will constitute the cultural programme for the year be chosen? (This question is optional at pre-selection stage) GYŐR

36 EXHIBITION FESTIVAL HISTORICAL SCIENTIFIC ARTISTIC CULTURAL ARTISTIC MUSICAL THEATRICAL MIXED SPORTS ONLY PRECEDING YEARS PRECEDING YEAR + ECC YEAR ONLY ECC YEAR Street Travelling Indoor Street Travelling Indoor Street Travelling Indoor Street Travelling Indoor Street Travelling Indoor Street Travelling Indoor Street Travelling Indoor Street Travelling Indoor Street Travelling Indoor Axis of Commerce Axis of Guilds Axis of waterways Way of Christianity WAY Axis of Rail and Literature Danube Projects Ways of Refugees and Settlers Garden Programme On the Way Street Festival Who lives in the city? Signs in the city CITY City workshop Let it be your place Day of the City Dialogue on the Baroque Dialogue on dance DIALOGUE Dialogue on music Dialogue of generations Dialogue of religions Dialogue in creative art Festival Inn 36 GYŐR 2023

37 TRAVELLING PROJECT CONFERENCE APPLICATION TO GYŐR FROM GYŐR DOMESTIC INTERNATIONAL SPORTS Road Railway Waterway Pedestrian Other Road Railway Waterway Pedestrian Other International Artistic Scientific Architectural Urban Educational Other Cultural Artistic Scientific Other Sport Cultural Artistic Scientific Other Sport Competitive For all Performance Other MISCELLANEOUS GYŐR

38 38 GYŐR 2023

39 4. Capacity to deliver Please confirm and supply evidence that you have broad and strong political support and a sustainable commitment from the relevant local, regional and national public authorities. Local political and professional support On the 13th of February 2017, the preparatory committee for European Capital of Culture competition was established, with Mayor Zsolt Borkai at the head. The organisation includes cultural professionals and the leaders of cultural institutions located in Győr, as well as the representatives of political parties to produce an application that will have a good professional foundation, and have the support of all the political actors of the city. The General Assembly of the Local Government of Győr Municipality, with its resolution of 154/2017, taken at a meeting held on the 27th of October 2017, officially demonstrated its interest to participate in the bidding process issued by the Ministry of Human Capacities, to win the European Capital of Culture in 2023 title. The general assembly adopted the resolution with a unanimous vote, as it had the local support of each political party. Investment support On the 28th of April 2017, in the framework of the Modern Cities Programme, the Government of Hungary and the Local Government of Győr Municipality entered into an agreement of cooperation to further develop and reinvigorate the city. Ensuring the successful governmental execution of the content of the agreement, the Government confirmed its intent in a government decision. In the governmental decision of 1387/2017 (27th of June), relating to the tasks to execute the agreement of cooperation between the Government of Hungary and the Local Government of Győr Municipality, the Government supports the boost of the cultural life of Győr directly with several developments. Regional support Securing the implementation of the Győr European Capital of Culture application in a regional partnership, the Mayor Zsolt Borkai entered into an agreement of cooperation with the Mayors of Sopron and Dunaszerdahely, the operators of the Esterházy Palace in Fertőd and the Széchenyicastle in Nagycenk, as well as the board of directors at the Fertő-Hanság National Park. Arrabona EGTC, established in 2010 by Győr, Mosonmagyaróvár, Dunaszerdahely (presentday Dunajská Streda, Slovakia) and Somorja (present-day Šamorín, Slovakia), assists the application as a professional partner of cross-border regional relationships. The organisation, seated in Győr, is one of the most prominent EGTC organisations in Hungary, and includes 20 Hungarian and Slovak local governments, as of today. Arrabona EGTC is a state-of-the-art institutional instrument to develop formerly confined areas in an integral way. One priority of the group is to initiate and assist in strengthening economic and social cohesion, and protect and maintain balance in the ecological system of the Danube Valley by the execution of programmes and projects co-financed by the European Union, executed in area cooperation. Support from the business sector The local enterprises are known for lending good financial support to the cultural and community GYŐR

40 projects of Győr. The Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Győr-Moson-Sopron County also assists in strengthening the relationship between cultural and business actors even further, and supports the programmes of the ECC year. Support from educational institutions Our programme is particularly founded on educational institutions, especially artistic studies. The leadership of Széchenyi István University and the Mayor of Győr Municipality ascertained their cooperation in a declaration, and set the objective to develop the Art Faculty established in December of 2016 along with the ECC application. Please confirm and evidence that your city has or will have adequate and viable infrastructure to host the title. To do that, please answer the following questions: Explain briefly how the European Capital of Culture will make use of and develop the city s cultural infrastructure. Győr maintains five community scenes (Győr Art, Festival, and Cultural Centre, House of Generations Cultural Centre, Bertalan Molnár Vid Cultural Centre, Ménfőcsanak-Gyirmót Cultural Centre, Újváros Cultural Centre), a city museum (Flóris Rómer Art and History Museum) with a country scope consisting of nine museum institutions units, and assures general and public library services (Dr. Pál Kovács County Library and Community Space). It also operates four art institutions (National Theatre of Győr, Ballet Company of Győr, Győr Philharmonic Orchestra, Iron Rooster Puppet Theatre) and archives (Győr Municipality Archives). Relying on its own cultural institutional system for the most part, the city provides access to high standard cultural and community programmes for its citizens. The facilities used by institutions maintained by the local government are suitable in terms of size and condition, and their development is ongoing. Developments by the local government The Iron Rooster Puppet Theatre just recently moved into a separate, modern building, where three theatre halls serve the variety of performances meeting various needs. The new theatre is suitable to receive guest performances, and it is connected to the Hungarian Dance Festival as a festival venue. Their free capacity can predominantly be utilized in the ECC year for theatre and children s programmes in the city centre. When the puppet theatre moved out, the House of Generations Cultural Centre also gained more possibilities, which will increase with the renovation phased for the near future. The renovation of the Abbot s House will be finished by 2020 in the heart of the city centre. The local history collection of the city will be reinstalled in the listed building that stands on the corner of Széchenyi Square. Apart from the new permanent exhibition displaying the 750- year history of Győr, a 550-sq.m event place will be established by covering the yard, which along with the baroque saloon upstairs can host representative programmes, and be used as an additional venue for large open-air events organised in the city. The enlargement of the building will also provide enhanced capacities for the museum library and the museum s educational activity space. The renovated building in the city centre, right next to the city archives, will be a state-of-the-art central venue for the conferences and the historical-professional programmes of the ECC year. Additional venues include the separate museum units located in the city centre, and the Napoleon House, which will also have been renovated by GYŐR 2023

41 Developments of the Modern Cities Programme Developments of the Modern Cities Programme provide the essence of the investments in our application. Each of the 18 developments described in the programme serve the successful execution of our ECC year directly or indirectly. The development of green surfaces, the guarantee of sustainability, and the wide range use of smart technological solutions are major considerations in each investments of the programme, which Győr interprets as the development of a viable city. The city also has considerable results in the Smart City programmes, which developments increase accessibility to the systems already set up, and suit the objectives set out in our European Capital of Culture application. The Theatre building hosting the National Theatre of Győr and the Ballet of Győr opened in 1978, with over 660 seats in the auditoriums of two theatre halls needs renovation in all aspects. The Modern Cities Programme now established the financial means to conclude the reconstruction due so long. The investment will start after the season, and it will be finished in Along with a thorough renovation of architecture, interior decoration, and engineering, the project also includes solving the parking situation, and turning the square in front of the theatre into a modern greeting and events space. This will allow for servicing the already existing events and festivals connected with the theatre in a more efficient way, and will also provide a smaller venue near Dunakapu Square and Széchenyi Square for larger events taking place at several venues simultaneously. The architecturally valuable downtown corner-house, originally built as a movie theatre with a 130-sq.m stage and 499 seats in the auditorium, is not optimal for the complex functions and the modern servicing of the orchestra with a great history yet this is where the Győr Philharmonic Orchestra is currently located. The new concert hall, planned to be constructed between 2020 and 2022, will adjust to the needs and the development plans of the orchestra. The old building however, vacated by the end of 2022, can be utilized for ECC purposes in 2023, before receiving a new function. Local government developments connected to the European Capital of Culture programme The baroque city centre of Győr could be a suitable and decent venue of the ECC year as early as next year. While renovating Dunakapu Square and Széchenyi Square, the architects made sure that occasional open-air events would have a proper infrastructural background there. The connection points, the restrooms, and the parking places will all contribute to a proper realization of open-air events. The already available mobile devices (130 cabins, stage, stage cover, led wall, mobile stand, sound and light effects all city property), and other resources still to be bid out for will also play a supporting role in a cost effective and professional realization of city festivals and ECC in the future. We will establish two new venues to increase the number and size of events and assist the highlighted programmes of the ECC year. First, we will build a green open-air area, a City Event Park, and we will convert an already existing building into a temporary Festival Reception venue for the ECC year. For the Festival Reception venue, we are looking for a vacated building complex or large, empty glass-roofed workshop that carries the spirit of the city s industrial history. It is our purpose to have it on the outer rim not to disturb the everyday life of the city, but it will also need to be easy to access from out of the city. Construction schedule for the Festival Reception is planned so the place can serve also as an alternative venue during the renovation of the theatre prior to the ECC year. The designation and modern establishment of the City Event Park will make it possible to execute the giant summer events closer to nature. Using and preserving the natural resources GYŐR

42 of Győr, we are looking for a woodland area, near the water surfaces. At the same time, when establishing the green area, crucial considerations include the modern and varied development of easy access, parking and public transportation facilities, and the technology needed to serve the events (stage, water and electricity terminals, service buildings, dressing rooms, toilets). We shall conduct the process of demand analysis, planning and construction in the widest scope possible, involving the inhabitants and the creative capacity of the city, so that the new venue can become a popular recreational area, a new parkland after the events. The major investments will be amended with other commitments of a smaller scale that are essential for the successful and coherent realization of the programme. These include enhancing the rehabilitation of the Újváros welfare district with a cultural aspect, enlarging the collective art studio located there, and providing flats for artists in the area. What are the city s assets in terms of accessibility (regional, national and international transport)? The accessibility of Győr The regional connections of transportation in Győr include Helsinki Corridor IV (road transportation corridor) and VII (Danube ship route). The city of Győr is located in the Vienna- Budapest European transportation corridor, with excellent public road, rail, and waterway connections to both East and West. Accessibility on water The development of the Győr Gönyű National Public Traffic Port is ongoing. The opening of the shipway on the Moson-Danube fork of the river, planned before 2023, will boost the number of visitors who will choose to arrive to town this way. Accessibility on public road Several East-European capitals (Vienna, Budapest, Bratislava) can directly be accessed on turnpikes M1, A4, D1 andd2 within minutes. Accessibility by air Győr enjoys the close proximity of three international airports (BUD: Ferenc Liszt International Airport, VIE: Vienna-Schwechat International Airport, BTS: Milan Rastislav Štefánik International Airport), connected to the city by motorway. Developments of the Győr-Pér International Airport, situated 16 kilometres from Győr, now allow for receiving Boeing 737 and Airbus 320 category aeroplanes. Accessibility by rail Győr has excellent rail connections to East and West, it being an important stop for local, fast, InterCity, EN and RailJet trains on the international railway connecting Budapest and Vienna. In the international rail traffic, Győr is accessible directly or via Budapest or Rail from the cities of Europe. The Győr railway station, which will be renovated by 2023, can be reached with a short walk from the city centre. Accessibility on bicycle Győr is a bicycle-friendly station on the international EuroVelo6 bike route along the Danube, with excellent infrastructure. Currently, thousands of tourists arrive to the city by bicycle, increasing the number of commercial overnight stays. The bicycle roads within the city are in 42 GYŐR 2023

43 excellent condition, the network is exuberant, ongoing development is provided. Of all the roads coming into the city, the section connecting Győr with the UNESCO site of Pannonhalma is under construction. Transportation available within the city Public road transportation, parking The public road network of Győr mainly has a radial structure, amended by the southern external bypass of the M1 motorway and the Szigethy Attila Road Ipar Street inner circle route, and Szent István Road (Road #1) crossing the inner city. Each state investment National Theatre renovation, Concert Hall and Conference Centre currently under construction or in the planning phase handle the extension of parking places a priority. The downtown area will also have a new parking garage with cultural functions built soon. Bus transportation The existing bus transportation network of the city receives continuous adjustments to the ever-changing needs. At the time of larger events, night bus services are provided by the local government. Apart from the paying bus services, City bus is a free service to all, connecting the city centre with the university campus, touching the main transport nodes and potential transfer places. Bicycle transportation The GyőrBike bicycle rental network, assisting public transportation in Győr, was launched in docking stations and close to 200 bicycles are available throughout the city. In addition, bicycle spots (with bicycle pumps) were established throughout the city to support bicycle transportation and the tourist infrastructure. What is the city s absorption capacity in terms of tourists accommodation? At present, 93 accommodation facilities and 5985 commercial accommodations await the visitors of the city, with division types described in the table below. Hotels play the most prominent role in supplying accommodation, as visitors prefer lodging places with higher standards. In addition, business- and conference tourism also play a significant role, influencing the establishment of capacities accordingly. Accommodation category Quantity Rooms Accommodating 4-Star hotel Star hotel Pension Camping Dormitory used as commercial accommodation Other Total GYŐR

44 Ballet Company of Győr 2. Győr Philharmonic Orchestra 3. National Theatre of Győr 4. Iron Rooster Puppet Theatre 5. House of Generations Cultural Centre 6. Győr Art, Festival, and Cultural Centre 7. Synagogue University Concert Hall 8. Győr Municipality Archives 9. Flóris Rómer Art and History Museum and exhibition sites 10. Kisfaludy Károly Library 11. Széchenyi István University PRAGUE MOSCOW PARIS ZÜRICH München VIENNA BRATISLAVA BUDAPEST Graz GYŐR ZAGREB BELGRADE BUCHAREST 44 GYŐR 2023

45 Győr does not have a 5-star accommodation facility, while the most prominent 4-star hotel is ETO Hotel Business & Stadium ****SUPERIOR with 103 rooms. The reception capacity of the accommodation facilities has been on the increase, the past few years brought several quantity and quality developments. By 2020, two larger accommodation development projects will have been completed. A three-star sport and conference hotel will be built with about rooms, and one four-star hotel will extend its conference and room capacity up to 40 additional suits. As a result, the accommodating capacity of will be available by the summer of 2023, in which season of the year the dorms can also be used for such purposes. The guest turnover of commercial accommodation facilities In 2016, 175,575 guests spent 367,842 nights in the commercial accommodation facilities of the city. The rate of foreigners in relation to the number of visitors and the overnight stays is 45 50%. Data on the guest turnover of commercial accommodation facilities in Győr indicate a dynamic growth in the past 10 years. Number of guests in the comm. accommodation facilities (people) Number of overnight stays The average length of stay (nights) Number of foreign guests Number of overnight stays by foreigners , , , , During the European Youth Olympic Festival of 2017, the city was able to provide overnight accommodation for almost 10,000 people with no glitch, by combining commercial accommodation facilities with dormitory accommodation and temporary facilities at the Olympic Village. Winning the European Capital of Culture title would greatly boost interest in the commercial accommodation facilities in the city. The current booked capacity of ca. 50% would grow, with more balanced yearly indicators. By means of developments scheduled until 2023, the city will be able to offer additional lodging places, promptly meeting the increased demand, most likely escalating the use of accommodation capacities in the region as well. In terms of cultural, urban and tourism infrastructure, what are the projects (including renovation projects) that your city plans to carry out in connection with the European Capital of Culture action between now and the year of the title? What is the planned timetable for this work? (This last question is optional at pre-selection stage). GYŐR

46 Investment (1 Euro=312 HUF)" Preparation and Planning Phase Implementation Phase Proposed expenditure (Euro) I. Direct relation Renewing the National Theatre of Győr, rehabilitating the II. János Pál square, along with solving the parking situation Building a new concert hall Building a new exhibition and conference centre Abbot's House Festival Reception City Event Park Napoleon House Digital Development Centre (university) Tourist development of the fortress of Mosonmagyaróvár (university) Space for the community establishing community building spaces Green City configuration I Green City configuration II Developing the infrastructural background of cultural events Water theme park Capacity expansion of cultural events in Győr prepared Spa in Dunaszerdahely (present-day Dunajská Streda, Slovakia), cultural development II. Indirect relation Transportation development to enhance economic and sports economy development, and the mobility of the workforce in Győr I. Transportation development to enhance economic and sports economy development, and the mobility of the workforce in Győr II. prepared Bicycle and parking infrastructure development in Győr Bicycle and parking infrastructure development in Győr II Bicycle road network development in Győr Construction of the Győr Pannonhalma bicycle road Building the missing section of the eastern inner city bypass and the new bridge on Mosoni-Danube Extensive development of the Janos Xantus ZOO Construction of Sporthotel Advancing inter-modality and solving the parking situation around the railway station and the bus terminal GYŐR 2023

47 Financing resources Implementers Local authorities Modern Cities Programme (state) Modern Cities Programme (state) Local Government of GYM Local Government of GYM Local Government of GYM (operator: National Theatre of Győr) Local Government of GYM (operator: Győr Philharmonic Orchestra) Modern Cities Programme (state) GYM / state actor(s)/private capital Local Government of GYM Local Government of GYM Local Government of GYM Local Government of GYM ( operator: Rómer Flóris Museum of Art and History, Győr) Local Government of GYM Local Government of GYM Local Government of GYM Local Government of GYM Local Government of GYM Local Government of GYM Local Government of GYM Local Government of GYM Local Government of GYM (operator: Rómer Flóris Museum of Art and History, Győr) Modern Cities Programme (state) Széchenyi István University Széchenyi István University Széchenyi István University Széchenyi István University EU ERFA resource EU ERFA resource EU ERFA resource EU ERFA resource Modern Cities Programme (state) National Heritage Preservation Development Non-profit Ltd. Applicant organisations Local Government of GYM, Győr-Szol Ltd. The Local Government of Győr Municipality Local Government of GYM, Győr Project Ltd. Organisations implementing the application Local Government of GYM, Győr-Szol Ltd. Local Government of GYM Local Government of GYM, Győr Project Ltd. Rába Quelle Ltd. EU ERFA resource Local Government of GYM Local Government of GYM EU ERFA resource Local Government of GYM The Local Government of Dunajská Streda (SK) EU ERFA resource EU ERFA resource Local Government of GYM, Magyar Közút Non-profit Ltd. Local Government of GYM, Magyar Közút Non-profit Ltd. Local Government of GYM Local Government of GYM EU ERFA resource Local Government of GYM, Győr-Szol Ltd. Local Government of GYM, Győr-Szol Ltd. EU ERFA resource Local Government of GYM Local Government of GYM EU ERFA resource Local Government of GYM Local Government of GYM Modern Cities Programme (state) NIF Ltd. Magyar Közút Non-profit Ltd. Modern Cities Programme (state) NIF Ltd. Road Operator Organisation of GYM Modern Cities Programme (state) Local Government of GYM Janos Xantus ZOO Public Benefit Non-profit Ltd. Modern Cities Programme (state) Local Government of GYM Győr Projekt Ltd. Modern Cities Programme (state) Local Government of GYM, MÁV, ÉNYKK Road Operator Organisation of GYM, MÁV, ÉNYKK, Győr-Szol Ltd. GYŐR

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49 5. Outreach Explain how the local population and your civil society have been involved in the preparation of the application and will participate in the implementation of the year. In April of 2016, just before the Győr Philharmonic Orchestra performed Othello, conducted by José Cura on the stage of the Audi Arena, Mayor Zsolt Borkai announced that Győr would enter the contest for the European Capital of Culture title. Both the occasion and the location were symbolic. The hall with the largest capacity in Győr, Audi Arena Győr with its 16 thousand square metres, finished in November of 2014, can receive more than 1,000 cars, seating over 7,000 people in the viewing area. Amending the stand of 5,500 seats, 1,700 extra chairs can be placed in the arena, side by side with a metre stage. The facility, equipped with the necessary sound, light, and visual effects, was prepared to host in addition to sporting events demanding cultural programmes such as the grand concerts of the Győr Philharmonic Orchestra with world-famous guest artists. Győr is ready to serve a European Capital of Culture year with the most up to date technology, and no better proof is needed than those events, pulling in thousands of spectators, that Győr and its agglomeration is always ready to react to the increased, high-quality cultural demand. No sooner had the announcement sounded than the first preparatory steps were taken (with organising EYOF also on the plates), phase one being to create this application, relying on the experiences gained. In March 2017, the Local Government of Győr Municipality issued a logo and slogan bid for the preparation phase of the European Capital of Culture 2023 Győr competition, and by advertising this tender, the project was also made more popular. A series of events enhancing social dialogue started in March 2017 one in particular, which was a presentation held for almost 2,000 senior citizens, as the opinion and experiences of the elderly is no less important than that of the young and active age group. The presentation was followed by sending out questionnaires. At the same time, the ECC survey prepared by cultural experts was placed on the official website of the city, and a public poll company was assigned to interview 1,500 people. Various channels in the social media: the Győr2023 official Facebook and Instagram sites launched on the National Poetry day of Hungary made the responding possibility more widely popular. Dialogue continued with high school aged youth. It is of crucial importance to address this age group concerning the application, since this Z generation will constitute the active cultural consumers in year of Youngsters from 8 secondary schools were informed about the European Capital of Culture title, the application process, and the city s opportunities in this regard. Upon distributing information, a survey was conducted, in which we asked the youth about their view on the present cultural life of the city and the areas in need of development. In May, representatives of 35 civil society organisations and members of another 11 senior clubs were given a general presentation on the competition, followed by forum discussions. When the residents had their turn to be involved, demand analysis, and the collection of ideas, suggestions and remarks received much emphasis. We were curious to find out the opinion of every age group, and used all available platforms to spread the news about possibilities inherent in the European Capital of Culture competition, while gathering all information we might need to compose the application. GYŐR

50 The image video, intended to make the ECC competition more popular, was prepared especially for the inhabitants of Győr, focusing on the small, unnoticeable wonders of everyday life, and the cultural accomplishments of the city. The video was shown at the Sleep at another time 24-hour contest as well, followed by focus group discussions with the young participants of the event. In the summer of 2017, Győr was anxiously preparing for and running EYOF. The unprecedented cooperation in the city and the active interest in the common cause gave an opportunity to make the ECC competition even more popular. Also, most of the city events provided the opportunity to distribute questionnaires, show the image video, and conduct personal conversations. These events included the Borháló Wine Tasting, the RómerKvelle Maying, the 4th Countrywide Improvisation Festival, theatre performances, movie and quiz nights, the Europe Day, the EYOF Day of Volunteers, and the Night of Museums. In June, when the ECC Open Day was organised as an individual event, the cultural institutions of the city had a chance to introduce themselves. Apart from these theatre productions, visitors of the free open-air event saw music compositions, dance shows and puppet theatre performances, and could meet the associates and artists of Győr s cultural institutions at the kiosks in downtown. Our task is easy when it comes to involving the civilians and set specific objectives for organising volunteer work for 2023, as the EYOF volunteer programme has likely been one of the best ones of such in Hungary. Over 1,500 volunteers participated in the European Youth Olympic Festival and its immediate preparation. The best part of volunteers was from Győr or from the county, but many came from outside the county. The more than 100 foreigners who served as volunteers came from 26 countries. The clear majority of these helpers were aged under 25, but there were also more than 50 volunteers over 65. Recruiting volunteers in town started 400 days prior to the event. There was an EYOF course organised at Széchenyi István University, a separate EYOF lecture at the Senior University, roadshows at high schools, and we actively cooperated with associations to secure volunteers with professional backgrounds. In addition to sport-related assignments, volunteers were involved in the areas of information, accreditation processes, safety, local operation, food servicing, accommodation, and logistics. A computer program, written for this purpose assisted the coordination of volunteers, serving as a database and a communication channel at the same time. A 64-page long Volunteer s Guidebook assisted the work and information access of volunteers. They could use the free shuttle bus services, and even Győr Bike was made free of charge to them during EYOF. They were also provided meals, as well as a complete set of clothing. We can safely rely on the successful practice and professional background of EYOF when organising the volunteer programme of the ECC year. However, we have to keep some important differences in mind. First, volunteers active in sports might not be that open to cultural challenges. We talk about a much longer period as well, so we need to pay attention to maintaining the activity of volunteers. We must find new volunteers for the ECC programme, and give them a perspective in which they can find new challenges and possibilities to have fresh flow experiences over and over again. Explain your overall strategy for audience development, and in particular the link with education and the participation of schools. Active participation on the part of the audience is essential in the authentic elaboration of the flow theme, since passive reception will not lead to the desired flow experience. 50 GYŐR 2023

51 Therefore, encouragement to participate is the basis to inviting audience, primarily built on formal communities that already provide the experience of affinity. Primarily, these are the schools where our future audiences can be found today. In addition to continuing the forums that bring society on board, in the next phase of the application and the preceding years, we shall carry out projects built on active participation even more, which will involve participants in programme preparation on the local level. These will mainly be workshops, forums, and specific actions to trigger creativity and dialogue as elements of the City and Dialogue programme packages. We are counting on the participation of elementary and secondary schools in the Who lives in the city? programme element, which we will launch in the application stage. As a priority, we plan to involve the Győr-based high schools of art, well known in the country. They not only provide the base of the growing generation of the creative sector in Győr, which we seek to expand, but they also establish continuity in the city s art education, currently upgrading to a university level. One of the most important future pillars of our European Capital of Culture programme is an MA/BA Degree available, based on the Faculty of Arts of Széchenyi István University established in December of Establishing the Faculty of Arts is an integral part of the university s strategy to develop strong education and workshops with clear profiles. With its excellent board and the professional success of its students, the Varga Tibor Institute of Musical Art already acquired a distinguished position in higher musical education. The new system makes it possible for higher levels of art education in Győr to be successful in other areas as well. The task of the next period is to develop an educational profile. The objective of the planned Faculty of Arts is to narrow the gap observed in the number of students in human and technology sciences. This increasing disproportion between human and technology students, workers and consumers can become overwhelming. The city is a complex organism, just like a human body with a creative mind, where a lack of balance in the operations can easily result in serious illnesses. The expansion works of the Széchenyi István University, which has gained a fame and name already home and abroad in these areas and has a 21st-century technological background with a modern Faculty of Arts based on innovation, and which is open to international discourse, can be a deciding factor for the entire city. GYŐR

52 52 GYŐR 2023

53 6. Management A) FINANCE CITY BUDGET FOR CULTURE What has been the annual budget for culture in the city over the last 5 years (excluding expenditure for the present European Capital of Culture application)? (Please fill in the table below). The table below shows the cultural budget of Győr Municipality for the duration of (In all the tables of this chapter, budget data are to be understood at a 312 HUF/Euro exchange rate.) Year Annual budget for culture in the city (in euros) Annual budget for culture in the city (in % of the total annual budget for the city) ,2% ,5% ,6% ,4% ,0% It is clear to see that the city puts much emphasis on securing a substantial budget for the implementation of cultural activities. In general, the city appropriates 11 12% of its total budget for these objectives, and wants to keep this up in the future. The proportion decrease appearing in year 2017 is primarily an accounting-specific issue, as the expenses of EYOF held in Győr in 2017 were covered from a separate EYOF budget, and not from the city budget. In case the city is planning to use funds from its annual budget for culture to finance the European Capital of Culture project, please indicate this amount starting from the year of submission of the application until the European Capital of Culture year. For the sake of transparency, the city wants to handle the ECC project budget independent from the cultural budget. The separate ECC project budget is to be detailed below, both in terms of operation and investment. Which amount of the overall annual budget does the city intend to spend for culture after the European Capital of Culture year (in euros and in % of the overall annual budget)? After the implementation of a successful ECC project, based on the increased demand on culture, the city will expand its cultural budget accordingly. From the current average of 10 12% cultural budget of the total yearly budget of the city, it surely wants to bring it up to 15% following the ECC year. GYŐR

54 In nominal value, if the city budget (at a 312 HUF/EUR rate) will be around million Euros, plans are to spend million Euros on culture from the budget. OPERATING BUDGET FOR THE TITLE YEAR Income to cover operating expenditure Please explain the overall operating budget Operations budget total income (in euros) From the public sector (in euros) From the public sector (in %) From the private sector (in euros) From the private sector (in %) ,7% ,3% From 2018 on, the city plans to spend 23.2 million Euros on the operating costs of ECC, about 90% of which will come from the public sector. The proposed operational budget includes the costs of preparation years, as well as the execution resources of the ECC year. The tables below will indicate the composition and timing of the resources. Income from the public sector What is the breakdown of the income to be received from the public sector to cover operating expenditure? Please fill in the table below: Income from the public sector to cover operating expenditures in euros % National Government ,7% City ,2% Region EU (with exception of the Melina Mercouri Prize) ,1% Other Total % Have the public finance authorities (City, Region, State) already voted on or made financial commitments to cover operating expenditure? If not, when will they do so? The Local Government of Győr Municipality undertakes to vote in favour of the resources that cover the operating expenditures, the minimum resource needed for implementation, before the second-round submission deadline of the competition. For the optimal organisation of the ECC project, governmental subsidisation, as indicated in the budget, will be unavoidable. Such will remain to be correlated with the competent state offices upon successful application. This correlation process was taken into account when scheduling the resources. 54 GYŐR 2023

55 What is your fundraising strategy to seek financial support from Union programmes/funds to cover operating expenditure? The city is already very successful at using a resource covering strategy that enables it to be among those few cities that have direct applications that won in Brussels and have already been implemented. In addition, the city already has an application that won and will be used to prepare for ECC. Certainly, the city continues to monitor all those competition resources that could be inserted into the development plans. This ongoing monitoring includes national, regional, and direct resources in Brussels. We must underline that possible future resources will be examined in the monitoring process, while creating a cultural strategy and conception, making future developments even more secure in terms of resourcing. To increase the efficiency of resource identification, the city keeps in contact with several international partners with similar development ideas, and composed joint development concepts, to be able to successfully participate in an operative programme invitation not only by itself, but in a consortium. According to what timetable should the income to cover operating expenditure be received by the city and/or the body responsible for preparing and implementing the ECC project if the city receives the title of European Capital of Culture? Please fill in the table below The city plans to cover operating expenditure from four separate resources (own resources, private resources, state resources and EU support) for the most part. Out of the 4.8 million Euros planned to draw from EU resources, the city already has grant contracts for 1.6 Euros, and another 1.7 million Euros are in the application stage. The local government commits to provide the city resources in the 2nd round, and these resources will affirm a solid foundation on which to implement the ECC project. Source of income for operating expenditure EU National Government City Region Sponsors Other GYŐR

56 Income from the private sector What is the fund-raising strategy to seek support from private sponsors? What is the plan for involving sponsors in the event? Raising cultural awareness in the private sector is a decisive element of the ECC project. This awareness includes not mere sponsorship (in money and kind), but also an increase of responsibility towards society in terms of culture, along with a commitment to the cause of European culture. Those in charge of implementing the programme will pay special attention to the project sponsors: associates responsible for keeping in contact with the private sector will be chosen. The search will focus on 3 groups. The first group includes those companies already present in the web of contacts, as well as appear as sponsors of cultural events to a greater or lesser degree. The second group includes those companies where the ownership structure involves the state or public property in general. It is important that these large employers know about culture and feel connected to it, for this contact also makes it possible for us to address the target group of the programmes directly. The third group includes those that can be sensitive to a social responsibility for culture, and are willing to provide resources for such activity in proportion of their economic strength. Operating expenditure Please provide a breakdown of the operating expenditure, by filling in the table below. Programme expenditure (in euros) Programme expenditure (in %) Promotion and marketing (in euros) Promotion and marketing (in %) Wages, overheads and administration (in euros) Wages, overheads and administration (in %) Other (please specify) (in euros) Other (please specify) (in %) Total of the operating expenditure ,00% ,00% ,00% 0 0,00% Based on actual programme organising experiences, the city spends 70% of the operational expenditures on the implementation of events. Applicant will spend half of the remaining resource approximately 3.48 million Euros on promoting the project and the programmes, and around the same amount on the programme implementers wages. 56 GYŐR 2023

57 Budget for capital expenditure What is the breakdown of the income to be received from the public sector to cover capital expenditure in connection with the title year? Direct expenditure Income from the public sector to cover capital expenditure in euros % National Government ,30% City ,28% Region EU (with exception of the Melina Mercouri Prize) ,42% Other Direct and indirect expenses, combined Total ,00% Income from the public sector to cover capital expenditure in euros % National Government ,69% City ,36% Region EU (with exception of the Melina Mercouri Prize) ,95% Other Have the public finance authorities (city, region, State) already voted on or made financial commitments to cover capital expenditure? If not, when will they do so? The largest proportion of funds to cover the investments assisting and supporting the implementation of the project will be provided by the Government of Hungary, committing to it in the aforementioned governmental decision of 1387/2017 (27th of June). The city already has grant contracts for almost all resources from the European Union designated in the chart, so we can securely assert that in case of a successful application, the necessary infrastructure will be available. In relation to its self-developed projects, the city seeing the detailed plans and the architecture s cost estimation will make a commitment in the yearly budget (most likely in October 2019) before the implementation starts. What is your fundraising strategy to seek financial support from Union programmes/funds to cover capital expenditure? The city will use the same resource acquirement strategy for investments as it used to cover the operating expenditures, but it is important to highlight that most planned investments already have grant contracts. Irrespective of this fact, the city continually seeks for additional resources to amend its development plans, which can assist in involving new project elements in the ECC year. GYŐR

58 According to what timetable should the income to cover capital expenditure be received by the city and/or the body responsible for preparing and implementing the ECC project if the city receives the title of European Capital of Culture? Direct income Source of income for capital expenditure EU National Government City Region Sponsors Other Indirect and direct income, combined Source of income for capital expenditure EU National Government City Region Sponsors Other If appropriate, please insert a table here that specifies which amounts will be spent for new cultural infrastructure to be used in the framework of the title year. By the ECC title year, all infrastructural developments will have been completed; the breakdown for their schedule can be found in the chart at the end of the Capacity to Deliver section. B) ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE What kind of governance and delivery structure is envisaged for the implementation of the European Capital of Culture year? Győr does not wish to set up a new governmental body to prepare for the European Capital of Culture programme year and implementation in We intend to carry out our programme as a cooperation of several organisations, assisted by accurate divisions of responsibilities, joint governance, and ongoing control. EYOF 2017 the European Youth Olympic Festival stands as a great exemplar, considering how the preparation and realization of it was completed successfully in a similar structure. We take the organisational unit preparing the application concept, writing the application, preparing and then implementing the ECC years as a structure that is easy to mobilise. We keep in mind that the responsible professional team should work as an ongoing, united, easy-to-mobilise structure, also flexible to expand; preserve continuity in the art concepts in the first place. 58 GYŐR 2023

59 This application was compiled by the Karzat Theatre Non-profit Ltd. (cultural concept, programme structure) and the Győr Area Development and Project Management Ltd. (management, strategy, control), assisted by the city cooperation described in the Outreach chapter. The Győr Art, Festival, and Cultural Centre assisted the local government in preparing the application and bringing the city s inhabitants on board as well. We intend to keep this structure of cooperation in the second-round phase of the competition, while preparing for the ECC year and its realization in 2023, keeping the fields of competence belonging to each actor, rendering ever extending capacities to the expanding responsibilities as an organisation. How will this structure be organised at management level? Please make clear who will be the person(s) having the final responsibility for global leadership of the project? We shall create a Management group out of the managers and representatives of the implementing organisations to provide unity and successfully resolve the ECC year. In the implementing phase, Széchenyi István University will join as a partner regarding the university programmes. We consider accurate area delineation, clear and documented distribution of assignments (Project data sheet), close cooperation, and consistent, frequent, and multilateral short-term checking the tokens of our successful structure. AREAS Investments - City marketing Implementing organisation The Local Government of Győr Municipality The principle of task demarcation City developments, investments Pooling of cultural institutions Communicating Győr as a city brand and the Győr2023 programme Organiser, financial implementer of the major ECC events, also in charge of them Artistic content Karzat Theatre Non-profit Ltd. Developing the concept and the content of the Győr 2023 programme Composing and organising an international programme Responsible for the concept of the ECC year and its major events Social and institutional outreach Győr Art and Festival Centre Implementing project elements that focus on local/regional scenes Programs that bring society on board, keeping contact with the civil sphere Organising and coordinating the above listed events, along with their financial implementation Project coordination GYTP Ltd. Project management of the ECC application Supporting the settlements of other project resources. Application /settlement/ project management University and educational projects Széchenyi István University Positioned, clearly demarcated project implementation (Educational part of the Garden programme, University Faculty of Arts) GYŐR

60 The Local Government of Győr Municipality Mayor: Zsolt Borkai From 2007, the Local Government of Győr Municipality has set the objective not only to be a dynamically developing industrial city but also to make it to the map of Europe with its vigorous cultural life. This conscious cultural development takes place on an institutional level, in correlation with the city s cultural institutions and experts. The local government s City Marketing and Programme Organisation Department coordinates the year-long prime events of the Four Seasons Festival, well-known and acknowledged throughout the country. At the European Youth Olympic Festival, it managed the events, marketing, sponsorship, accommodation, information, and VIP services, along with the media domain. The Cultural Department communicates and coordinates with the cultural institutions. Appropriate environment is necessary for making cultural programmes more colourful and extensive, and the establishment of optimal event venues, along with completing special functions is carried out in close cooperation with the local government s Settlement Development Department. Karzat Theatre Non-profit Ltd. Managers: Kálmán Pál, Kata Borsa The Karzat Theatre Non-profit Ltd. is a public benefit artistic organisation. The managers prepared the cultural conception and the final application documentation of the second-round application of Győr Municipality European Capital of Culture for Co-organiser and implementer of the Circus and Street Theatre Festival that was an outstanding programme in the Pécs 2010 European Capital of Culture event. Also in 2010, programme owner of the EU Trio rotating presidency event. In 2011, together with Hungarofest, organiser and implementer of the official closing ceremony of the rotating presidency in Brussels. Organiser and implementer of the Sziget International street theatre and traditional Hungarian events. With its own street theatre events, a contributor to national and European large youth festivities, in national and international correlation. It has contributed cultural advice to the preparation of the Győr-Újváros district rehabilitation tender and investment, as well as taking part in the preparation group for the Győr CLDD tender. Its events in Győr include the Five Churches Festival and the Five Churches Advent, the former being Hungary s only festival awarded with the EFFE Laureate Festival title. Kata Borsa, Vice President of the Hungarian Festival Alliance. Győr Art, Festival, and Cultural Centre Manager: Dr. Krisztina Kardos Tóth, director The Győr Art, Festival, and Cultural Centre has diverse activities and duties. Along with fulfilling public education assignments, its main duty is to organise and raise the tourist spectrum of festivals (25. Baroque Wedding Festival; 25. Baroque Ball Győr; 10. Wine, Wine Knight and Gastronomy Festival; 10. Hungarian Traditions Festival) and other cultural shows, art displays and exhibitions, and events set out in the city s public education order that either relate to the history of the city, important in terms of tourism, or define the tourist image (Saint Ladislaus Days, Baroque Wedding, Spritzer Days etc.). Its crew of public education experts, amended by two new associates, organised the preparation events of the ECC programme, kept up contact with the inhabitants, maintained the online platforms and summarised the questionnaires. 60 GYŐR 2023

61 Győr Area Development and Project Management Ltd. Manager: Péter Sárkány The Győr Area Development and Project Management Ltd. owned by the Local Government of Győr Municipality 100% started to operate in January Its main function is related to the development plans of the Local Government of Győr Municipality relying primarily on EU support in preparing and writing applications; project management; and professional implementation of assignments as needed. With projects related to the public functions of settlements around Győr, this commercial company contributes to project preparation, application writing, and project management as well. A defining objective is to assist the city of Győr and its area in realising projects financed by EU resources, and support professional assignments suitable to its profile. When founding the commercial company, it was an essential requirement to have associates with several years of relevant professional experience in the organisation, so the duties of the company can be fulfilled on a high standard with such expertise. How will you ensure that this structure has the staff with the appropriate skills and experience to plan, manage, and deliver the cultural programme for the year of the title? Units of the organisational structure with professional experience, local knowledge, and appropriate references in their field guarantee a successful implementation not only on an individual, but on an organisational level as well. How will you make sure that there is an appropriate cooperation between the local authorities and this structure including the artistic team? The organisational structure allows for total independence of the artistic management on the one hand, and cooperation between local government and independent organisations responsible for various fields on the other. The process described below guarantees that cooperative work between the units of the Management Group, the actual implementers and the independent control organisations will create an appropriate chain of distributing information. Project data sheet: Core document for task distribution and evaluation We shall assign a responsible implementing organisation for each programme in the final application material, depending on whose area of responsibility the certain event falls into. For each event, those in charge will fill out a Project data sheet designed for the Győr European Capital of Culture programme. The programme implementers are the Project hosts (Developers). They can be the implementing organisations or their agents. The Project hosts implement their projects as set out in the Project data sheets, according to the given time schedule, and report on them as required in the Control plan. The Management group coordinates and distributes the tasks, designates the Project hosts, and carries out the preliminary and the follow up control of the implementation. Management group: An ongoing cooperation platform for implementers The main coordination organisational units of the Győr as the European Capital of Culture programme, in charge of preparing and implementing the ECC project. The head or president of the group is the leader delegated by Győr Municipality, and its members include the representatives and experts of the main implementers. GYŐR

62 The Management group starts its work in January 2019, in case of winning the European Capital of Culture 2023 title. In the preliminary period, its members will hold meetings every other month (more often if necessary), and every month or every other week in the year of Emergency meetings can be convened at the request of any member, with the designation of the topic that justifies the meeting. Organisations delegating members: Local Government of Győr Municipality, Karzat Theatre Non-profit Ltd., Győr Art, Festival, and Cultural Centre, GYTP Ltd., Széchenyi István University. The legal form of member delegating organisations: local government, public benefit cultural non-profit Ltd., local government institution, Ltd. with 100% local government ownership, secondary educational institution. Evaluation group: Indicating and monitoring the results of implementation Representatives of the Implementing organisations report to those of the Evaluation groups periodically (every fourth month) concerning the tasks completed. There is no overlap between members of the independent Evaluation group and members of the Management group. The group leader is the Mayor, whereas additional members include delegates of informal representative organisations of each related field. The Evaluation group documents its pool of information and experiences gained by carrying out the tasks, and on that basis, gives suggestions to the Implementing organisations and the Management group, and prepares one yearly report for the General Assembly, and one in English for the International evaluation group. Its main task is the ongoing monitoring of the project implementation, and giving feedback to the implementers upon evaluation. Organisations delegating members: Mayor of Győr Municipality, Educational institutions (primary and secondary institutions), Art sector, Civil sector, Business side (sponsoring). International evaluation group: The opinion of evaluators with ECC experience The Evaluation group sends its written reports to members of the International evaluation group in English. The International evaluation group, being familiar with the report, listens to the report of the Management group, and personally checks upon the actual situation of the programmes and the investments. Based on the principle of the eye of the beholder, the International evaluation group evaluates and gives suggestions for the Management group to continue with the work. Members: A group of three, representatives of foreign cities already winning an ECC competition. Two have already implemented an ECC programme, and one from a city which has already won, but will implement the ECC after 2023 only. This system of representation provides not only for independent international evaluation, but also for some kind of a continuity, with a possibility for the flow of general questions, concerns, and suggestions in relation to the ECC programme. General Assembly: The main forum of evaluation The main forum of evaluating the ECC programme is the General Assembly, which should receive a yearly report about the project. The objective is an ongoing, open forum monitoring of the project, while planning the budget of projects implemented at its own expense. Members: The General Assembly of Győr Municipality According to which criteria and under which arrangements have the general director and the artistic director been chosen or will be chosen? What are or will be their respective profiles? When will they take up the appointment? What will be their respective fields of action? 62 GYŐR 2023

63 General Manager Responsible: for the ECC project implementation Legal support Responsible: for the settling of emerging legal issues Art Directorate Responsible: for the artistic content of the ECC project Infrastructure Development Directorate Responsible: for the infrastructure and assets demands of the project Marketing and Communication Directorate Responsible: for project-level communication Project Management of Funds and Assets Responsible: for the efficient and legitimate management of assets Monitoring and Assessment Responsible: for 1/3 annual assessment preparation and implementation Programme Implementation Department Responsible: for the implementation of projects with an international orientation Department of Communal Development Responsible: for the implementation of locally oriented programmes Management of ECC and other EU assets Department of Investments Responsible: for the project infrastructure preparation and implementation External Professional Assessment Responsible: for the annual external assessment reports Department of Administration and Finance Responsible: for the background support for the implementation of the project (administration, finance, HR) GYŐR

64 The General Director responsible for the successful implementation of the ECC year is above the entire management and implementation structure. Manages and controls the work of individual areas, and how they fit into the plans and milestones set out in the application. Chosen through an open bid. Filling this office requires experience in managing projects of similar size and complexity, also knowing the local actors and possibilities and having local project management experience. Having said that, experience in the field of art is not required, since art management in professional issues will be totally independent entity in our established structure. Members of the Artistic Directorate, the Artistic Director chosen by open competition, the Art Advisers asked occasionally to give professional support for a project, and the International Art Manager responsible for international relations, the main associate of the Art Director, who coordinates and sets out the details of the programme on a local level. The assignment of the International Art Manager does not include ongoing site presence. This assignment is carried out on a project base, primarily in coordinating issues of a European dimension, building relationships, securing international events, and developing and maintaining international partnerships. Maintains a close relationship with the Art management, and participates in the meetings of the Management group from time to time. The main European ambassador of the Győr 2023 programme. The task of the Art Director is to implement the event plan set out in the application in a unified manner and at a high artistic standard. When selecting this person, experience in organising and managing programmes of a similar size will be a deciding factor, as well as the candidate s thorough knowledge of the project and the local actors. The single and independent person responsible for developing the artistic programme. The selection and invitation of the Art Advisers takes place on a project basis. Primarily, they are international experts, with reputation and appeal throughout Europe, and can effectively help the work of the Art Director with their expertise and network of contacts. The managers are chosen in the interim between the two application rounds, and they are appointed at the end of the process, if the 2023 European Capital of Culture tile is won. Continuity between the application and the implementation is granted by members of the Management group. These organisations, representing their areas according to the assignment distribution of the management structure, have already participated in the preparation of this application and will continue their work in a similar structure during the second round. Personal changes in the leadership of individual organisations do not influence the relationship of said organisation to the programme, as assignment distribution was performed on a professional, and not on an individual basis. C) CONTINGENCY PLANNING Have you carried out/planned a risk assessment exercise? Risk assessment is an important part of implementation, to secure the success of the project. With careful planning, we can greatly contribute to preventing possible obstacles or consciously overcoming difficulties already present. Consequently, we had involved actors early from all related fields to reveal all the possible risks that may arouse. In workshops and interviews, assisted by experts, we mapped out the risk factors, and looked out for solutions that can alleviate or ban them. In addition, we used all available information from the experiences of former applications to develop our contingency plan. 64 GYŐR 2023

65 What are the main strengths and weaknesses of your project? To examine the project, the committee set out the designated topic groups, and examined the factors in a SWOT analysis, assisted by experts. The examination was based on the following three main aspects. Area Strengths Weaknesses Cultural Economic & Political Social Long-established and awarded festivals, well-attended community events Our historical heritage in relation to people and events The iproximity of the Danube and one of the most important European roads transport culture directly and spontaneously Due to the geographical location of Győr, cultural customers are not limited to the inhabitants of the city, but also cover the region of the golden triangle (Vienna Bratislava Budapest) Companies of international renown, presenting languageindependent performances Appropriate foundation of the cultural infrastructure Strong historical environment and cultural supply based on it Bipolar city structure: Baroque Old Town (Catholic) Újváros ( New Town, 5 European religions) Financial resources are available for the investments of the largest scope, the city provides its own contribution to the project The city maintains good international connections Local businesses have a strong sense of social responsibility and cultural sponsorship The solvency of inhabitants is on the increase, unemployment is kept low Each fraction of the local general assembly supports the application unanimously Experts independent from political parties create the application concept Institutional financing is stable and predictable on the short run The city is easy to access The locals have a dynamic, economy-oriented political sensitivity Cultural influence of religious diversity (episcopal seat, variety of sacral traditions) The community is receptive to volunteer work (EYOF) High level of cultural education in public education institutions Strong cultural cooperation between generations Győr has a university, with ten thousand students The quality of open-air events based on the faculties of Győr needs development The museum infrastructure is inadequate to host representative exhibitions properly There online appearance of cultural institutions is not unified The high quality events addressing a specific subculture are scarce The number of events implemented with institutional correlation is small Apart from the public sphere, the number of jobs in the cultural sector is low The support, patronage and logistical management of Győr s own culture is weak Lack of career models in cultural life Lack of innovation and patents Unified online ticket sale should be extended to all cultural actors Scarcity of trained and motivated workforce in the cultural sector Weak district-level identity, local values obliviating, their processing is not adequate Unbalanced educational structure due to the excess of technical training Weak local patriotic ties among the youth, their cultural consumption is monoplane How are you planning to overcome weaknesses, including through the use of risk mitigation and planning tools, contingency planning etc. The tables below prioritize the risks that can be defined at the present state, according to their occurrence likelihood and possible effects. Risk alleviation steps can be defined accordingly. During the implementation, we keep monitoring the development of probable risk factors. In the future, we shall examine risk-related comments in the trimester, yearly and biannual reports, and forward these to the evaluators. GYŐR

66 Risk factor Alleviation Risk probability (1 4) Risk impact on project (1 4) Risk 1 Cultural Target audience s interest will stagnate towards culture Involving experts in the planning and evaluation process for appropriate programme selection and culture marketing As the cultural trend keeps changing, the programme can lose its edge and become dry for the audience. Implementers pay special attention to trend changes, and make programme alignments as necessary The coding-decoding process of cultural messages is not necessarily unambiguous, and the arrival of messages to the target is not always 100% Economic The post-2020 EU support system, presently unknown, imposes a risk 5 The risk of cancelled programmes and events Risks resulting from lapses in infrastructural constructions Low number of international guests, lower than planned Facilities in project implementation turn underutilized Social Conflict of interests risks, due to the diversity of 9 culture Growing social tensions due to the massive 10 changes in the everyday use of city spaces during the programmes 11 Change of living conditions for the inhabitants 12 Security factors Target group analysis and careful selection of the communication channel The resource side of the implementation is diversified, relying on local resources, as well as on support from the state, the private sector, and the EU Finalizing contracts with excellent withdrawal and renunciation terms, protecting the client Accountability for pursuits assumed, securing contracts with good force majeur terms and client protection Focused attention to the international audience and the needs of cultural actors The investments are based on existing needs, where sustainability is a crucia factor in the planning phase The central element of several programmes is an ongoing dialogue between social groups Wise, careful distribution and timing of events Advance planning, ongoing flow of information and involvement of the local citizens in a timely manner The highest standard security service is available for the programmes Risk probability Chances of occurrence 4 Impact on project ; ; 11 7; 9; 10 1; 2; GYŐR 2023

67 D) MARKETING AND COMMUNICATION Could your artistic programme be summed up by a slogan? In the spring of 2017, the city of Győr advertised a slogan tender, calling attention to the European Capital of Culture programme, and challenging the inhabitants to active contribution. The winning motto includes the essence of our message inherent in the flow. Enjoy the flow! What is the city s intended marketing and communication strategy for the European Capital of Culture year? (In particular with regard to the media strategy and the mobilisation of large audiences. At the final selection stage, consideration must be given in particular to the partnerships planned or established with the written press and the audio-visual sector with a view to ensuring media coverage of the event and of the plans relating to this strategy). Our objective is to keep up an activity that is effective on a country and a local level as well, in making the programme more popular, so we can have a successful European-level series of events known and awaited by everyone by The most relevant task is to build up the European Capital of Culture, Győr2023 brand, and make use of the marketing possibilities that come with brand development. A further objective is to reach high visitor numbers on the events through the year, high liking rates, making the European Capital of Culture initiative of the EU more popular, and to realize a long-term effect. The main target group of our marketing efforts is the inhabitants of Győr and of the region, expanding, as 2023 draws closer, through Hungary and all the European countries this being the message of winning the European Capital of Culture title. Our marketing consists of several well-delineated sections, in which we seek to deliver messages of the same programme that build on one another. Up until today, we have had to spread the news of Győr intending to apply, and the importance of the European Capital of Culture programme in the first place on a local level, with as large of a scope as possible. Starting in 2018, our most important task will be to help the people of Győr be aware of the content of our application and its message along with the importance of the possibility that winning the European Capital of Culture title can mean for the city and invite them to participate in a discourse of wide scope, at the end of which we can design our detailed programme. Starting in 2019, we will have to prepare to share the message of our European Capital of Culture application with the world. Simply because the European Capital of Culture year is not just some series of events for consumers where the marketing objective is to reach an extensive target group, and encourage them to consume culture or spend as a tourist. Rather, it is a responsibility that by seizing the opportunity for culture-based community development that lies in the schedule, we can turn its results to building up both Győr and Europe. In relation to our marketing activities (and in all other areas related to the programme), beyond advertising specific events, we must ask the following questions, and articulate our answers to the audience in a way that conveys the message: How can we with the help of the given programme display the main messages of our application, the possibility for flow between cultures, religions, nations, countries, ages, real and virtual spaces? GYŐR

68 How can we display the fact that the given programme invites active participation, a shared flow experience? How can we pass on the traditions of the European Capital of Culture programme, and its effects on the cultural life and the future of Europe from those who went before us to those who will implement the next ECC year? Developing a unified appearance which has already started in the preparatory stage of the application, is the first impression one gets from the Győr2023 project as a brand. The image elements contributing to a positive impact, such as the logo and the branded instruments, from the calendar through the website to the banners: all assist our brand development. The image handbook will be ready by the year of bearing the title, which will include the principles of the organisation s image in content and form, and set out the user s instructions and the visual world of the design system, while seeking to assist the most effective articulation of the message value inherent in the questions above. On a local level, it is especially paramount that by 2023, those living in Győr will be open, receptive, and active participants of the European Capital of Culture year. Therefore, informing the people through communication channels in an ongoing fashion about upcoming events and their opportunities to participate is our fundamental task. This will strengthen the identity and the trust of those living in Győr and in its region, and they will become partners in transmitting the series of events included in the application that is built on traditions, while it is also innovative, modern, and span across the borders. Hospitable locals will give positive impulses to consumers, the tourists who arrive here, and who can then feel comfortable and secure in a pleasant atmosphere. Countrywide, raising awareness is our number one duty, because we want the entire nation to become familiar with the Győr2023 programme series and the possibilities that come with it, including the sense of a national pride, and the experience of European affinity. In addition to delivering our massage, the awareness raising campaign will also be an invitation to our events. A good way to reach this objective is a billboard campaign, nationwide media presence in the printed and the electronic press, television, radio and social media platforms. On an international level, the social media on the ever-expanding Internet is the best channel to make Győr2023 even more popular. It is fast, cost-effective, and makes it possible to reach a large audience. Brand development in the cyberspace takes place with Facebook activities, Instagram appearances, and operating a Győr2023 website. At the same time, we will have to pay constant attention to changes in the online possibilities, and align our communication with not only the programme advertised now, but with the trends of the day as well. The planned dynamism of the campaign aligns with the events of year 2023, being ongoing and pulsating at the same time. The dispersion plan for the use of media and communication devices will be developed for each calendar month. In planning the campaign, we will have to continue to pay attention to appropriately contact each of the various population segments. In close connection with the events of the year, we are planning television, radio, and online broadcasts, accompanied with printed and electronic publications. The website of the Győr 2023 programme, is in the preparatory phase, planned to be launched right after submitting the application in the first round. Both the Hungarian and the English websites will have a clear structure, appropriate for both the younger and the older generations for easy acquaintance. Apart from its information transmitting and event calendar functions, the website will be yet another communication channel, a digital message platform that assist user interaction and ongoing social dialogue. The győr2023 programme has its own social sites (Facebook, Instagram), since the social 68 GYŐR 2023

69 media is the most effective and most direct tool of current online communications, where people interested can easily exchange information from all over the globe. The objective is to keep the social sites continuously updated, making it possible to keep the inhabitants informed and involved, and raise the popularity of ECC. The Facebook page can serve as a place to ask direct, personal questions. During the EYOF organisation, athletes, coaches, and professionals from 50 countries were enabled to receive information around the clock from the official Facebook page of the event, the positive effect of which could be felt even before the event. How will you mobilise your own citizens as communicators of the year to the outside world? The most efficient way to make our application and our subsequent programme more popular is to report on the active participation of our citizens, their own authentic flow experiences. The ambassadors of the Győr application will be the citizens of Győr. We would like to have the programme itself give the authenticity of the artistic value, and the message of communication be the greatness of experiences already acquired, from the most legitimate source, the audience itself. From the spring of 2018 on, based on investments and programme elements set out in the application, the Győr2023 extended reality application will launch, making it possible to extend reality with virtual elements of our application. The platform accessible for all through a mobile phone camera not only provides a reference point for those interested in the events, but also gives a possibility for everyone to make it better with one s opinion and suggestions. We intend the application, connected to platforms of the City-workshop in the preliminary years, and amended with other channels of communication, to produce an active cycle of reporters from Győr, who will become the pillars of communication to the outside world. How does the city plan to highlight that the European Capital of Culture is an action of the European Union? We talk about the flow in our application and throughout the European Capital of Culture year because we believe that expanding and examining this topic can yield results that can be useful not only for Győr, but also and primarily for the European Union. When everything seems to be falling apart, the main message is the information that flows to one another, the option of discourse. The European Capital of Culture programme was born in a strong and self-confident Europe, while now we live in a Europe for which strengthening its own cultural roots is the most crucial chance to survive. The European Capital of Culture initiative is the most influential ambassador of this possibility, and we want to talk about it. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION In a few lines explain what makes your application so special compared to others. The European Capital of Culture title is not merely a chance for cohesion but a unique opportunity to channel the city s existing and yet undeveloped energies, while using the years of preparation to prove its place of importance on the continent by being an example of contributing to the creative, independent cultural values on a European level in the year GYŐR

70 Annex 1. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE MUNICIPALITY OF THE CITY OF GYŐR AND ITS CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS NATIONAL THEATRE OF GYŐR Vienna Collegium Hungaricum Balassi Institute; Budapest Hungarian Association Teátrum, Hungarian Theatre Association, Artist Association Mozaik, Budapest Festival and Tourism Centre (BFTK) Békéscsaba Association of Regional Theatre Directors; BALLET COMPANY OF GYŐR Germany Aalto Ballet, Essen; Slovakia Slovakian National Ballet, Hungarian Art Ensemble Ifjú Szívek, Bratislava; Romania Hungarian Opera of Kolozsvár, Dance Ensemble Háromszék Sepsiszentgyörgy; Theater Szigligeti from Nagyvárad; Nagyvárad Dance Ensemble; Csíkszeredai Hargita National Szekely Folk Ensemble; Székelyudvarhely Community Centre; Turkey Turkish National Opera and Ballet, Antalya; Austria Schlote Konzertdirection, Salzburg; Czech Republic South Bohemian Ballet Ceské Budejovice; Narodni Divadlo, Brno; Italy Egribiancodanza Compagnia, Torino; Just In Time Srl; USA Joyce Theater New York; IFEA International Festivals and Events Association, Russia, Germany, Israel, USA Hungarian Cultural Institutes of Budapest; Budapest Directorate of the National Cultural Fund, Ministry of Human Capacities, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Hungarian Theatre Association, Hungarian Dancers Association, Union of Hungarian Music and Dance Artists, Hungarian Academy of Arts, College of Hungarian Dance Arts; Tours abroad: Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Romania (Transylvania), Slovakia, Italy, Russia, USA, Ireland, Greece, Finland, Slovenia, China. GYŐR PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA Slovakia Community Center of the City of Dunaszerdahely; Budapest Palace of Arts; Music Academy Concert Center Liszt Ferenc; Sopron Liszt Ferenc Conference and Cultural Center; Pécs Pannon Philharmonic Orchestra; Veszprém Hangvilla Multifunctional Community Centre, Tours abroad: Morocco, China, South-Korea, Taiwan, Italy, Macedonia, Russia, Poland, Slovakia, Germany, Austria. 70 GYŐR 2023

71 IRON ROOSTER PUPPET THEATRE Budapest University of Theatre and Film Arts of Budapest, National Dance Theatre; Orlai Production Bureau Tatabánya Jászai Mari Theatre All Hungarian Puppet Theatres Tours abroad: Serbia, Bulgaria, Turkey, Croatia, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Italy, Austria, USA, China, Romania, Slovenia, Poland RÓMER FLÓRIS ART AND HISTORY MUSEUM Germany University of Marburg; Slovakia University of Fine Arts, Slovakian National Gallery, Danubiana Museum, International Textiltriennale Austria Collegium Hungaricum; Italy Hungarian Institute in Rome; Budapest Hungarian University of Fine Arts, Pulszky Association Association of Hungarian Museums, Special Vocational School for Visually Impaired Children, Fund Kézzelfogható ; Székesfehérvár Association of Hungarian Regional Museums; Sárospatak Hungarian Kiwanis Association; DR. KOVÁCS PÁL LIBRARY AND COMMUNITY SPACE Slovakia Forum Minority Research Institute, Somorja; Budapest Goethe-Institut, British Council, Association of Hungarian Librarians, Alliance of Libraries and Information Institutes, HUNGARNET Association; GYŐR MUNICIPALITY ARCHIVES Budapest Hungarian Historical Society, Association of Hungarian Archivists, Association of County and Municipal Archives; Pécs Romany Society for General and Cultural Education, The Center of Roma History, Culture, Education and Holocaust; Municipal archives of Budapest, Székesfehérvár, Tatabánya, Vác HOUSE OF GENERATIONS CULTURAL CENTRE Germany Jugendkunstwerkstatt, Koblenz; Budapest Marcibányi téri Community Centre, Káva Drama/Theatre in Education Association, National Network of Educational Theatre Companies; Szada Round Table Theatre in Education GYŐR

72 ANNEX 2 DECLARATION OF HONOUR BY THE APPLICANT CITY The undersigned Zsolt Borkai: representing the following legal person: full official name: Local Government of Győr Municipality official legal form: Local Government of Győr Municipality full official address: H-9021 Győr, Városház tér 1. VAT registration number: certify that the applicant city is not in one of the following situations which would exclude it from receiving Union prizes: a) is bankrupt or being wound up, is having its affairs administered by the courts, has entered into an arrangement with creditors, has suspended business activities, is the subject of proceedings concerning those matters, or is in any analogous situation arising from a similar procedure provided for in national legislation or regulations; b) has been convicted of an offence concerning professional conduct by a judgment of a competent authority of a Member State which has the force of res judicata; c) has been guilty of grave professional misconduct proven by any means which the Commission can justify including by decisions of the European Investment Bank and international organisations; d) is not in compliance with all its obligations relating to the payment of social security contributions and the payment of taxes in accordance with the legal provisions of the country in which it is established, with those of the country of the authorising officer responsible and those of the country where the action is to be implemented; e) has been the subject of a judgement which has the force of res judicata for fraud, corruption, involvement in a criminal organisation, money laundering or any other illegal activity, where such activity is detrimental to the Union s financial interests; f) is subject to an administrative penalty for being guilty of misrepresenting the information required as a condition of participation in a procurement procedure or another grant award procedure or failing to supply this information, or having been declared to be in serious breach of its obligations under contracts or agreements covered by the Union s budget. 2 declare that the applicant city: g) has no conflict of interests in connection with the prize; a conflict of interests could arise in particular as a result of economic interests, political or national affinity, family, emotional life or any other shared interest; 72 GYŐR 2023

73 h) will inform the Commission, without delay, of any situation considered a conflict of interests or which could give rise to a conflict of interests; i) has not granted and will not grant, has not sought and will not seek, has not attempted and will not attempt to obtain, and has not accepted and will not accept any advantage, financial or in kind, to or from any party whatsoever, where such advantage constitutes an illegal practice or involves corruption, either directly or indirectly, inasmuch as it is an incentive or reward relating to the award of the prize; j) provided accurate, sincere and complete information within the context of this prize award procedure. 3 I declare that the applicant city is fully eligible in accordance with the criteria set out in the specific call for submission of applications. 4 I acknowledge that according to Article 131 of the Financial Regulation of 25 October 2012 on the financial rules applicable to the general budget of the Union (Official Journal L 298 of , p. 1) and Article 145 of its Rules of Application (Official Journal L 362, , p.1) applicants found guilty of misrepresentation may be subject to administrative and financial penalties under certain conditions. If selected to be awarded a prize, the applicant city accepts the conditions as laid down in the call for submission of applications. Last name, first name: Zsolt Borkai Title or position in the city: Mayor of the City, Győr Signature [and official stamp] of the applicant: Date: 27 November 2017 Your reply to the call for submission of applications will involve the recording and processing of personal data (such as your name, address and CV), which will be processed pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by the Community institutions and bodies and on the free movement of such data. Unless indicated otherwise, your replies to the questions in this form and any personal data requested are required to assess your application in accordance with the specifications of the call for submission of applications and will be processed solely for that purpose by [fill in the name of the entity acting as data controller]. Details concerning the processing of your personal data are available on the privacy statement at the page: Your personal data may be registered in the Early Warning System (EWS) only or both in the EWS and Central Exclusion Database (CED) by the Accounting Officer of the Commission, should you be in one of the situations mentioned in: the Commission Decision 2008/969 of on the Early Warning System (for more information see the Privacy Statement on or the Commission Regulation 2008/1302 of on the Central Exclusion Database (for more information see the Privacy Statement on ) GYŐR

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