WE ARE THE FLOW About the Győr 2023 application for the title of the European Capital of Culture
Dear Reader, The booklet you are holding in your hand is the handbook of the most recent commitment of Győr. It is a short abstract of the work carried out by our colleagues and experts together with the town s artists, cultural and educational institutions and non-governmental organisations, so that Győr could become the European Capital of Culture in 2023. In the second round we continue the work we have already started, based on the decision of the international jury. We, residents of Győr, know very well what it means when the whole town joins its forces if there is a common goal, and that common goal we finally achieve together with the help of the power of the community and its persistence. Our great commitment in the summer of 2017 was EYOF (European Youth Olympic Festival), Hungary s first Olympic event. We had prepared and worked a lot for it for years. The memories of the joint effort, the common success will stay with us forever, and will always make us remember that we can be the first together because we are strong together. Sport now gives way to culture, and our European Capital of Culture program will now get into the centre of collaboration. The theme of our application is the flow which has always been an integral part of the history of Győr, and it is so even today. We believe in the flow. We published our complete application on the website 2023gyor.hu at the moment we handed it in, and we regularly report its progress on our online sites and all media in Győr. I am hereby asking you to be an active member of the city s European Capital of Culture application! Zsolt Borkai Mayor of Győr
About the European Capital of Culture program Europe s first Capital of Culture was Athens, Greece, in 1985. The program was started by the Council of the European Union based on the proposal of Melina Mercouri, the then Greek minister of culture. In the past 30 years more than 50 European cities have won the bid to host this event. Every year the European Capital of Culture program is a great opportunity for the next winner city to host the year-round fest of the European culture, contributing not only to the wellbeing of its citizens and the enrichment of its city, but also to the preservation of the unity of European culture. Where people are free, it is enough for them to gather together and they already feel well. Place a pole decorated with flowers in the middle of a square, collect people around it, and the feast is ready. If you want to do more, let the audience itself be the attraction, let them be the characters, and let them see themselves and love themselves in the others because this way unity will be more perfect among them. Rousseau s Letter to d Alembert on the Theatre It is the chosen city s responsibility to prepare, organise and manage this year and fill it in with such programmes which not only serve the long term development of its city s community effectively, but at the same time they also reflect upon the most current cultural and social questions of Europe. Thus the cities competing to hold the title are trying to opt for such a theme in their application which hope to find answers for the above mentioned questions, and can serve as a solid and coherent thematic basis for their programmes throughout the whole year. The European Union in its 445/2014 decision regulated the conditions governing the winning and holding of the title for the period of 2020 and 2033, and assigned Hungary to be the host country of the European Capital of Culture program in 2023. The selection of the host city is carried out during a two-round tender, at least four years before holding the title so that the winner could have enough time to prepare and organise the final programmes. The application is evaluated by an international jury of twelve members, who makes its decision on the basis of the application book answering a specific set of questions, and after the physical meeting with the delegations representing the candidate cities. We will know which city in Hungary will become the European Capital of Culture in 2023 sometime at the end of 2018.
We are the flow The central topic of the application of Győr is the FLOW. Flow in the sense of a natural phenomenon, in the sense of real or virtual information flow, and in the sense of the central concept of positive philosophy. Győr should be the place where the history of the flow of Europe is summarized and documented for the next generations. The place where, upon studying the issue of the flow, we can discover and record along scientific and artistic considerations everything that is on its way to vanish from Europe, but the memory of which will be needed for Europe to take hold of its own future. From the application of Győr Győr is situated at the conflux of rivers, so with its history it can serve as an example in Europe showing how the cultural stimuli accompanying the flow was used for good in the past, how it uses the flow of information in the present, and what kinds of options it sees in the flow for the future. Apropos of its European Capital of Culture application, Győr has now the possibility based on its own culture and cultural identity to summarize, reposition and preserve the message of the experience and tradition collected in the flow for posterity. These surveys will also help the residents of Győr to get to know and utilise the opportunities hidden in the flow and in the geographical position of the town. The flow determines not only the topic of our ECC program, but it is also an attitude which will give an extra character to all our activities with the help of the positive philosophy. The basis of our strategy is not just to provide passive cultural experience but more importantly to create a mutual flow experience. After 2023 we would like our citizens to remember not only the programmes and results of the European Capital of Culture year, but also the individual and public secret of experiencing happiness.
We believe in the flow We divided our draft programme into three big categories: the WAY, the CITY and the DIALOGUE. These groups do not define genre or territorial limits, but rather goals which we can achieve by involving different artistic and scientific fields. We can improve our lives by constantly increasing our experience of happiness. Mihály Csíkszentmihályi As for the topic of the WAY, we consider all processes as part of the flow which played a crucial role in the modern history of Europe, and which by crossing Győr on road or water formed or is still forming the town s history. The roads like channels show the processes of the flow of diverse kinds of knowledge expressively, and present them as tourist attractions for the general public. The system sectioned in time and space is the frame of our European Capital of Culture project encompassing the whole of Europe. The aim of the CITY program package is to awaken the dormant and creative energy, to promote the mutual thinking and exchange of views with such creative forums, tasks and possibilities which activate all age groups, but especially young people, living in this town. This program package wants to exploit urban culture, urban development and the creative skills of urban youth; it aims to provide possibilities to embrace culture in an even more qualitative and diverse way, to create new workshops of art and to establish and strengthen the bonds of artists to Győr. The DIALOGUE program package in 2023 generates exchange of views in the field of different art forms and cultural policy, it gives framework and forums for the discussion, and with its investments it provides technical background for housing such European mobile projects which generate international dialogue around one or another particular art form. Discourse about any segment of the European culture, whether it is the European modes of decorating stove tiles or the current status of contemporary dance, is an opportunity to get to know each other s culture and at the same time to understand our mutual European culture. After all discussion is nothing else but the pure flow of knowledge.
Follow the flow The complete application of Győr and other information about the application is available on the program s website: www.2023gyor.hu For current programmes and information follow us on Facebook: @gyor2023ekf or on Instagram: #gyor2023ekf Strategic partners of the application of Győr: Sopron Municipality Széchenyi István University Hungarian Benedictine Congregation Archabbey of Pannonhalma Eszterháza Cultural, Research and Festival Centre Non-profit Ltd. Fertő-Hanság National Park Directorate Chamber of Commerce and Industry for Győr-Moson-Sopron County Dunaszerdahely
2023GYOR.HU GYOR2023EKF Enjoy the flow! Keep this booklet and register with the serial number at www.2023gyor.hu for valuable prizes! For further information please visit our website! Published by Zsolt Borkai, Mayor of Győr Municipality