About this webinar:
The title of European Capital of Culture has become, in the last decade, a unique opportunity for small and medium size cities to valorise their cultural activities, their cultural heritage and local creative scenes by also boosting tourism, placing them on the European map of destinations.
More and more, over the years, the cities bidding for the title are reflecting not only on their cultural strategies and offers but also how new forms of tourism could be linked to them to be more sustainable, respectful of the local heritage and local communities, allowing the visitors to fully experience local life and locals not to suffer gentrification processes and huge changes in their daily habits.
The role of creative industries as promoter of innovation, fully in line with the concepts of the New European Bauhaus, has become more and more central in the bid books of the candidate cities and in the final programs of the selected one.
The webinar will explore these connections and dimensions by comparing the experiences of three European Capitals of Culture from the past (Kosice 2013), the present (Matera 2019) and the future (Chemnitz 2025) all of them with important experiences in connecting tourism, cultural heritage and creative industries and potential examples for future cities.
Speakers:
Rita Orlando - Background in architecture, since 2003 she has worked on urban and social regeneration projects, coordinating multidisciplinary and international working groups. In 2014, she joined the Matera 2019 team for the city's successful bid for the title of European Capital of Culture, managing experimental projects focused on innovation. Since 2016, she has been the manager of the Open Design School, a participatory and innovative design laboratory and partner of the New European Bauhaus. She is currently leading the cultural design team of the Foundation Matera Basilicata 2019.
Michaela Podolakova - is the Executive Director of the destination management organisation Visit Košice, where she leads the development of tourism in the city, guiding the organisation to respond to emerging tourism trends with effective strategies using a data-driven approach and strengthening partnerships with various stakeholders. Her professional background links the organisation's activities with the cultural and creative sector and the management of processes through digitalisation and innovation. She oversees the development and promotion of Košice's tourism brand as an ideal destination for leisure and business travellers.
Josephine Hage - is a creative industries advocate with a background in European Public Policy. She worked as researcher in the field of creative industries and was co-director of the bottom-up organization CREATIVE SAXONY. Her focus is on internationalization and cross innovation. Since 2023, she is curator of the flagship project Makers, Business & Arts of the European Capital of Culture Chemnitz 2025.
Moderated by Paolo Montemurro: Director of Materahub, project manager of EU-funded projects since 2008. Since 2010 he has been working on capacity building actions for the creative and cultural sector and supporting young entrepreneurs and startups in the cultural and social sector. Since 2014 he has been working on cross-fertilisation between art and other sectors of the economy, society and culture. Actively involved on the topic of internationalisation and networking at European level for the creative and cultural sector.
