On 13 June 2014, members of the concept council (Idis Turato, Marin Blažević, Mani Gotovac, and Slaven Tolj), Mayor Vojko Obersnel, and head of the Department of Culture Ivan Šarar presented the proposal of the concept of the City of Rijeka’s candidacy for the European Capital of Culture 2020 on the Marina ship.
After the initial presentation, an e-consultation was held, within which citizens were able to express their positions on the concept, while two public discussions were held in Art kino Croatia. Members of the working group Ingeborg Fülepp, Kristian Benić, Slaven Tolj, Ivan Šarar, and Irena Kregar-Šegota spoke at the first public discussion on the concept proposal.
It was pointed out that the beginning of every discourse sounded populist and demagogic and frequently demotivated creators. However, it can still generate positive energy and allow everybody to find their direction of expression. The culture in the anthropological sense, as well as this concept proposal, includes all pores of the community, and not only the artistic programmes. It was stressed that participation was an important determinant of this project and would have to become relevant.
The introduction of the notion of a border, i.e. bridge, as a metaphor of bridging intolerance, was proposed. In this context, it was stressed that 2020 was the anniversary of D’Annunzio’s departure, which was an opportunity to deal with more serious, taboo topics, and to start pointing out the negative sides. It was concluded that we needed to work on the coexistence of diversity, communicate more and resolve problems. However, the need for introduction into the discourse of tradition, masquerade, zvončari, čakavština dialect, emphasising of the Istrian scale, tarantella, etc. was also articulated.
Members of the concept team Marin Blažević, Idis Turato, and Oliver Frljić spoke at the second public discussion on the candidacy proposal, while Velid Đekić moderated the discussion. The team members referred to the most important thing this candidacy should bring – change. A change is necessary for the city to open up even more and connect with its closest regional surroundings. The specificity of Rijeka also lies in its wealth in minorities, such as gender, racial, and national minorities, which should be additionally affirmed. Regardless of the final outcome of the candidacy, the idea is to design sustainable programmes, and the title, although flattering, is not the most important thing in this case. The change is.
