The Melina Mercouri Award, named after the Greek Minister of Culture, who is considered the most responsible for founding the European Capital of Culture project, was won by Rijeka upon the recommendation of a European Commission expert panel assessing the seriousness and success of the project.
The decision to grant this project an award worth 1.5 million euros was made in Galway after a meeting and the third monitoring of the implementation of the Rijeka 2020 – European Capital of Culture project. The presentation of the project and programme being prepared for next year was held today in the afternoon hours by the Rijeka 2020 team before a 10-member panel of experts monitoring the implementation of the project, and representatives of the European Commission. The presentation was followed by a two-hour Q&A session where representatives of the Rijeka 2020 team answered the questions of the expert panel members. Galway, the city carrying the title of the European Capital of Culture 2020 along with Rijeka, went through the same process in the morning hours of the same day.
The Rijeka and Galway teams with the expert panel representatives.
After the presentations and after getting fully acquainted with the implementation of the Rijeka and Galway projects so far, the expert panel held a standalone session and reached the decision and recommendation to grant Rijeka 2020 the Melina Mercouri award of 1.5 million euros.
It is a valuable financial award, which also carries the message of success in the work carried out so far on the development of the Rijeka 2020 – European Capital of Culture project. This award means that Rijeka fulfilled all the high criteria set by the expert panel and that by seriously managing the project, up to the year of the ECoC title, it accomplished all the tasks that were set before it.
The award is an overall recognition not only to the immediate Rijeka 2020 team whose representatives successfully presented the development of this project yesterday, but also to all the partners involved, all the establishments, associations, institutions and individuals, all the citizens who are heavily involved in this project and who make this award our common success.
The award was named after Melina Mercouri, who advocated in 1985 for better mutual familiarity between European citizens, and for them to exchange and discuss culture. Understanding Europe as a place with a shared cultural past as well as future, she argued that the whole of Europe should be united, and that culture carries the strongest potential for peace.
It is with these values that the European Capital of Culture project was established to connect European citizens and raise awareness of the fact that together they belong to one and the same European cultural circle. With the same values in mind, the Rijeka 2020 team held a presentation of the European Capital of Culture project, which has been in the works in Rijeka for the last three years, and whose rich cultural and art programme will be realised during 2020. The Croatian delegation in Galway at the presentation showcasing the project and its progress so far included: Vojko Obersnel, Mayor of Rijeka, Ivan Šarar, Head of Rijeka’s Department of Culture, Emina Višnić, CEO of Rijeka 2020, a company established to implement the project, Slaven Tolj, Artistic Director of the project, Irena Kregar Šegota, Partnership and Communications Director at Rijeka 2020, Iva Grego, Operations Director, and Dražen Nikolić, Brand Management Consultant. Croatia’s Ministry of Culture representative, Ms. Anera Stopfer was also present in Galway.
In addition to the cultural and artistic programme for 2020 the topics of the project’s legacy were particularly emphasized in the presentation and talks. It remains as a lasting value in cultural objects under renovation and construction in Rijeka, but also in the stimulated activities of citizens who are strongly involved in the project in several ways, among other things, through a vibrant educational programme. This programme, which has been extensively underway in the preceding period, represents a lasting value in the sense of the knowledge and skills gained, which already form the basis of future successful cultural projects in Rijeka. These topics were also discussed in the context of the future strategy, that is to say, of the strategic guidelines for further development of culture in Rijeka. Namely, the European Capital of Culture project aims to influence the incorporation of culture into the long-term development of cities, which is why the topics of the ECoC project’s heritage are of vital importance. In this matter, Rijeka has achieved some valuable results, and that fact was recognised at the meetings in Galway.
In one of the first statements coming from Galway, the Mayor of Rijeka Vojko Obersnel said that he felt very proud, and that the award granted to Rijeka was a huge success.
“This proves that the people involved in this project have put their heart into it, all the while maintaining a high level of professionalism. I congratulate the entire team, all the institutions, establishments, associations, but also, all the citizens involved in this project on winning this award. This is a recognition for all of us.” – said Obersnel in his statement from Galway.
The CEO of Rijeka 2020, a company established to implement the project, Emina Višnić pointed out that the Melina Mercouri award is a major and important financial endorsement that the project is being successfully managed and developed.
But more than that ”This award at the symbolic level is a confirmation that Rijeka is and that Croatia is in harmony with European cultural values, that we carry and transmit the values of the European cultural circle, that with this project we write new messages for the future and that we truly belong to it as citizens of Europe” – Emina Višnić said.
Some members of Rijeka’s ECoC team will be making their way back home from Galway tomorrow afternoon; while Rijeka’s Mayor Vojko Obersnel and Irena Kregar Šegota, Rijeka 2020 Partnership and Communications Director will leave for Paris, where a presentation press conference of the Rijeka 2020 – European Capital of Culture project and programme will take place at the Croatian Embassy. Filip Vučak, ambassador of the Republic of Croatia to France, and Danijela Mihalić Đurica, head of the Croatian Tourist Board’s French office will be hosts to Rijeka’s delegation and to the French journalists in Paris.
