Public invited to help Valletta become culture capital

Conferred by the European Commission, the title of European Capital of Culture provides Valletta – and in effect all Malta – with the opportunity to participate in what is probably the most prestigious and visible cultural initiative in the European Union. Imagine 18 is being organised by the Valletta 2018 Foundation, a new entity charged with formulating and implementing the vision and strategy of the ECoC bid.

 “Imagine 18 represents the real start, the kick-off in earnest, of our bid to secure Valletta as a European Capital of Culture in 2018,” said David Felice, Chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Commission for the ECoC, which will be a member of the Valletta 2018 Foundation.

“We’ve made immense progress in the past year or so in creating a strong platform on which to launch the bid. Now, we need to articulate what it will be. We are starting the most important part of our journey towards Valletta as an ECoC.” 

The Foundation’s first milestone is to submit preliminary proposals, the so-called ‘bid book’, to the European Commission by October 17 this year.  

The European Commission has designated two countries as potential ECoC hosts in 2018: Malta and The Netherlands, where four cities are competing for the title. Although Malta sees one city fielding its candidacy, representing all Malta and Gozo, there is no obligation for the European Commission to confer the title if it considers the bid falls below quality thresholds.  A key factor in determining a city’s viability as an ECoC is the candidate’s vision of what it expects the year to achieve. 

Imagine 18 has been conceived as a vehicle to crowd source ideas from both the public and cultural stakeholders to channel into bid book. Valletta 2018 Project Coordinator, Karsten Xuereb said that the workshops on day two of the event were aimed at stimulating a free flow of ideas with discussions focused on eight core themes. 

The themes range from looking at exploring creativity and play in cultural, youth and educative projects to bringing science closer to our everyday, and from celebrating cultural diversity to harnessing and innovatively re-interpreting the islands’ events and traditions.

 “At this stage, some seven years before Valletta as a potential ECoC, we’re looking for high-level vision not the specifics of individual programmes, which will come later.  Vision is not an easy concept; we all like to focus on tangible outcomes like street art festivals or youth events.  With the quorum of public attending, alongside cultural stakeholders, I am confident we are capable of rising to the challenge of creating a winning, overall vision for Valletta 2018.”

For further information and to register for the event, please contact Graziella Vella: Tel: 9982 7188 or email: [email protected].