ECOC project vs future development of the city

Carlos Martins

We were supposed to plan the year, we started in 2008 - so our job is almost done. We are responsible for implementing the program and also for evaluating its impacts by several indicators and we are supposed to do it until next September. So we have almost one year to finish all our work. The transition period is as important as the implementation of the program it self. We are working in a partnership platform with different subjects from the municipality to universities to some local companies and some other partners and together we are developing this strategy for continuing development. We also understand that European Capital of Culture is a special year, extraordinary, so the expectations are justified at this time. But people also need to understand that next year will be different and of course there will be less - in terms of quantity, of events, of activities. At the same time we want to be one step ahead in terms of city development and that´s why it’s very important that the new ecosystem is being fed by new actors and new agendas since the European Capital of Culture is going to disappear in one year. I think the city is now much more powered now and there is capacity here but of course it’s a risk and in this context of economic depression it is really important to try to do it with much less resources than before. That means that you have to do it in a collaborative way and that’s the great legacy of the European Capital of Culture. We are really European in the meaning that we can work together with other cities, with other people and the perspective of profit out of this new platform is the key point for the future of the city in the area of culture and creative development.<br>

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Carlos Martins

Carlos Martins

Chairman at ADDICT – Agency for the development of the Creative Industries in Porto, Portugal

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