The European Institute of Cultural Routes was endorsed by the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg to organise seminars of reflection in the European cultural capitals.

The action "The European City of Culture" was launched by the Ministers Council of the European Union in June 1985, based on an original idea of Mélina Mercouri, then Greek Ministry of culture.

european capitals of culture

This event, conceived "to contribute to bringing people together", enables every year a European city to rise culturally by organising all kinds of activities on a selected topic. The European capitals of culture are a growing success with the public and the media, often with durable effects on the cultural and tourist development of the selected city.

From 1985 to 1999, 15 cities profited from this opportunity and were thus proposed for discovery. In 2000 nine European cities (Avignon, Bergen, Bologna, Brussels, Helsinki, Cracow, Reykjavik, Prague and Santiago de Compostella) were elected because of the exceptional and emblematic character of this year.

In 1999 the "European city of Culture" was renamed "European Capital of Culture" (which explains the use of both terms) and was registered by the European Commission within the framework of the program "Culture 2000" with the title "special cultural events of European and international importance", which implies a new selection procedure for the next capitals beginning in 2005. Cork, European capital in 2005, is the first one selected according to this new procedure which consists of a community decision and no longer of an intergovernmental choice.

In 1990 the "European Cultural Month" was created ; it is a similar action, but shorter in duration and addressing itself primarily to Central and Eastern European countries.

luxembourg's involvement in the project

The European action "city/capital of culture" generates increased co-operation of a multitude of actors involved in varied cultural events: heritage, live spectacles, music, visual arts, etc., often in partnership with other cities (in particular in 2000 among the nine capitals). Let us quote for example the project "Evidence, Europe reflected in archives" co-ordinated by Maria-José Justo Martin (Director of the Archives of Santiago de Compostella), concerning the treatment of archives by cities. It involved seven of the nine European cities of culture in 2000 and consisted of a common reflection on the analogies and differences on the matter.

The action "European city/capital of culture" falls under the current tendency followed by local communities and in particular by cities to be primarily interested in cultural and cultural heritage questions, questions in addition related to their tourist concerns.

The town of Luxembourg was "European city of culture" in 1995 and broadened its actions to include the whole country. In 2007 Luxembourg will again accommodate a "capital of culture", elected according to the new procedure and wishing to extend to the whole of the "Grande Région" area. Luxembourg also accommodates the Network of European Cultural Cities and Months, which enables its partners to exchange and transmit information in particular to the organisers of future activities.

Luxembourg thus chose to be strongly involved in this action and to participate in this possibility of co-operation with European capitals of culture. This is why it gave the European Institute of Cultural Routes the task of organising international seminars of reflection in some of these cities.

capital questions in capital cities

In October 2000 the European Institute of Cultural Routes and the European Centre for Culture in Saint Jean d'Angély thus prepared a first seminar, which tackled a capital question: "The cultural values of European citizenship" and was held in Santiago de Compostella, European Cultural Capital in 2000.

In December 2002 the second stage will be developed; it was initially envisaged to take place in 2001 in Porto (European Capital of Culture 2001, together with Rotterdam), but it will be held in Bourglinster, in Luxembourg, country of three borders, in agreement with the selected capital question "Society and Industrial Heritage". The "Grande Région" (Saar - Lorraine - Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg - the Rhineland-Palatinat - the Wallonny Region / the French-speaking Belgian community - the German-speaking Belgian community) is indeed one of the top places of heritage in the fields of iron and steel industry and of mining. It was in its heart that the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was launched to last for fifty years.

In 2002 was celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of ECSC and thus the expiry of the treaty that gave birth to it; it is therefore an ideal year to celebrate the selected topic "Society and Industrial Heritage".