Coronavirus #66 – mayors together for culture

Mayors of metropolitan cities join together for the cultural sector

The mayors of Gdańsk, Katowice, Kraków, Lublin, Łódź, Poznań, Szczecin, Warszawa and Wrocław join again under the Cities Coalition for Culture project. In a letter sent to Piotr Gliński, the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Culture and National Heritage, to the attention of Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and the Union of Polish Metropolises and the Association of Polish Cities, the mayors urge that at the moment when further plans to save the economy and defrost subsequent sectors are announced, the cultural sector, institutions, organizations, artists and art creators should not be forgotten.

Cities immediately responded to the pandemic situation and the crisis that affected numerous groups. Various solutions and actions were implemented in search of solutions and resources that can be redirected to support the cultural sector, institutions, NGO's and individual creators. At the same time, there was an initiative to return to sharing legal and organizational solutions, exchange knowledge among the cities involved in the process of applying for the title of European Capital of Culture 2016. The letter was created with a deep concern for the future of the cultural sector among those responsible for cultural policies of local governments.

The Cities Coalition was established in 2016, when for the first time in the history of European Capital of Culture, the cities applying for this title cooperated with one another. Wrocław invited partners from all over the country to participate in the programme. In the current context, the Cities Coalition is again becoming a platform for the exchange of experience of Polish local governments and cultural institutions, an important space of solidarity and cooperation. A vital pillar of the Coalition's activities is the discussion about local government responsibility for Polish culture, culture staff and the condition of the sector, as its significance for the socio-economic development of cities is indisputable.

The Coalition's goal is to regularly submit initiatives, propose formal tools and solutions, exchange knowledge and communicate jointly. The Coalition is not only to respond to the current situation of the cultural sector in cities, but also to design long-term and systemic solutions for culture in local self-governments.

The presented letter announces systematic actions, in the dialogue and taking into account the differences between local governments, for the beginning of the dialogue which local government officials hope to develop in the next steps. At present, a catalogue of solutions and recommendations for the Polish government is being prepared, as well as specific tools that are to equip local governments with competences to more effectively counteract the inevitable negative effects of a pandemic in the cultural sector.