Valletta 2018 is no longer just a vision some six years ahead of our coveted year as European Capital of Culture (ECoC). It’s a major and tangible step nearer its goal following the EU pre-selection evaluation panel’s visit to Malta on January 18.
The bid, lodged officially last October, was a massive undertaking; the result of an intense series of consultations, public workshops and the compilation of the bid book. It may have seemed a final document at that stage but it was in fact a first draft of our bid, according to the strict ECoC road map.
After official submission, pitching the candidature of Valletta 2018 to the EU’s pre-selection panel was the most important milestone we had faced at this early stage. It can be seen as a litmus test.
We had 30 minutes to present and 45 minutes to respond to questions. Even with six years to go to our prospective ECoC, time was of essence; our pitch had to be concise and powerful.
The pre-selection panel’s role was to assess whether the bid delivered a credible and passionate vision underpinned by strong governance structures to enable it to fulfill the promise of a European Capital of Culture.
It was a valuable experience being assessed by 13 individuals who bring complementary and significant experience in fields ranging from the performing arts to cultural management and the social aspects of cultural programmes. Several had managed or adjudicated ECoC candidates in the past.
Their overall assessment of V.18 was positive; their feedback highly constructive. The panel’s general comments will be followed by its more detailed report in around three weeks. These will enable us to define our objectives for V.18 more finely.
The green light we received on the day means that V.18 can move to the final stage of the selection process. The coming months will see the Valletta 2018 Foundation enter a new phase of activity in two complementary areas.
The first is to address the gaps – the lacunae of information – in the bid book that the panelists will wish to see addressed by October when they reconvene in Malta for the final adjudication. This is not unexpected as pre-selection is defined as an iterative stage to completing an ECoC application.
The second direction is more creative and visible to the public. It sees us work on an expanded strategy building a framework for our cultural programme. Now, we shift gear moving from the visionary themes of the bid to fleshing out projects that can start to form a nascent programme for our ECoC year.
Valletta is at the right place and at the right time now to reap the maximum benefits from becoming a European Capital of Culture. This first milestone passed should help galvanise current projects under way – infrastructural and socio-cultural – harnessing them and putting them to work under the ECoC umbrella and, critically, also inspire the creation of new projects within the V.18 programme.
We are working with a number of coordinators developing and opening up the V.18 themes, which cover areas such as Generation 18: Children Of The Future, into programme strands in collaboration with artists, cultural operators, creatives, NGOs, cultural institutions and local councils.
The Valletta 2018 Foundation, the entity driving V.18 from bid to fully-fledged ECoC, aims to meet the public in the coming months, following up the very successful events held last June under the title of the Imagine 18 conference and workshop on the vision on the bid.
The format may differ this spring but the idea is the same: V.18 collaborating widely with various stakeholders. The difference lies in the fact that we are now developing the programme and seeing the vision take on a tangible form.
Our website, www.valletta2018.org, is there to receive, help develop and showcase ideas from the public and we will support stakeholders in taking ideas forward to progr-amme proposals.
The aim of the foundation is not to act as a depository of projects seeking funding for 2018, rather, its role is to be a platform for ideas in an “environment of exchange” where challenges are identified and solutions proposed and where people from various sectors interact to propose ways forward and empower themselves to make change happen.
This is a glimpse of the ground to cover in the months leading up to the panel’s return. The process in between is a steep but enriching learning curve. However, we know our foundations are strong and that we are headed in the right direction, all being well, with full public support.
The author is president of Valletta 2018 Foundation