Culture forum Eurocities Lille, France

150 representatives from 55 European cities met in Lille (France) during the Eurocities Culture Forum at the end of September. It was the first Culture Forum held physically after a 3-year covid gap. The Forum was organised by the City of Lille and Métropole Européenne de Lille (MEL) and it focused on the role of local governments when it comes to planning the ecological and social transition through culture. The concept of sustainable culture was spoken all over the Forum - sustainability in local museums, sustainability in the performing arts, projects for low carbon cities, environmental management of cultural institutions, holding events as a challenge in terms of sustainability in cities that have been European Capital of Culture (ECoC ), etc. The priority is to put sustainability at the centre of cities’ cultural policies.

The City of Lille is active in the field of sustainability. Martine Aubry, Mayor of Lille, invited Mayors and political representatives of European cities for a specific programme developped alongside the Forum to present and discuss a proposal for a „Call to action on sustainable culture“. It lists potential actions that cities may undertake to support the ecological transition of the cultural sector and ensure everyone can participate in cultural activities.

The Forum was held at different venues in Lille and the metropolitan area of Lille such as Roubaix, Tourcoing, Villeneuve d’Ascq and good practices were shown during the pathways and study visits on connecting urban and social resiliencies through cultural action, on improving the inclusiveness of cultural activities, on sustainability in the performing arts and music, on culture and sustainable neighborhood transformation and on conversion of heritage sites into cultural places. Many old industrial sites and degraded neighborhoods were transformed into cultural venues. Not only did it improve local neighborhood and inclusivness of inhabitants in cultural events but it also brought visitors and tourists to these areas and generated regional growth.

At the end of the common part of the Culture Forum working groups met and focused respectively on art in the public space and sustainability, on creative ageing, on leadership and management when working on sustainability in local cultural policies and on creative industries and skills.