The concept of territory is an essential asset in shaping the #Jerez2031 European Capital of Culture bid, which, from the outset, has sought to broaden the scope of its strategy and cultural program to encompass the entire province of Cádiz.
With this in mind, La Voz del Sur held the “TERRITORY 2031” forum this Monday in the cloisters of Bodegas Fundador. The forum aimed to provide mayors from across the province with the opportunity to discuss, analyze, and highlight the strengths of a candidacy that enjoys the support of all the mayors and municipalities in the province of Cádiz, as was evident at the event held on September 19th.
#Jerez2031 is a provincial candidacy born from the shared vision of uniting all the cultural, heritage, and artistic assets of a province that serves as a cultural bridge between Europe, Africa, and the Americas. It seeks to contribute to redefining the concept of periphery and, through critical reflection, aims to involve everyone in developing a cultural program from the south by reinterpreting the values of the shared European project.
Following an official welcome from the Mayor of Jerez, María José García-Pelayo, and a presentation of the candidacy of the new technical and artistic coordinator of the #Jerez2031 Technical Office, Ramiro de Villapadierna, a space for reflection was opened. Through two roundtables, various topics were addressed, including the need for a provincial cultural agenda; the role of strategic cultural planning in municipalities; culture, tourism, and sustainability; identity and territory; local development and the cultural economy; urban cultural policies; inter-municipal networks and cooperation; participation and connection with new audiences; and the commitment of the private sector and cultural industries in the province, among others.
For the Mayor of Jerez, #Jerez2031 “has already served to awaken a sense of provincial identity and territorial pride, to create a lobby, and to strengthen the sense of a southern region.” In this regard, he explained that the candidacy “has marked a turning point in how we work in the province because we have to learn to work together in whatever way we can to improve people’s lives.” He added that “everything starts in 2031 to become an unstoppable province” that has proven itself “a gateway to other continents and adept at absorbing the best of other cultures.”
For his part, the technical and artistic coordinator of #Jerez2031 stated in his address that “we are close and working together with the entire province, and that we are already an example of participation thanks to the initiatives received and the shared workspaces, such as the public forums.” In this process, she pointed out, we want to “unite the hopes and energies of this province and we are beginning to transform the way culture is created so that cultural agents and industries take the helm, with the shared objective of “recognizing ourselves in Europe and for Europe to recognize itself in us.”
Following this, two roundtables were held with the participation of Vanesa Beltrán, mayor of Prado del Rey and deputy responsible for the Provincial Culture Foundation; Agustín Muñoz, deputy mayor and delegate of the Presidency of the Jerez City Council; José Juan Franco, mayor of La Línea de la Concepción; Ramón Galán, mayor of Trebujena; Miguel Molina, mayor of Barbate; and Javier Bello, first deputy mayor of El Puerto de Santa María and head of Cooperation for the Cádiz Provincial Council.
The commitment of the media is key to disseminating the candidacy proposal among the public, hence the importance of these debate forums promoted by local media outlets. In this regard, from La Voz del Sur has highlighted that #Jerez2031 is “a province-wide bid, a challenge that encourages networking and showcases the talent, creativity, and cultural energy of Cádiz in all its breadth.” In the words of Francisco Sánchez Múgica, CEO of Comunicasur Media, with this forum they wanted to contribute “their grain of sand to this province-wide bid, which must include all 45 municipalities and their rural areas,” because “it is important to do it together, exchange ideas, and contribute to this common goal.” TERRITORIO 2031 has been supported by the Jerez City Council, the Cádiz Provincial Council, Bodegas Fundador, OMODA JAECOO, CaixaBank, and Alsan Homes.