Jerez’s candidacy to become European Capital of Culture 2031 will be presented tomorrow in Madrid to an international jury, following an extensive, transparent, and participatory process over the past few years. For this reason, the municipal government, along with the rest of the Governing Council, comprised of the Provincial Council, the University, and the Chamber of Commerce, expresses its gratitude to the citizens, cultural, social, and educational stakeholders, as well as the entities in the province that have participated intensively in building a bid marked by its international dimension and its unequivocal commitment to the human and European values of inclusion, diversity, and sustainability.
Thus, a diverse team of ten people, comprised of experts in the cultural, museum, educational, social, business, and heritage fields, along with technicians from the #Jerez2031 Technical Office and the Mayor of Jerez, María José García Pelayo, will be responsible for defending the project tomorrow before an international jury tasked with evaluating the contents of the bid book submitted at the end of December last year. The jury will assess the project’s contribution in terms of the long-term strategy, the cultural and artistic program, the European dimension, dissemination, management, and delivery capacity.
In the past year, #Jerez2031 has intensified its participatory activities, consolidating spaces for dialogue and co-creation with cultural, educational, and social stakeholders. Among the most notable milestones is the Ágoras Ideas Lab, which brought together more than 90 stakeholders from the city and province, generating nearly 100 proposals to strengthen the candidacy’s cultural program. These meetings were characterized by their broad representation, the intensity of the debate, and their ability to generate transdisciplinary connections and collaborations.
Subsequently, the Ágoras Projects Lab were held, where more than 50 stakeholders presented and shared over 80 concrete projects in different fields and disciplines. These co-creation labs constitute a strategic exchange network that has allowed the proposals to be integrated into the different programming lines of the first bid book.
In parallel, the Technical Office, together with the bid’s Technical Assistance team and the City Council, have also promoted information sessions, the revision of the Strategic Cultural Plan, the development of the Study of Cultural Practices and Habits, and the online mapping of cultural facilities; all these documents are accessible at www.jerez2031.com, reinforcing transparency, participatory governance, and the collective construction of the project. Not forgetting the #Jerez2031 Forum, which brought together more than 350 professionals from the cultural, creative, heritage, and educational sectors of the province of Cádiz. This was followed by a meeting of mayors where local projects were incorporated into the bid’s cultural program.
Feedback Process
Another recent milestone in the process was the direct meeting with participants, held recently at the Villapanés Palace. This meeting was conceived as a feedback session following the creation of the bid book. This informative and participatory session allowed the cultural, social, and educational stakeholders who had contributed their ideas and projects to learn about the main points of the bid book, clarify doubts, ask questions, and explore future scenarios. This interaction facilitated a better understanding of the project.
Among the recent actions, the meetings held with both the city’s Cultural Council and the Special Commission for the European Capital of Culture stand out. These meetings fostered a close and constructive dialogue regarding the candidacy.