The Mediterranean Capitals of Culture and Dialogue is born from the collective efforts of over 200 young representatives from the civil society of over 20 countries, who gathered at the Forum des Mondes Méditerranéens in February 2022 in Marseille. Their recommendations, alongside the call of Ministers of Culture of the Euro-Mediterranean region in June of the same year in Naples, inspired the 43 Member States of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership to endorse it to further promote the diversity and shared identity of the Mediterranean and contribute to a better mutual understanding of its peoples. 

Mediterranean Capitals of Culture and Dialogue 2026: 183 applications from 28 Euro-Mediterranean countries received in response to the Anna Lindh Foundation’s call for proposals for Matera and Tétouan.

Évora_27 with 34 projects selected through the international open call “O Nosso Laboratório / Our Lab” of €2M. Selected applications bring together projects by artists and associations from 19 countries

An institutional delegation comprising representatives of the 2025 European Capitals of Culture – including the Mayor of Gorizia, Rodolfo Ziberna; the Mayor of Nova Gorica, Samo Turel; the director of ECoC projects in Chemnitz, Josephine Hage – took part in a day of meetings and institutional activities in Skopje in recent days, with the aim of sharing the results achieved and making expertise and experience available to support Skopje’s bid for the title of European Capital of Culture 2028.

In 2033, following the successful experience of Matera 2019, it will once again be Italy’s turn to designate the European Capital of Culture. The call for applications from the Italian Ministry of Culture has not yet been published and, in all likelihood and in keeping with tradition, is expected to be released six years in advance, meaning sometime between the end of this year and the middle of next year.