These are the first previews of the programme of Matera Mediterranean Capital of Culture and Dialogue 2026, illustrated yesterday during the public meeting organised in Matera by the Matera Basilicata 2019 Foundation, with the support of the  Open Culture 2019 Volunteers Association, on the occasion of the first visit to the city of the Advisory Committee.

Ayman Elsherbiny, an analyst at the Cabinet of the Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean, and Alessandro Lamonica, Director of the Public Policies Unit of the Anna Lindh Foundation, arrived in town for the two-day event.

The first day opened in the Town Hall with a meeting with representatives of the Board of Directors of the Matera Basilicata 2019 Foundation, the implementer of the Matera 2026 programme: the President of the Chamber of Commerce of Basilicata, Michele Somma, the Prefectural Commissioner Raffaele Ruberto, the Regional Councillor for the Environment, Laura Mongiello, and Prof. Ferdinando Mirizzi of the University of Basilicata.

In the afternoon, the public meeting organised at the Basilicata Chamber of Commerce, moderated by journalist Serafino Paternoster, founder of the webmagazine Ecocnews.com, was opened by the greetings of the Italian Minister for Institutional Reforms, Maria Elisabetta Alberti Casellati, the Regional Councillor for Productive Activities, Francesco Cupparo, and the Sub-Commissioner of the Municipality of Matera, Francesco Ricciardi.

‘This conference towards Matera Mediterranean Capital of Culture and Dialogue 2026,’ said Minister Casellati, ’is an appointment that prepares the city to become a hub for exchanges and relations between the shores of the Mediterranean, consolidating its role as a city that looks beyond the borders, transforming its history into a bridge towards the future. Matera as the barycentre of a new Euro-Mediterranean space, building bridges where once there were borders. It is time to bring out the South as the protagonist of a new Mediterranean story, in which culture becomes the new engine of Italy'.

Bringing greetings from the Prefectural Commissioner Raffaele Ruberto, Sub-Commissioner Ricciardi announced that, following the recent approval of the Management report for the 2024 financial year, resources amounting to 500,000.00 euro will be allocated to the Matera Basilicata 2019 Foundation for the realisation of the 2026 project.

Ayman Elsherbiny and Alessandro Lamonica's speeches followed, illustrating the roots, objectives and strategies of the path from the vision of the Union for the Mediterranean and the Anna Lindh Foundation to the birth of the Mediterranean Capitals of Culture and Dialogue, the reasons behind the choice of Matera and the Moroccan Tétouan for 2026, the experiences of the 2025 Capitals, Tirana and Alexandria. From the Municipality of Tirana, Genci Kojdheli, Director General of Integration, Strategic Planning and Economic Development, spoke in connection.

Rita Orlando, head of the Matera MCCD 2026 project for the Foundation, illustrated the ‘Terre Immerse’ (Immersed Lands) project with which Matera was awarded the title of Mediterranean Capital of Culture and Dialogue, giving the first previews of the 2026 programme and announcing the next steps in preparation.  Starting with the national call for tenders currently underway for the project's visual identity, realised in collaboration with AIAP - Italian Association for Visual Communication Design, the Programme Agreement with Tétouan, the activation of institutional partnerships, and the joining of the Anna Lindh Foundation.

By 2026, the Foundation will promote the creation of the first Euro-Mediterranean network of cities of culture, involving the Anna Lindh Foundation, the Union of Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), the Culture Next and  European Capitals of Culture networks.

There will be several opportunities to promote the project in national and international contexts, including the Anna Lindh Foundation Forum in Tirana (June), the international conference Culture Next in Leeuwarden, Netherlands (July), Expo Osaka 2025 (August), the European Heritage Days in Oslo (August), the UNESCO global conference Mondiacult 2025 in Barcelona (September), the Ecoc family meeting in Oulu, Finland (September), the European week of regions and cities in Brussels (October), the Rome MED Dialogues (November).

In the wake of what happened in 2019 during the run-up to the European Capital of Culture, a communication channel dedicated to the cultural and creative sector was also created for the co-creation of new productions, and then the calls for artistic-cultural productions will be launched.

Today, the Advisory Committee will continue its bilateral meetings and work with the Matera Basilicata 2019 Foundation team to plan the strategic appointments for 2026.

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