The event hosts keynote speeches, panels, and workshops on the Culture Goal (making Culture the 18th SDG in the next UN Agenda) and the ECoC Reform (improving the European Capitals of Culture project of the European Union).

A dedicated government officials’ agenda creates opportunities to share good case practices and discuss collaborations on hot European topics such as the New European Bauhaus, Culture and Resilience, Culture and Well-being, and so on. The conference includes meetings and matchmaking sessions with local artists and organizations, city tours and visits, and various local showcases and events.

The general conference program is as follows: the 16th of October is the pre-meetings day, and the agenda includes management meetings and a further step in the development of The SDG Thing, while in the evening we gather together for the Official Reception. The conference officially starts on the 17th of October, a day open to the general public. The official program ends on the 18th of October with a schedule centred around network-related sessions and conversations.

Culture Next is an informal, friendly and relaxed network dedicated to mutual support and collaboration between European cities which are current or former candidates for the European Capital of Culture title, awarded or not.

Seven years after its founding în Cluj-Napoca, Romania, Culture Next involves around 40 cities on the continent. În 2021 the network received a grant from the Creative Europe programme of the European Commission to scale-up Culture Next and improve its capacity to work with more European cities.

Here the programme.

The website.