The concept proposed by Lviv is the Responsibility to Be. It reveals the important role of culture as a factor that helps people live and remain human in times of great upheaval. This idea grew out of the Ukrainian reality of recent years, namely during Russia's full-scale aggression against Ukraine and the daily struggle of Ukrainians for their freedom and the sovereignty of their state, which is also a defense of the values of the free world. In fact, this situation was perhaps the decisive factor in Lviv's application for the ECoC competition. 

Under the concept of Responsibility to Be, a cultural and artistic program has been developed. Its main themes are: to witness, to care, to envision. These focuses not only represent the challenges and experiences that people face in times of uncertainty, but also reveal the cultural practices and approaches of cultural institutions and communities to understanding complex realities and working with trauma, healing, promoting dialogue, recovering, and strengthening communities.

This story, which we want to share with all of Europe, is not an easy one: it contains a lot of pain, but even more than that, it shows how we transform that pain into a narrative and an experience of post-traumatic growth. It contains more love, action, mutual support, hope, and faith in the future. And it is precisely these aspects that we want to strengthen together with the whole of Europe. This is a story about a culture that is ready to take responsibility for what is happening around and to modern people, which means being responsible to witness the past, acting consciously in the here and now, and shaping a vision of the future, says Yuliia Khomchyn, Head of Lviv's application process for the ECoC title, Director of the Cultural Strategy Institute.

The Cultural Strategy Institute is the institution responsible for preparing and submitting the application for the ECoC competition. However, the process of developing the concept and program brought together several hundred people in 2024-2025. These are specialists in the field of culture and cultural industries, representatives of mental health, education, communications, business, public activities, relevant government agencies, as well as people with military experience, etc. Both specialists from Lviv and cultural actors from other cities in Ukraine (threatened or occupied by Russia) who had relocated to Lviv were involved in this process. The support of foreign artists and partners (cultural institutions, Lviv's sister cities) was very important at this stage.

The city of Lviv is participating in the competition in a separate category — for cities of candidate or potential candidates for European Union membership, countries of the European Free Trade Association/European Economic Area. The results of the competition will be announced on October 21.

At present, the city of Lviv, located in western Ukraine, is a rear city, where it is safer compared to other Ukrainian cities closer to the front line. The team of Lviv as a candidate city for the title of ECoC hopes that if it wins the competition, the security situation will allow the planned projects to be implemented.