Tartu 2024 participated in a legacy seminar and panel discussion titled “Cultural Climate Is Changing” in Oulu

City and regional leaders, cultural professionals, and partners gathered to reflect on what remains of the Capital of Culture year once the title year concludes.

She gave an overview of how ECoC Echo (an Interreg Europe project led by Tartu 2024) helps European Capitals of Culture learn from one another’s experiences—what has worked, what hasn’t, and why.

One key takeaway was that a Capital of Culture should not be a project with a fixed beginning and end; rather, it must be part of long-term development. This is precisely what we are currently doing through the collaboration between Tartu and Southern Estonia, and the panel provided a great opportunity for her to discuss our own progress.

As the coordinator of the ECoC Echo consortium, it is gratifying to see how many different cities—from Oulu to Novi Sad, from Leeuwarden to Veszprém—share the same challenges and lessons learned.