The major campaign to ensure Cornwall is recognised as the first ‘European Region of Culture’ has kicked off in earnest in 2009 following the £350,000 funding boost from the European Union’s Culture 2007 Programme and its clear indication of support. To get 2009’s intensive programme of activity firing, the publication of a new report identifying the importance of what people think and feel ‘culture’ means in Cornwall has shown just why regions deserve their own designation and investment.
Renowned think tank DEMOS has studied the opinions of thousands of people who live, work and holiday in Cornwall and ‘quality of life’, ‘the landscape’ and the networks of people themselves are three of the major defining factors that people cite when trying to describe how culture in the region stands apart from elsewhere in the UK.
DEMOS was commissioned to analyse the extensive public feedback gathered during the pilot Cornwall Region of Culture campaign that took place during 2006. The think tank’s findings were based on how people responded to a series of questionnaires, organised workshops and forums, and web-based discussions. The information was then used as key collateral in gaining the invaluable £350,000 funding that will allow Cornwall to join forces with Poland and Finland to lobby decision makers at the very top levels for the new Region of Culture designation.
The key DEMOS conclusions are as follows:
• People are at the heart of the culture of Cornwall and they need to be a part of communicating its cultural offer. The impressions, thoughts and feelings that people have about Cornwall cannot be conveyed or summarised by one person, object or building. Rather, the communication of the soul and culture of Cornwall as a region can only come from the active involvement and participation of its people.
• Many people feel culture in Cornwall is about a ‘different way of life’, a more relaxed atmosphere - a place where people worked so that they could live their lives, rather than living their lives in order to work.
• At the heart of the different way of life, (there) appears to be a strong relationship, and sense of shared ownership of Cornwall’s natural environment.
• People perceive Cornwall to be less materialistic, fashion conscious and superficial than the rest of the United Kingdom. Values are lived in what people do, rather than displayed.
• Creative fulfilment, exercise and being outdoors, are not things that either have to be shoe horned into economic work, or squeezed into the day, but can be pursued on a daily basis. They are part of the culture of Cornwall.
The report, coupled with evidence from the ImpactsO8 report which measures the success of Liverpool’s reign as Capital of Culture, is being used to support the campaign to persuade the EU to create a whole new programme that designates cultural ‘regions’, in the same way that cities across Europe, such as Liverpool, have been heralded as cultural ‘capitals’. Cornwall, alongside Kujawsko-Pomorskie in Poland and South Ostrobothnia in Finland, has been granted the significant funding to pursue the case for ‘European Regions of Culture’ and a continual series of events, meetings and lobbying opportunities are planned throughout 2009 to encourage widespread support and ensure that all opinion formers are backing the campaign.
As with Liverpool 08, for the campaign to be a real success, it is essential that the people of Cornwall get right behind the call for a new designation and are given an active voice throughout. This stage of the campaign will culminate in an international conference and celebration during the 2009 Cornwall Film Festival where Cornwall will get a chance to showcase exactly what an incredible and unique cultural offer it has.
“The DEMOS report points out that while culture in cities is often associated with famous architects, iconic buildings, high brow art or performances from distinguished travelling companies, culture in rural areas such as Cornwall has an entirely different meaning,” says Campaign Director Miranda Bird. “And this type of regional culture is just as significant, and as deserving of recognition, celebration and investment as the culture that people expect in urban areas. The granting of the funding from the EC has put us, with our partner countries, in a key position of strength and we’re now building the components of our year long, international lobbying campaign.”
Andrew Mitchell Cornwall County Council economic portfolio holder, said “We obviously all believe that there is a very strong case for the creation of a European Region of Culture designation to run alongside the Capitals of Culture programme and without a doubt, it would be an enormous honour for Cornwall to the first to be granted this status. People in Cornwall do feel that they are living in a place with a unique identity and the recognition of this at the highest official levels would bring huge sustainable economic benefits as have already been seen in Liverpool.”
The appointment of a Cultural Producer for the campaign will be announced shortly alongside the recruitment of three creative agents who will all be working closely together to bring the campaign alive in a whole host of exciting ways. The new website will go live from Monday 16th February - please visit www.e-r-o-c.com to find out more about how the campaign is progressing.
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