The European City Charter
The participating cities will not only be running their own projects. There is also a joint undertaking to which each will be making their own individual contribution.
The basis of this linking element is provided by a historic Certificate of Privileges drawn up in the city of Karlsruhe in 1715. Each of the partners will be responsible for adding its own chapter to this document, transforming it into a European City Charter of the present day.
Among the themes that may be incorporated into the programme of the "National Heroes - German Cultural Cities" are the safeguarding of human rights, religious coexistence, creation of public spaces, the rededication of industrial sites and other empty buildings, the furtherance of social justice, the creation of a democratic society based on civil involvement and the development of a European identity.
The cities are also being asked to incorporate their own problems and contradictions within the forums and discussions, providing a response to the question as to what significance art and culture - already proven factors of growth - have for the future of cities as existential entities. As cities tend to have older roots and traditions than nations, the importance of the past should also be considered and elaborated upon. At the end of this process, a catalogue of questions and propositions should arise relating to the cultural responsibility which the cities have for Europe.
The European City Charter is to travel from cultural city to cultural city, each providing its own chapter, and will be handed back to Karlsruhe at the end of 2010 where it will continue to be augmented and updated until 2015.