The European cities network Culture Next, of which Braga is a founding member, argues that European governments should establish National Capitals of Culture. This would allow cities that were unsuccessful in their bids for the European Capital of Culture title to bring to life the cultural projects developed during that process.
The proposal is set out in a declaration approved at the Culture Next Autumn Conference, held from 14 to 17 October in Bielsko-Biała. The model is based on the decision by the Portuguese Government to create the title of Portuguese Capital of Culture and award it to the three finalist cities that were not selected as European Capital of Culture 2027. Braga holds the title of Portuguese Capital of Culture in 2025.
Culture Next believes that the European Commission should provide the terms of reference for a National Capital of Culture, which national governments across Europe could then implement to support the development of national competitions for the European Capital of Culture title. The aim is to ensure that the work invested in developing bid dossiers is not lost.
This policy proposal, inspired by the Portuguese example, forms part of Culture Next’s contribution—as Europe’s largest network of cultural cities—to the new framework for the next generation of European Capitals of Culture, currently under discussion within EU institutions.
The declaration was approved at the close of the Culture Next conference in Bielsko-Biała, a city in southern Poland that will become the country’s first National Capital of Culture. The initiative emerged following the designation of Lublin as European Capital of Culture 2029, in a process similar to the one that led to Braga becoming Portuguese Capital of Culture this year.
The Culture Next network was established in 2017, bringing together cities that have applied for the European Capital of Culture title—past or present, successful or not—with the mission of supporting the implementation of culture-led urban development programmes and policies.
Braga is one of the founding cities of this network, and Joana Meneses Fernandes, Executive Coordinator of Braga 25 and Executive Administrator of Faz Cultura – Braga’s Municipal Culture Company, has been a member of the Culture Next board since the beginning of the year, with a three-year mandate.