The team
A “strong team” - this is how the jury described the Hannover ECoC-team after the official jury presentation. The delegation for the presentation consisted of the management duo, Melanie Botzki and Inga Samii, Lord mayor Belit Onay, the dramaturge Mazlum Nergiz, the presenter Ninia Binias, author Juan S. Guse and others. And that's exactly what we put in the foreground in our presentation: the team - at least part of it. Because we couldn't take them all with us.
There are so many more people behind the bid: People who spent nights working on the bid book, tirelessly refilling the coffee supply and discussing the sense and nonsense of applying in Corona times. People who have passionately developed utopian visions and agoras for Hannover - like the artistic team. An eight-person collective that - together with our think tanks and other cultural activists from Hannover and the region - has developed dozens of projects in a few months. As before, people from a wide variety of disciplines such as architecture, culture of remembrance, literature, political science, art, performance, music and dramaturgy worked together on our vision of a modern agora.
But of course we didn't stop here, we obtained additional expertise at every point. The first point of contact here were of course our committees: the cultural council, the advisory board and the board of trustees. These committees, with different tasks and staffed from different areas of Hannover's urban society, accompany our work from the start, question our ideas critically and support us wherever they could.
In addition, we regularly exchanged ideas with (inter-)national experts, for example with architects on the subject of sustainability and urban development, the creative industries for our “Upgrade Hannover” program, social initiatives and many, many more. Some advised us, others became project partners or helped provide ideas.
A huge thank you goes out to the administration of the state capital Hannover! Whether it was about hanging huge banners from the town hall balcony, blocking streets and analyzing traffic flows, establishing important contacts - we had competent contact persons at our side in all situations, who helped us in every possible way.
And of course - last but not least - the region Hannover! The joint regional tour with over 360(!) project ideas, the cooperation on numerous projects, the early securing of financial support: the residents, as well as the administration, were by our side as reliable partners from the first moment.
So who are we? We are the people from the cultural region of Hannover. Residents of a region that is of course not without its downsides, but which has both the capacities to initiate positive change and the civil and political will to take on this responsibility. The Agora of Europe.
If you want to get in contact with us, write an email to hallo [at] khh25.de or give us a call: +49 (0)511 168 31955