Seven hundred representatives of the economic realm signed up for a special event, co-hosted by Rouen Normandy Invest and held on Thursday evening, June 30, at the Cirque-Théâtre indoor arena in Elbeuf to show their strong support for the Rouen Seine Normande bid for the 2028 title of European Capital of Culture.
On June 30, the Cirque-Théâtre d’Elbeuf was filled to capacity for the presentation on the Rouen/Seine Valley bid for the title of European Capital of Culture in 2028. Nearly 700 representatives from the economic world registered to attend the event that was co-hosted by Rouen Normandy Invest, the Rouen Seine-Eure economic development agency.
The event’s objective was indeed met, as regional business executives were able to see how local elected representatives from the entire bid area, as well as figures from the cultural world and numerous European countries, are powerfully showing support as they follow the Rouen Seine Normande 2028 bid. Some of the individuals representing European partners of the Rouen Seine Normande 2028 bid:
• Anne Duncan, President/Country Director France – British Council
• Laure Dréano-Mayer, Director of the Franco-German cooperative L’Antenne Métropole, Hanover
• Eduardo Henriques, Economic and Commercial Counsellor at the Portuguese Embassy in France
• Matthias Vazquez, President of the Amitié France-Macédoine non-profit organisation
They were not the only ones to promote the advantages of becoming a European Capital of Culture. Thierry Landron, Chief Executive of Maison Meert in Lille, spoke by video to explain how the title of European Capital of Culture contributes to the local economy. He currently chairs the Lille 3000 organisation, which keeps the dynamics of the European Capital of Culture year alive in Lille. He shared the positive impact the ECOC status has had on the Lille economic sector since 2004.
That evening, the economic leaders of Rouen and the Seine Valley left with tools allowing them to get involved in this bid process, now that they grasp the tremendous advantages it has for the area encompassed by the project.
But the bid will also progress via the co-construction made possible by the commitment of culture-oriented economic leaders. Those in the economic sector can be involved in a number of ways through their ability to inspire their employees, customers and suppliers to join forces and take action.
Supporting company: each enterprise can support the bid by promoting it internally and externally using the supporter kit.
Mobilising company: by joining the Rouen Seine Normande 2028 team to help promote projects with a European dimension.
Resource company: the company can help by donating skills, providing employee manpower to help with cultural projects. The donated skills can be from either the professional or personal skillsets of the volunteering employees.
Hosting company: the company has premises, materials or resources of a kind that can be used for artistic projects, from design to completion.
Juliette Démares is the dedicated liaison for the economic sector on the Rouen Seine Normande 2028 team.
