Is my city eligible to participate in Cities Ahead?

Cities Ahead is for cities with a population of 50,000 or more. If this applies to your city, your city is eligible to participate.

If you are a representative of your local municipal administration, you can apply to participate in Cities Ahead on your city’s behalf. Participation in Cities Ahead should be supported by the leadership of the local cultural administration.

How do cities benefit from participating in Cities Ahead?

At the Cities Ahead Academy, up to 30 representatives of your city will train and exchange ideas with renowned international experts. They will receive up-to-date expertise on cultural urban development. With the Cities Ahead Open Call organised by the Goethe-Institut, you will draw the attention of the international art and creative scenes to your city.

What training content is offered?

You can choose between 3 and 6 modules .

What is the added value of the Cities Ahead Open Call?

The Goethe-Institut organises the call for applications and, through its worldwide network, reaches out to artists and creative professionals who develop innovative concepts for specific local challenges. Applications are processed via an online platform of the Goethe-Institut.

How is Cities Ahead funded?

Participation in the Cities Ahead Academy is financed by the Goethe-Institut and the participating city. The concrete own contribution of the city will be defined after the selection of the modules and ranges between €7,000 and €10,000. Artist fees and implementation costs for the Cities Ahead Open Call are defined and borne by the participating city.

What do participating cities provide in addition to their own financial contribution?

Participating cities provide rooms and catering for the Cities Ahead Academy. They identify potential participants in the Cities Ahead Academy and support the invitation process.

What is the target group of the Cities Ahead Academy?

Staff from cultural administration, economic development, urban planning, offices of international relations, and tourism offices. In addition, employees of local cultural institutions can benefit from participating in Cities Ahead.

What is the application procedure for 2024?

Fill in the application formby 15 September 2023. You will receive feedback on your participation in Cities Ahead 2024 by 15 October 2023 at the latest.

Is an application binding?

No. By applying, you are not entering into any commitment. You can withdraw your application at any time.

Cities Ahead

The Cities Ahead programme supports ambitious European cultural and creative cities in attaining more international visibility and cultural appeal. At a two-day academy, renowned experts impart practical knowledge on international cultural urban development. Through a worldwide open call, cities receive further stimuli from the cultural and creative industries.

Cities Ahead is a good opportunity for cities to reflect on what resources they have.

Charles Landry

Programme

The programme consists of two phases:

The Cities Ahead Academy consists of expert input and workshops to train local administrations and cultural actors in (international) cultural urban development
The Academy programme is designed for 2 days and consists of 3 freely selectable modules
The Academy is open to employees from cultural administration, economic development, urban planning, offices for international relations, and tourism offices as well as employees of local cultural institutions
The global Cities Ahead Open Call promotes innovative and participatory creative projects in the participating cities

Modules

Building Creative City Ecosystems Development of cities as cultural locations and the importance of creative districts		Leveraging Culture for Sustainability Potentials of art and culture for sustainability-oriented urban development
Crafting Cultural Strategies Potentials and application of cultural development plans		Joining International City Networks Insight into city networks, their modes of operation, goals, and benefits
Working with Cultural Data Collecting and applying cultural data for the best possible impact for cities		Becoming European Capital of Culture Procedure and insights into successful application processes

Application

The application phase for participation in Cities Ahead in 2024 has closed. The applicant cities will receive feedback by 15 October 2023.

Application information(PDF, 150 kB)

FAQ

Participating cities in 2023

Cities Ahead Augsburg

The Cities Ahead Academy Augsburg was organised by the Goethe-Institut in cooperation with the Department for Culture, World Heritage and Sport of the City of Augsburg from 1-3 February 2023.

Building on the results of the Academy, an open call for creative concepts from all over the world was devised. The placemaking projects sought should relate to Maximilianstrasse or the theatre district and strengthen the connections between people and these places.

Cities Ahead Logroño

The Cities Ahead Academy Logroño was organised by the Goethe-Institut in cooperation with the Cultural Department of the City of Logroño and Museo Würth La Rioja on 28 April 2023.

Additionally, in cooperation with the Concéntrico Festival, an open call for the (temporary) transformation of public space was addressed to creatives worldwide. The selected practices were presented in Logroño during the Concéntrico 09 festival, which took place from 27 April to 2 May 2023.

Contact

Goethe-Institut e.V. | Cities Ahead
citiesahead@goethe.de