In April 2023, in Évora, the cities of Liepāja, Latvia, and Évora, Portugal, both designated as European Capital of Culture in 2027, signed a Memorandum of Understanding. This week, the two cities strengthened their cooperation at a two-day meeting in Latvia, which laid the foundations for the cooperation model within the scope of Europe's most emblematic cultural initiative.

At the invitation of the Mayor of Liepāja, Gunārs Ansiņš, the delegation from Évora, led by the Vice Mayor Alexandre Varela, and Paula Mota Garcia, Coordinator of the Évora_27 Mission Team, was welcomed by Gunārs Ansiņš and Inta Šoriņa, President of the Liepāja 2027 Foundation on Monday morning, 2nd October.

There were two days of cooperation between the Liepāja 2027 and Évora_27 teams, and the repreentatives of both cities, in a programme that covered different parts in the region - like Évora and the Alentejo, Liepāja represents a city and the South Kurzeme Region – visiting   local cultural structures that will play a role in the European Capital of Culture, meetings with cultural agents and the media, and working sessions on topics shared by the two cities, looking for points of contact and broadening the common ground.

"We are very happy with this meeting between Évora and Liepāja, two cities that are so different but which, curiously, have so much in common, and which share the challenge of being European Capital of Culture in 2027. These have been incredible days of dialogue, sharing and mutual learning, in a close relationship that we will develop until 2027 and beyond,” said Alexandre Varela, Vice-Mayor of Évora.

Gunārs Ansiņš, Mayor of Liepāja, said: "This international cooperation cannot be underestimated, as the title of European Capital of Culture puts us much more prominently on the world map. Liepāja and Évora stand for the values of culture, but also for those of democracy, something that is so crucial when we have war right on our doorstep, in Ukraine. We are looking forward to 2027, the year in which we will work together to implement the programme we have dreamed of, thus showing our best qualities to the whole of Europe through the artistic and cultural programme, but also strengthening our citizens' pride in their cities."

"It's been an exciting experience. This visit to Liepāja has allowed us to broaden the common ground that Évora and Liepāja share, and to develop models of cooperation with a view to 2027. After deepening our understanding of the concepts proposed by Liepāja 2027 and Évora_27, and immersing ourselves in the cultural and artistic programmes of each city, we realised the similarities, the points of contact and all the possibilities that open up. Despite the kilometres that separate these two cities at opposite ends of Europe, there is much more that brings them together,” said Paula Mota Garcia, Coordinator of the Évora_27 Mission Team, at the end of the two days of meetings.

Inta Šoriņa, President of the Liepāja2027 Foundation, emphasised this view: “Despite being located on the different sides of Europe, our programme concepts are strikingly similar. We are connected by the common thread that unites the vision of both cities - the desire of our inhabitants to live in a balance. Working with the Évora team proves to be very productive. We find Portuguese very easy to understand, open and with a similar vision of the way to move on with the European Capital of Culture projects. There are common challenges in Évora, Liepāja and the neighbouring regions, and at the same time the shared understanding that culture is the main driving force for the development of any community and greatly contributes to overall the socio-economic processes.”

Assuming itself to be a 'city of paradoxes and opposites', Liepāja 2027 places the concept of (un) rest at the basis of a bold cultural and artistic programme designed to respond to regional, national and European challenges. Similarly, crossing different scales (local, national and European), Évora 2027 proposes VAGAR - the full awareness that we, human beings, are always one with the universe, and not in a position of dominance - as a future and urgent response to the challenges facing humanity, as 'another art of existence'.

Évora 2027, European Capital of Culture, is promoted by the Évora 2027 Executive Committee, led by the Municipality of Évora. This  Executive Committee also includes the Alentejo Regional Directorate of Culture, the University of Évora, the Intermunicipal Community of Central Alentejo, the Alentejo Regional Development Coordination Commission, the Alentejo Regional Tourism Board (ERT), the Eugénio de Almeida Foundation and the Alentejo Regional Agency for Tourism Promotion (ARPTA). Évora 2027 is supported by the four inter-municipal communities of Alentejo, representing the 47 municipalities of the region.