Did you know that in Turku, audiences can be nudged towards low-carbon travel through a joint ticketing system that links cultural events with public transport? Or that in Bologna, civic museums are rolling out “cultural prescriptions”, partnering with the regional health service to use cultural participation as a pathway to wellbeing and inclusion, including for vulnerable groups?
These are just two of the 100+ local initiatives featured in Culture for sustainable and inclusive cities, the new catalogue showing how the cities who have signed the Eurocities Lille Call to Action are making culture a driver of both ecological transition and social inclusion.
Download the publication here.
The publication also acts as an open invitation to join the Eurocities Lille Call to Action for low carbon and more inclusive culture, a political commitment launched at the Eurocities Culture Forum in 2022. Now signed by 60 European local authorities, the Call to Action offers a shared framework for cities that want cultural life to be part of the solution, cutting emissions while widening participation and strengthening belonging.
As André Sobczak, Eurocities Secretary General, explains: “Cities are at the forefront of the fight against climate change, the push for more inclusive societies and towards systemic change. These challenges converge in cities, and it is at the local level that innovative and practical solutions emerge, close to people’s everyday lives.”
A shared framework: two pillars, 16 priorities
The Eurocities Lille Call to Action is built around two pillars and 16 priorities. Under the first pillar, cities commit to accelerating the ecological transition of local cultural policies and events, from greener procurement and production methods to more sustainable mobility, energy use and resource management. Under the second, they commit to strengthening inclusion in culture and through culture, addressing barriers to participation, improving accessibility and supporting cultural diversity.
Signing cities pledge to implement at least one priority from each pillar, recognising that climate responsibility and social justice must move forward together.
For Arnaud Deslandes, Mayor of Lille, this is precisely the point: “This manifesto, as of now signed by 60 European local authorities, highlights the essential role of territories as drivers of the ecological and social transitions.”
Cities are at the forefront of the fight against climate change, the push for more inclusive societies and towards systemic change.
From commitment to action: how cities are delivering
Across the catalogue, initiatives show that the ecological transition in culture is already taking shape, not as a distant ambition, but through practical decisions about how cultural life is funded, produced and experienced.
In Rotterdam, the municipality workeds with festival organisers on a multi-year Sustainable Deal to reduce CO₂ emissions and tackle shared challenges such as energy, transport, waste and single-use plastics, recognising that lasting change requires collaboration, not just compliance.
In Manchester, a “Zero Carbon Culture” guide helps cultural organisations cut their environmental impact without major costs or capital investment, supporting immediate steps while building towards longer-term transformation.
And Gijón’s eight municipal museums share a central ‘library’ of reused exhibition materials, including furniture, lighting and multimedia equipment, cutting costs and reducing waste
Inclusion in and through culture: widening access and strengthening belonging
The second pillar is equally tangible. Cities are using culture to reduce isolation, improve wellbeing and expand participation, especially for groups who face barriers to cultural life.
Cluj-Napoca’s ‘Overcoming Burnout through Arts’ pilot brought health and culture partners together for a seven-week programme of co-designed creative workshops (from theatre to visual arts), supporting adults and young people experiencing burnout and strengthening cross-sector cooperation on wellbeing.
In Braga, the ‘Contra-Qiosque’ initiative has turned five disused kiosks into small exhibition spaces, creating an artistic route across the city. Through artist residencies and site-specific installations, the project amplifies underrepresented voices and explores themes including migration, LGBTQIA+ experiences, multicultural identities and ecology.
This manifesto, as of now signed by 60 European local authorities, highlights the essential role of territories as drivers of the ecological and social transitions.
Join the movement: sign the Call to Action
As Eurocities President and Mayor of Ghent, Mathias De Clercq, puts it: “Ghent signs the call to action based on the conviction that culture is a lever to so much more: to more and better physical and mental space, to participation, and to a positive view of diversity.”
In Gdansk, local leaders underline how inclusion and sustainability connect to democratic resilience. As Maximilian Kieturakis, Chairman of the Culture Committee, says: “By signing the Eurocities Lille Call to Action, we strongly believe that culture rooted in solidarity can shape democratic, resilient and sustainable cities.”
With this publication, Culture for sustainable and inclusive cities, it is shown that cities are already testing, improving and sharing solutions, and the community is growing. But the scale of the challenge demands wider participation. Moreover, a dedicated website, which will be an online catalogue of initiatives, is on its way, which will help showcase better, faster and more widely all the good examples and updates.
If your city is ready to align cultural policy with climate responsibility and inclusion, join the Eurocities Lille Call to Action and commit to implement its priorities in your cities.
Would you like more information?
Please send an email to: julie.herve@eurocities.eu
Don’t forget to download the publication here.
