Capital of Culture Can Create New Unity in Wales

The IWA National Eisteddfod Lecture 2002 was given by Geraint Talfan Davies, Chair of Welsh National Opera and the IWA, on 5 August 2002.

The Capital of Culture process leading to 2008 should aim to bring about a new relationship between Wales and its capital city, says IWA Chair, Geraint Talfan Davies in a lecture at the National Eisteddfod today (Monday, 5 August).

"The whole process is an opportunity to bring the capital city and the rest of Wales closer together and to create a better understanding of each other," he says.

In the IWA lecture at the Eisteddfod in St. David's Mr Talfan Davies argues that the physical development of Wales has created a country that has traditionally been uncomfortable with the notion of cities.

"An awful lot has been said and written about the failure of urban Britain to understand the problems and plight of the countryside. Those problems are big, as we saw last week with the closures and job losses across west Wales. But I would argue, without in any way minimising rural problems, that in Wales the dominant misunderstanding is a failure to understand urban development, and the nature and role of cities in particular. Historically, we have never been under any pressure to engage with it. There is a need to redress the balance.

"An effective nation needs a successful, effective city both as a source of internal focus and as face to the outside world. Successful cities are also crucial to cultural development, especially in the professional arts, in a world where the public's benchmarks of quality are international. We have to understand the role of cities and our own capital, and the potential fruits of a sound relationship between the city and Wales, or else we risk stunting our economic and cultural development," he says.

Cardiff's Capital of Culture bid for 2008 includes a programme of work leading up to 2008 in which the role of cities will be explored, including the relationships between capital cities and their regions and nations. The IWA is aiming to involve other cities in the UK and throughout Europe.

He continues: "The Capital of Culture process gives Wales a unique opportunity to do a number of things: to get to know each other better as a nation, to develop a new relationship between the capital city and the National Assembly, to find ways of sharing events and developments across the country and to enhance our engagement with the world outside.

"In all these ways we can make Cardiff more conscious of the creative possibilities of its obligations to the rest of Wales, and Wales more sensible of the locomotive power of an effective capital,"

He urges organisations throughout Wales to study the Cardiff 2008 bid document thoroughly. "I believe that potentially, it is an even more richly textured opportunity for the whole of Wales than many have yet absorbed," he adds.

Price: £7.50 (£3.75 to IWA members)