Culture as a force for dialogue: Matera inaugurates its year as Mediterranean Capital of Culture and Dialogue 2026
- With an opening ceremony at the Duni Theater, Matera has officially launched its year as Mediterranean Capital of Culture and Dialogue 2026, bringing together institutional representatives, cultural actors and Euro-Mediterranean partners around a shared message of dialogue, heritage and cooperation.
- Representing the UfM, Deputy Secretary General for Human Development Petra Kežman highlighted culture’s role as a driver of peace, stability and development across the region, while underlining the shared commitment of Matera and Tétouan, Morocco, as the two title holders for 2026.
Matera, 20 March 2026. Under the theme Cantiere-Mediterraneo. Millennial Contemporary, the opening ceremony transformed the Duni Theater construction site into a symbolic stage for the Mediterranean, using music, images, dance and institutional reflections to portray a region in constant transformation and to mark the beginning of Matera’s year as Mediterranean Capital of Culture and Dialogue 2026.
The programme brought together representatives from the city of Matera, the Basilicata Region, the Italian government, the European Commission, the Anna Lindh Foundation and the UfM Secretariat. Alongside artistic performances and musical interludes, the ceremony featured interventions by public officials and Euro-Mediterranean partners, including European Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Suica, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission Raffaele Fitto, Anna Lindh Foundation Executive Director Josep Ferré, and UfM Deputy Secretary General for Human Development Petra Kežman.
In her remarks, Petra Kežman recalled that the Mediterranean Capitals of Culture and Dialogue initiative was launched by the UfM together with the Anna Lindh Foundation out of the conviction that culture is an essential tool for peace, stability and development in the region. Speaking against the backdrop of growing tensions and instability across the Mediterranean, she noted that, alongside conflict and division, another form of geopolitics is also taking shape in the region, built by those who choose cooperation over confrontation and who understand culture and nature as forces that connect people to their roots and to one another.
“Cultural cooperation can open paths where traditional policy tools fall short. It speaks to dignity and memory. It triggers reflexes of solidarity and responsibility. It reminds us that protecting people also means protecting what gives meaning to their lives,” said UfM Deputy Secretary General Petra Kežman.
A key message of the UfM intervention was the shared role of Matera and Tetouan as twin title holders for 2026. “Matera and Tétouan are at the frontline of this narrative this year. They are not simply parallel holders of the title. They are co-architects of a common endeavour,” Kežman said, highlighting their collaboration as an example of the city-to-city and people-to-people dialogue the UfM was established to foster across the Euro-Mediterranean region.
This connection was also reflected in the ceremony itself through a tribute to Tétouan, symbolising the ties between the two shores of the Mediterranean and the shared spirit of the 2026 title.
Recalling the UfM’s Strategic Vision and the Pact for the Mediterranean, the Deputy Secretary General reaffirmed that human development and people-to-people ties remain at the heart of regional cooperation. She also expressed the UfM’s full support for the initiative and its confidence that the 2026 edition will leave a lasting legacy for Matera, Tétouan and the Mediterranean as a whole.
The Mediterranean Capitals of Culture and Dialogue is a joint initiative of the UfM and the Anna Lindh Foundation. Through the designation of annual twin capitals from different shores of the Mediterranean, it promotes intercultural dialogue, the protection of cultural heritage and the role of culture as a driver of sustainable development and regional stability.
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