“Scenarios of the future” – a writing contest. 03.09.2021
“Scenarios of the future” – a writing contest for expats living in Kraków.
“Scenarios of the future” – a writing contest for expats living in Kraków.
The world changes rapidly, and even the places as strongly tied to the past as Kraków undergo these changes. When we look at the historic walls of Wawel and stroll through the medieval districts of the Old Town that have survived hundreds of years, we probably get the impression that Krakow is destined to last forever in the same shape. However, as soon as we lower our gaze a little, we see something that is in complete opposition to immutability. Between the towering walls flows the unpredictable current of life, the streets are filled with a multinational crowd, and thousands of the city residents are already living the future, making plans, dreaming and thinking far ahead. Perhaps it is true that for a tourist Krakow actually is like a huge fossil, like a monument, commemorating glorious and turbulent history, which can only be admired. However, its inhabitants are able to notice the changes taking place in the urban landscape - both the small and the very big ones - and they know very well that the city has not always been the same. They also surely have a feeling that it will not be the same in the future.
These changes, however, are probably different as seen from the perspective of people from other countries who have decided to settle in Krakow. We believe that having the experience of living in a different geographical and cultural context, the expats can shift attention to the less obvious aspects of the city's biography that remain imperceptible to its indigenous people.
Therefore, it is to you, dear Cracovians of choice, that we invite to take part in the “Scenarios of the future” competition. We would like to encourage you to dare to imagine what Krakow will look like in the future – in ten, twenty or fifty years. You can convey your visions and assumptions in any form. It can be a description focusing on a chosen element of the landscape of the future, a short fictional story, a diary page depicting a day in life, a fragment of a press article, a few sentences overheard in a radio broadcast, a field report, a statement taken from a news service, or even an imaginary entry on Facebook or Twitter. The future, just like the present, has many faces, and it is up to you which one we will get to know. In order to give you some inspiration, we would like to suggest a few questions that you can take as a starting point.
Who will live in Krakow in the future? Will someone new show up here? Or maybe someone will decide to leave the city?
What will the inhabitants of the city do? How will they work and how will they spend their free time? Where will they go on a warm summer afternoon, or on a rainy day?
Which city districts will change and which ones will stay the same? If a person living today moved into the future, would they recognize their place of residence?
What will be the topic of the hottest discussions in town? What will appear on the front pages of newspapers? What will you talk about at family dinner, and what at the hairdresser's? What topics will stir the emotions?
Will we learn something new about Krakow's past? Maybe we will find traces of buildings and places that no longer exist that we had no idea about? We will discover secret passages, hidden rooms or coded inscriptions in old buildings? We will come across facts that will completely change the way we think about the history of the city?
What will change for the better and what will change for the worse? Will life in Krakow be more pleasant?
Texts in any language may be submitted for participation in the competition.
Please send your applications by e-mail to the following address festiwal@willadecjusza.pl until September 15, 2021.
They should be no more than one page long (1800 characters with spaces) and signed with your name.
From among the submitted scenarios for the future we will choose six that will be translated into Polish, illustrated and displayed in poster format during the Multicultural Festival at Villa Decius. In addition, the authors of the three best texts, who presented the future of the city in the most interesting, insightful or unusual way, will receive vouchers for restaurants selected in the Tastes of Multiculturalism plebiscite accompanying the Festival.
The future of the city is in your hands!
Submitting the work is tantamount to accepting the rules of the competition.
The contest is a part of the “Multicultural Festival – New Cracovians 2021”, organized by The Villa Decius Association and Internationaler Bund Polska Foundation - the operator of the Multicultural Center in Krakow, in partnership with the Villa Decius Institute for Culture, with the financial support of the City and the Open Krakow Program.
Join the event to stay up to date!
https://fb.me/e/4QWWP001x
The world changes rapidly, and even the places as strongly tied to the past as Kraków undergo these changes. When we look at the historic walls of Wawel and stroll through the medieval districts of the Old Town that have survived hundreds of years, we probably get the impression that Krakow is destined to last forever in the same shape. However, as soon as we lower our gaze a little, we see something that is in complete opposition to immutability. Between the towering walls flows the unpredictable current of life, the streets are filled with a multinational crowd, and thousands of the city residents are already living the future, making plans, dreaming and thinking far ahead. Perhaps it is true that for a tourist Krakow actually is like a huge fossil, like a monument, commemorating glorious and turbulent history, which can only be admired. However, its inhabitants are able to notice the changes taking place in the urban landscape - both the small and the very big ones - and they know very well that the city has not always been the same. They also surely have a feeling that it will not be the same in the future.
These changes, however, are probably different as seen from the perspective of people from other countries who have decided to settle in Krakow. We believe that having the experience of living in a different geographical and cultural context, the expats can shift attention to the less obvious aspects of the city's biography that remain imperceptible to its indigenous people.
Therefore, it is to you, dear Cracovians of choice, that we invite to take part in the “Scenarios of the future” competition. We would like to encourage you to dare to imagine what Krakow will look like in the future – in ten, twenty or fifty years. You can convey your visions and assumptions in any form. It can be a description focusing on a chosen element of the landscape of the future, a short fictional story, a diary page depicting a day in life, a fragment of a press article, a few sentences overheard in a radio broadcast, a field report, a statement taken from a news service, or even an imaginary entry on Facebook or Twitter. The future, just like the present, has many faces, and it is up to you which one we will get to know. In order to give you some inspiration, we would like to suggest a few questions that you can take as a starting point.
Who will live in Krakow in the future? Will someone new show up here? Or maybe someone will decide to leave the city?
What will the inhabitants of the city do? How will they work and how will they spend their free time? Where will they go on a warm summer afternoon, or on a rainy day?
Which city districts will change and which ones will stay the same? If a person living today moved into the future, would they recognize their place of residence?
What will be the topic of the hottest discussions in town? What will appear on the front pages of newspapers? What will you talk about at family dinner, and what at the hairdresser's? What topics will stir the emotions?
Will we learn something new about Krakow's past? Maybe we will find traces of buildings and places that no longer exist that we had no idea about? We will discover secret passages, hidden rooms or coded inscriptions in old buildings? We will come across facts that will completely change the way we think about the history of the city?
What will change for the better and what will change for the worse? Will life in Krakow be more pleasant?
Texts in any language may be submitted for participation in the competition.
Please send your applications by e-mail to the following address festiwal@willadecjusza.pl until September 15, 2021.
They should be no more than one page long (1800 characters with spaces) and signed with your name.
From among the submitted scenarios for the future we will choose six that will be translated into Polish, illustrated and displayed in poster format during the Multicultural Festival at Villa Decius. In addition, the authors of the three best texts, who presented the future of the city in the most interesting, insightful or unusual way, will receive vouchers for restaurants selected in the Tastes of Multiculturalism plebiscite accompanying the Festival.
The future of the city is in your hands!
Submitting the work is tantamount to accepting the rules of the competition.
The contest is a part of the “Multicultural Festival – New Cracovians 2021”, organized by The Villa Decius Association and Internationaler Bund Polska Foundation - the operator of the Multicultural Center in Krakow, in partnership with the Villa Decius Institute for Culture, with the financial support of the City and the Open Krakow Program.
Join the event to stay up to date!
https://fb.me/e/4QWWP001x