Background

The game took place on 2nd and 3rd December 2009 in Gdańsk, 'capital city' of the Pomorskie region, one of the Tricity cities, very popular among tourists and investors.

Objectives

The theme of this game was ‘Winter in the city – the art of getting people out of their warm homes’. The organisers wanted to generate ideas on how to activate Gdańsk's residents in winter and help them become interested in city's cultural offer. The game was part of ‘Narracje - Instalacje i Interwencje w Przestrzeni Publicznej’ festival (Narrations-Installations and Interventions in Public Spaces). The players included representatives of Gdańsk City Council, cultural institutions, NGOs, Gdańsk Touristic Organization, local media, artists and residents. The game was hosted by the Gdańsk and the Metropolis European Capital of Culture 2016 Office.

Winning idea

Gdańsk from Scratch

The life of the people of Gdańsk is becoming more and more virtual. Therefore, in order to reach the widest possible audience and make residents of all ages interested, the winning team decided to start its project through activities on the Internet. The idea of ‘Gdańsk from Scratch’ is very simple. All residents would have access to an internet map on which (cooperating with a project moderator) they can mark their favourite places (a photo with a short, personal description), with which they associate personal memories and nice moments. In this way, alternative routes and recreational paths, attractive both to people from Gdansk and tourists, will be created. They will lead through places connected with the culture and history of the city and its residents.
 
The main part of the presentation consisted of marking locations on the map and inviting some representatives of the audience to mark their own places. The aim of this step was to show the real attractiveness of the winning idea and prove that each citizen has their own memorable spot. The initiators of the project ‘Gdańsk from scratch’ called the process "creating a map of sentiments" based on places that remain in the memory of the inhabitants of today's Gdańsk.

Winning ideas from the other teams

Cultural Lottery of the City of Gdańsk

The idea of this project is to organise an open lottery for both Gdańsk's residents and city guests. The winners would receive a kind of voucher that would entitle them to take part in a cultural event corresponding with the winners' interests and needs. The income from the lottery would be used only to support cultural institutions of the city of Gdańsk, NGOs, the city's partners in this project, and undertakings related to the city of Gdańsk and the Metropolis becoming a candidate for the European Capital of Culture in 2016.
 
Gdańsk.movie - Gdańsk.speaks

Gdańsk speaks through us. The project shows what the city talks to us about - whether it is cheerful or screaming or crying, perhaps longing for something/someone; what is our city's character, what most important memories do we have of our city? The idea would be to interview Gdańsk's inhabitants, record their views on their city and stories associated with it. Short films consisting of these interviews could be shown in urban spaces – shops windows, cafes, on screens in public spaces, in galleries – and would become a specific meta-narration of the city created by its residents.
 
Culture in communication - public transport

The idea of this project is to make use of public transport vehicles and stops in order to spread the word on Gdańsk's and the Metropolis cultural programme. Pre-recorded information on cultural events would be played in public transport vehicles and at public transport stops. This project could be a joint venture of the city, mass media (Radio Eska, Radio Gdańsk, portal trójmiasto.pl etc.) and cultural institutions. To make the idea more attractive the events should be announced by recognisable voices, e.g. actors or other well-known Gdańsk residents.