"Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past." - says Orwell in his world famous novel. The present and the future of every single creation in our world is mainly determined and could be understood through its past. An event, taking place every year, is not only a week-long event - its past and its roots are also firmly connected to it.

Our memories of the first ICWiP (then called FICWiP, as an abbreviaton of First International Culture Week in Pécs) are as significant as the main topic or the actual or following festival itself.


ICWiP plays an important role in the creation of a myth - the myth of the entire cultural scene in Pécs. It is an occasion among many others, and yet one of the fewer to gain international recognition already. So this myth is not only built in the city, but abroad too.

Our festival is one of the heralds, carriyng an important message to countries surrounding us - a message that tells of qualities and values, of huge cultural and intellectual capacity, and the need (or opportunity) for open minds from outside our region.