A nomadic pan-European training programme designed to foster cultural diversity and increase transnational cultural cooperation. Each year this one-year programme gathers around 25 cultural managers from various countries. The course consists of two fortnight residential sessions in two different countries, a comparative study, and an evaluation/seminar phase hosted by the European Cultural Centre of Delphi, Greece.

Each session of the diploma takes place in a different country and is organised in cooperation with local partners, usually graduates of the European Diploma. This nomadic process allows participants of the training programme to increase their understanding of European and national cultural policies, and to raise awareness of diverse models of operation.

For local partners, it is an opportunity to create links with European colleagues. "Exchange of knowledge and experiences encouraged local operators in their efforts to further development of European cooperation projects and to advance their professional skills. It was also an opportunity for cultural managers, participants of the European Diploma, to have an insight into the local cultural scene and cultural policy. It was a valuable experience, which generated a creative environment for future cooperation." (Tamara Jokovic, organiser of residential session in Montenegro - European Diploma 2006, local partner Ministry of Culture, Sports and Media, Republic of Montenegro)

Everybody Has Something to Learn

Intensive training (e.g. lectures, work in groups, mini audits of local cultural organisations) and moving through a variety of countries and cultures, with no time 'to recover', inevitably leads to the 'surprise effect' and revising points of view.

Jean Pierre Deru (Fondation Marcel Hicter) stressed that the main focus of the training is on the person behind the project, and not the formal aspects of the project itself. It is more about building personality and capacities, then building skills. It enables participants to remove psychological borders, to understand others, and to develop intercultural competencies that are necessary to run complex European cooperation projects.

Apart from the knowledge and pedagogical input, the essence of the programme is interaction between participants, i.e., group work, because everybody has something to learn from others, either on an artistic, organisational or intercultural level. Links between participants also promote the creation of platforms for the future collaboration. For example, the project Mobile Studios was partly produced through the network of European Diploma students.

Since 1989, around 400 cultural managers from 41 countries (Europe, Middle East, Canada, Senegal, etc.) took part in this training. Former and current participants of the European Diploma in Cultural Project Management are gathered within the Oracle - Network of European Cultural Managers, which they founded in Athens in 1992.

The programme is organised and managed by the Fondation Marcel Hicter in cooperation with its local partners; it is supported by the Council of Europe.