LabforCulture - Community : Blogs

Septicism and Hope: culture as vector for development

Wed, 07 Jul 2010 10:28:44 GMT

Artists, cultural professionals and entrepreneurs from African, Caribbean and Pacific States (ACP) and from EU members have expressed their disappointment concerning the powerless influence of cultural cooperation programmes on development policies. Yet they expect a new commitment so that culture can see its contribute to economic development, well being and social cohesion recognised at the political level.

The “Culture and Creativity: vectors for development” EU international meeting that took place in Brussels in April, 2-3, gathered artists, cultural operators and political leaders from EU and ACP countries. The Brussels Declaration is the first (hope not single) outcome. It sums up the state of the art of the difficult relation between culture and development, lists objectives at political, economical, social and cultural level and proposes recommendations to professionals as well as authorities.

These voices request:
- a place for culture in governance and public policies at all levels;
- an integrated and transversal approach where arts and creation are taken into account by other sectorial policies;
- a proper social status and a facilitation of freedom of circulation for artists and art works.

The Agenda for Culture in a Globalised World launched last year has also raised many hopes. One of them was the recognition of the role of culture in international relations opening the way for multilateral cultural exchange.

The European Commission´s EuropeAid Office has reacted and included culture as one of its policy dimensions and tools for development.

Unfortunately, taking a close look at the EU Policy Coherence for Development, despite the respective Development Commissioner Louis Michel speech to this meeting, we can not find any reference to culture at all. The arts and culture sector does not show up in the list of intervention areas neither it is considered a cross-cutting issue.

This manifesto claims it is time to act! This demand gets reinforced in face of the actual global financial and social crisis and the urgency of food, energy, climate and human security crisis in developing countries.

It is indeed time for action for all: for the EU; for the member-states; but also for the governments of developing countries; and mostly for artists, cultural operators and arts organisations to join forces and keep on their work and commitment against all odds.

CHANCES OF CRISIS - Discussion and networking project

Sat, 15 Aug 2009 17:16:04 GMT

Attransponder presents this motivating initiative which questions the financial crisis and its impact in the arts. It proposes gathering, collective thought, discussion and suggests consequent action; with a wide perspective but in the framework of one of the most vibrant cultural scenes in Europe: Berlin.

The project intends to offer the grounds for a "reciprocating network, efficient support systems which would eventually lead to the founding of a lobby and achieving new methods of collective resolution for further relevant subjects."
At the moment, it consists of a simple blog open to participation, a survey for artists and organizations and two round-table events that will take place next August.

It also arises subjects within a financial dimension but a step beyond the crisis: instrumentalisation of the arts, the role of arts in society, utopias... A worthy approach that reminds us to look further than the obvious.

"The world financial crisis is also being used for implementing increasingly drastic reductions and conditions in Berlin's financial support for the arts. Some examples include cutbacks of financial project resources, intensification of “lighthouse” support or an increasing shift towards supporting art projects linked to specific objectives."

Berlin is chosen point for a large number of independent artists, small cultural organizations and social activists from all over the world.
The initiative has a good potential to reflect the situation and give voice to a lot of people in the margins of the established art - a reality just close to an exclusive minority already suffering the consequences of the crisis.

Likewise, the discussion is an opportunity to bring up a hot topic: the so-called creative cities and its role in the current economy, at a grassroots level.
Plus the unavoidable one: the precarious conditions of artists working in the cultural off-scenes.

More information: www.arttransponder.net

Round table dates: 26 / 27 August, 2009

Website under maintenance

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:53:04 GMT

We are currently upgrading our web servers. You won't be able to login, submit content, comment or post in the forums until Friday 17 July evening.

In the meantime, you can still access the website and view all the resources.

This upgrade will bring enhanced features to the Community section, Your Profile, and general improvements regarding performance and stability.

For urgent matters, please contact helpdesk@labforculture.org.

Youth policy and access to culture in Europe: tuning mechanisms

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 15:14:27 GMT

Retrospective look on youth policies in Europe

The first formally identified need for youth research in Europe hapenned in 1967 by the Council of Europe, when the Parliamentary Assembly adopted a directive, calling for the study of youth problems in Europe. The Commet Programme, adopted in 1986 and related to vocational training was one of the first initiatives on European level, devoted to young people. The first European Conference of Ministers responsible for Youth took place in Strasbourg, 1985 - it was a highlight of International Youth Year in Europe, together with the European Youth Week, the Council of Europe's contribution to International Youth Year.

In 1988 the “Youth for Europe” Programme was launched, focusing on non-formal learning. The Maastricht Treaty in 1993 extended the scope of EU policies to include the youth ‘field’. Article 149 § 2 states that the EU should “… encourage the development of youth exchanges and of exchanges of socio-educational instructors…”. 15 years after the first youth programme have started, the White Paper on Youth was adopted in November 2001, representing the first step made by the European Commission to set up a youth policy framework in the European Union.

In September 2007 the Commission communicated another key document “Promoting Young People’s Full Participation in Education, Employment and Society”, emphasising on the “a need for a transversal youth strategy, building on cooperation between policy makers and stakeholders at European, national, regional and local levels".

Youth policy today

Youth policy is a challenging and complex concept, with increased importance nowadays at all levels of governance – at supra-national, national and sub-national.

The European Commission Directorate General for Education and Culture has split its policy actions under 6 main themes: education and training; youth; culture; multilingualism; citizenship and sport. The section on youth has a double mission in the field of youth: to develop a framework for political co-operation and to manage the Youth in Action programme.

Youth in Action Programme (2007-2013) is a major initiatives of the European Commission, Department for Youth. It is the successor of the former “Youth Programme 2000-2006” and has four main priorities: European citizenship; cultural diversity, inclusion of young people with fewer opportunities and active participation.

The European Youth Week (EYW) took place in Brussels (November 2-8, 2008), providing an open platform for young people and policy makers from across Europe (31 countries participating in the Youth in Action Programme) to meet and discuss policy and practical issues. Marking the 20th anniversary of European programmes for youth, EYW looked at the past achievements while discussing future challenges for young Europeans, suggesting further steps to be taken in the field of EU youth policy, making sure that young people’s future is improved.

The new EU strategy for youth entitled "Youth – Investing and Empowering", released in April 2009 is a follow up to the Renewed Social Agenda announced by the European Commission in 2008 and covers the three key policy areas mentioned there. Further, under each of them, two to three 'fields of action' are proposed with objectives for the first three years, 2010-2012. The key field of actions are related to: mobility, education, employment, social exclusion (incl. living conditions and poverty), active citizenship and youth participation, volunteering, creativity and entrepreneurship, health and sport, youth and the world.

Official institutions on national level, responsible for development and implementation of youth policies in most of the Member states are the Ministries of Culture and Ministries of Education. There is a general natural integration between cultural and educational policies at all levels on the issue of “youth access to culture”. The main reasons for this could be:
- Educational policies include also arts education (implementing art subjects within the school curricula) and with after-school education and leisure activities of young people, where certain amount of time is taken by cultural events and artistic experiences. In some cases, the Ministries of Education aim at setting up policy priorities not only in the field of education, but also-for preparing young people to find appropriate work corresponding to their educational background, needs and expectations, as well as to adapt to the post-educational life. In these cases, joined programmes between the ministries of Education and Ministries of labour/social affairs are set up.
- Cultural policies are directed towards providing wider access to cultural institutions and events, including for vulnerable groups of the population. Children and young people are considered as one of them.

Specialised national bodies especially devoted for youth issues, or distinct departments for youth under one of the ministries are established in almost half of the Member States. These youth units are reported to consider youth policies very closely related to:
- leisure time of young people, primarily sport, physical education, social tourism;
- education-both formal and non-formal (after school) one;
- equal opportunities for young people, especially emphasising on disadvantaged groups.

Youth access to culture as a policy priority

Youth access to culture usually comprises two main aspects:
- Access of young people to culture as users (for example, opening up of cultural sites, facilitating access to museums, collections, concerts, libraries).
- Access of young people to culture as creators outside of education and vocational training systems (support for their forms of expression, development of their creative potential, facilitating creation).

Youth access to culture is different in various parts of Europe, as well as in rural and urban areas. It differs according to factors such as: social background, ethnicity, culture, religion, gender, social and economic circumstances in which young people live. A quick glance on cultural policies and youth policies shows that access to culture is not yet a prominent part of youth policies, although it is sporadically mentioned in policy documents, especially related to issues of education, human rights, inclusion and social cohesion of youth. Generally, access to culture is not regarded as an issue by its own, but in close connection with all existing social problems of young people across Europe. In some cases, youth issues are squeezed, incorporated, even hidden by other bigger and more prominent sectors such as: education, social and employment sectors, health sector, which do not deal with culture and arts as a priority. Therefore “access to culture” appears as a peripheral issue in these policy priorities, as the impact is more on solving social problems of young people and work-related issues. One of the difficulties in implementing specific policy programmes aiming at stimulating young people and children to attend cultural organisations and events by decreasing (or abolishing) entrance fees is to convince the directors of cultural organisations that such approaches will increase participation.

One of the factors to increase the efficiency and outcomes of policy-making related to young people and access to culture is to regard young people not only as users and/or participants in cultural events and experiences, but as active citizens who should have their voice heard in all aspects concerning their life and future. A key factor seems also the involvement of the main stakeholders at all levels in a synchronised and collaborative manner – from European institutions, national bodies (ministries of culture, education, youth and sport), to local and regional authorities, and cultural organisations, as well as other funders).

Forthcoming study on access of young people to culture

In August 2008, Interarts Foundation was selected to carry out a study on Access of Young People to Culture in Europe as a response to the May 2008 call of proposals of the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Agency, in cooperation with the European Commission. The aim of the study is to map the European landscape of opportunities of, impact of and obstacles to the access and participation of young people in culture. The ultimate aim is to produce a set of conclusions for a better understanding and recommendations for concrete actions that reflect the demands, necessities and needs of young people in Europe.

The results of the study will be ready in the autumn of 2009.

Call for entries // 17. International ContraVision Film Festival

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 09:28:47 GMT

17. International ContraVision Film Festival // Deadline for film submissions: 31. July 2009

Since 1993, the International ContraVision Film Festival has made Berlin the gathering place for short filmmakers and aficionados of short films alike. For 17 years exclusively, public viewers have awarded the renowned ContraVision Awards. During the short film festival competition, films of equal rank from independent and freelance filmmakers, films from film and art colleges, as well as commercial productions, compete for the audiences affection.

Films are being accepted until 31. July 2009. The films are allowed a maximum of 30 minutes running time. Short films from all genres are permitted. There are no predefined themes or topics and there is no application fee to enter films. Film submission is completed through the Online-form and films can be submitted vial Internet-upload, quickly and hassle-free.

All the films that are nominated by the program commission will run in the festival competition. In 2008, 80 films were screened during the competition. The festival takes place from 18. - 19. & 25. - 27. September 2009 in Berlin. The entry form and further information can be found under:
http://www.contravision.de

Contact:
International ContraVision Film Festival
Contra Medienwerkstatt e.V.
Lernhaus
Pohlstrasse 60-62
10785 Berlin / Germany
Tel/Fax: ++49 (0)30 257 98 410
E-Mail: filmfestival@contravision.de
Web: http://www.contravision.de

1989 - The Fall of the Iron Curtain

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 20:12:12 GMT

Historians have succeeded in dividing contemporary era into three phases. The first one begins after the fall of the Berlin Wall, second one means Internet era, and third one starts with terrorist attack on September 11th, 2001. These dates were usually followed by anniversaries which are not always related to a celebration. But, we mark them as an important and crucial moment in the history which leads the world in this or that direction. And as we celebrated 1968 in the last year, in 2009 we celebrate 20 years since 1989 and the fall of the Iron Curtain. Namely, on November 9th, 1989, the Border separating Western from Eastern Germany was opened. This fact changed the Europe and the world.

As it is already well known, the contemporary cultural and artistic practices have always been communicating closely with the time and space in order to react on them. So this year numerous professionals from the field of culture and art are creating and organising projects which refer to 1989. Some of them I am listing here.

According to the fact that 2009 already stepped in the second part of the year we left some events behind us. Among them is the exhibition Where to Go? Notes on Transformation after 1989 which Rotor in Graz was hosted from April 24th to June 13th. This exhibition is talking about Europe 20 years after the fall of the Wall through the eyes of various curators and artists.

Here you can find more about SocialEast Seminar on Foreign Experience in Post-89 Art which took place on May 7th in Ludwig Museum - Museum of Contemporary Art Budapest.

The non-governmental non-profit organization Opona, o.p.s. was established in Prague by a group of young people who felt the need to honourably commemorate and celebrate the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Iron Curtain. Check the cultural events and projects which have been organised by Opona.

2009 is a special year for Berlin. The city celebrates the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Thanks to a peaceful revolution, the border between East and West Germany fell, the Cold War ended, and Germany was reunited. And of course Berlin prepares a lot of cultural events which celebrate the anniversary. An open-air exhibition on the peaceful revolution is on display at Alexanderplatz in Berlin from May 7th until November 14th. In both German and English, it documents the political and social developments in the GDR that led to the fall of the Wall. Check it here.

The main event in Berlin is waiting for us on November 9th when the spectacular Festival of Freedom will take place at the Brandenburg Gate.

An art collection related to the Berlin Wall you can find here

Here you can find more cultural events which celebrate 20th anniversary in Germany and abroad.

Of course, if I miss some of events which you know or you organise please leave your comments and informed us about them.

At the end of this year we can expect a numerous articles which will discuss this anniversary and explore how the political and social changes influenced the artistic and cultural life in Europe. I suggest waiting till the end of the year. Than I will browse the Internet trying to collect interesting articles which will be available in virtual space.

Ioana Molodvan.

Sun, 12 Jul 2009 03:24:08 GMT

Ioana Moldovan's delicate photos are like pastries soaked in rum. I want more.

2010 Global Development Awards and Medals Competition

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:32:43 GMT

The Global Development Network (GDN) annual contest is one of the biggest competition awards in the field of development research. It is now calling for submissions.
The competition -funded by the Government of Japan; Luxembourg Ministry of Finance and the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs- offers cash prizes and travel expenses to finalists to present their research/proposals at GDN’s next conference in Prague in January 2010.

There are three thematic strands:

- Globalization, Regulation and Development
- International Migration: Crossing Borders, Changing Lives?
- Regional Integration- Convergence Big Time, or, an Opportunity Wasted?

And three award categories:

- Japanese Award for Outstanding Research on Development: For new research proposals that add a unique dimension to research on any of the proposed themes.
( First and second prizes: US $30,000; US $5,000 )
- Medals for Research on Development: For excellent completed research papers on any of the proposed themes.
( First and second prizes: US $10,000; US $5,000 )
- Japanese Award for the Most Innovative Development Project: For on-going development projects that have given the maximum benefit to the local communities and need further financial assistance.
( First and second prizes: US $30,000; US$ 5,000 )

Eligibility: Researchers and NGOs who are residents in developing and transition countries or temporarily based in a developed country for not more than five years.

Deadline: August 24, 2009 for development project;
September 30, 2009 for research proposals/papers.

More information: www.gdnet.org

2010 Annual Global Development Conference in Prague

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:17:17 GMT

The Global Development Network (GDN) announces its next annual conference that will take place in Prague next January 2010.

"The proposed theme of the conference will be "Regional and Global Integration: Quo Vadis?" The conference will seek to examine various consequences for all the drivers of globalization, and in particular for developing countries: financial flows; trade flows; and international migration. Some of the systemic consequences from the crisis will be explored. These include:
• Globalization under threat?
• New global financial governance?
• New capitalism?
• More regional integration?
In addition it will discuss two other, related issues
• Climate change and trade, post-Copenhagen
• Managing diversity stemming from international migration".

The Global Development Network (GDN) is an International organization of research and policy institutes promoting the production, sharing and application to policy of multidisciplinary knowledge for the purpose of development.

Every year GND's conferences provide a venue for an exchange on issues of sustainable development and poverty reduction, held each year in a different region of the world.
The point is to facilitate greater exchanges between local policymakers and the local research it supports.

More info about next conference will b published at GND website :

www.gdnet.org
www.gdnet.org/cms.php?id=eleventh_annual_conference_announcement

Cultural Diversity as European Trumpcard

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 11:08:17 GMT

Declaration of Brugges: Cultural Diversity, The Economic, Democratic and Cultural Foundation of Europe 2002

"Culture as a Motor for the Economy:
For a long time in the science of economics and in European diplomacy, culture was presented in a noble and valuable element of the society but one that contributed more costs than benefits. "Culture" was and is seen too much as derivatory in the economy by trade and industry, by the governmental authorities, and by the economists. This can also be noted in the European project where cultural diversity is experienced as a brake on integration and where the cultural dimension is always thrust aside because of economic and political considerations. This is gradually changing. In trade and industry, the academic world, and the government, people are beginning to comprehend more and more how enormously important the cultural component is for our society.

Prof. Garelli of the IMD Business School in Geneva, who is also director of the DAVOS competitiveness index, declared at the Flemish Quality Congress on November 18th that "the cultural diversity of Europe is its greatest economic trump card"! According to Prof. Garelli, the ability to manage cultural diversity in the 21st century constitutes a competitive advantage over Japan and the USA because of increasing internationalisation. The USA, with its "melting pot" situation, is not sufficiently capable of approaching the markets sensitively and of working efficiently with partners from other cultures. The melting-pot society has made the Anglo-Saxon culture even more dominant, and this attitude of American managers and policy people will generate increasing resistance in the rest of the world. Japan, Korea, Taiwan have built their economic power from the safety of their homogenous domestic markets. This cultural model, too, will cause strategic handicaps in the approaching of other markets.

"Dealing with other cultures" in the organisation of production, in the approaching of the markets, in the concluding of partnership agreements, and in working with the various authorities from so many countries will become a 'know-how' with an ever increasing surplus value in the coming decades.

Hence, also from the economic standpoint, Europe has every interest in cultivating the 'management of cultural diversity' instead of striving for an American dominance model of falling back on an Asiatic homogenous model out of misunderstood motives of efficiency.

This 'intercultural management knowledge' as a trump card fits into the wider, new economic management theory of Davos, where the 'value system' of a company and a country becomes a decisive determinant in the competitive struggle. In fact, 'culture' is becoming the hitherto underestimated and underexploited production factor, joining labour, capital, raw materials and technology.

Indeed, the cultural value system describes:
a. why in one country the same amount of capital becomes "RISK" capital and in the other country "RENTIER" capital;
b. why the same labour potential in two countries differs in commitment, motivation, flexibility, solidarity, etc.
c. why countries with equal amounts of raw-material resources either invest in bold vertical integration or are content with cashing in on their reserves;
d. why technological innovation is pushed over there by a drive for education and creativity and elsewhere it is only nodded to, pro form.
In our world economy, the cultural factor will represent an ever larger share of the added value. Europe must draw its conclusions from this, and rethink its economic policy from this point of view.

By introducing this cultural dimension explicitly and consequently in all facets of the European economic policy, a new dynamism can be launched.

Source: Note 3, Cultural Driven Market Economy by Kris Rogiers

The CPNK online debates

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 12:33:43 GMT

Converging Pathways to New Knowledge (CPNK) is a LabforCulture (LfC) initiative considering the future of knowledge building and knowledge sharing within a new digital paradigm.

The project has three interconnected stages: a series of three online debates, involving invited experts and the LfC community discussing and commenting on new knowledge; a one day roundtable in Göteborg on July 28 and a reflection document, produced in collaboration with Kennisland which will contain the outcomes of the online debates and the roundtable reflection. The publication will be to be launched at the Cultural Forum in Brussels, September.

Join the three online debates starting on the 7th July 16:00 – 17:30, 8th July 16:00 – 17:30 and 13th July 11:00 – 12:30 CET and participate via the webspace or using @labforculture on Twitter. Some questions that will be asked are, where do cultural operators fit in to the new "digital picture", what does it mean for artists and what are the burning issues that should be addressed by policy makers to support this cultural shift?

Webspace: www.labforculture.org/newknowledge

To get updates via email on the upcoming events: cpnk-register@office.labforculture.org

Volunteer and enjoy your holidays!

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 11:46:34 GMT

It is summertime in Europe. If you wonder what to do with your holidays, have little money but nonetheless would like to travel abroad, take a serious look at the European Voluntary Service (EVS). Have you ever thought about volunteering to work in a foreign country while others might be just lying under the Sun?

The European Voluntary Service, part of the Youth in Action programme, offers young Europeans aged 18-30 years the chance to participate from 2 to 12 months in unpaid non-profit voluntary activities worldwide. Participants get return trip (including paid visas when needed), board and lodging, local transport, insurance cover and an allowance for the duration of the project.

You can choose within a myriad of host organisations spanning from “art and culture” activities to “heritage and environmental protection” and “media and communications”, just to mention few themes. Would you consider trying your luck as an archaeologist for Setúbal Museum by the Portuguese blue Atlantic coast? What about contributing to the audiovisual education mission of a media centre in old town Vilnius up in the Baltic? Or playing the role of a jazz producer in Salzburg? Not yet convinced? Check the database of accredited organisations to find your own way.

Trans Europe Halles (TEH), the European network for independent cultural centres, participates in the EVS programme by putting forward a wide range of placements within its members, including Stanica/Slovakia, The Junction/Cambridge and Melkweg/Amsterdam, among many others. Check their website for the full list of possibilities. TEH has also available background information on the EVS and has just published a handbook coloured with experiences of these youth exchanges.

Be aware that the EVS is not just simply about having fun while working. Language classes and training sessions specific to each placement are offered to participants so they can consolidate their informal leanings. This programme is meant to provide valuable learning experiences and a true sense of what the European project is all about. European citizenship, intercultural dialogue, tolerance and solidarity are in the essence of it all.

Volunteering in Europe has been growing though it might not yet be as common as in the USA, for example. Yet don’t get away from your commitment in case your friends misunderstand your holiday’s decision. The European Commission is proposing 2011 to be the European Year of Volunteering: the European Parliament and the Council are expected to endorse it by the beginning of next year. Soon volunteering might become more fashionable, so go ahead first and enjoy your holidays!

For organisations this is also a great opportunity to receive supported contributions from youngsters from other countries and cultures possibly with fresh new ideas and energy. For more details on how to participate as a host, please consult the website of the European Commission – Youth, your respective National Agency as well as Salto – Youth resource centres.

Scholarships at the Künstlerhaus Schloß Balmoral 2010

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 20:31:25 GMT

Balmoral awards six 6-month residential scholarships to international fine artists of any age from the disciplines of painting, sculpture, installation, drawing, printmaking, design, photography, video, new media, and landscape art.

Artists must have completed their degree in art and have a minimum of three-years’ artistic activity. Applications from autodidacts with achievements (exhibitions and prizes) are also welcome.

The scholarships includes a grant of 1,200 Euros per month plus accomodation. 

Additionally, Balmoral awards:

- one 6-month project grant to allow a selected national visual artist to realise a project elsewhere.
- one 6-month curator scholarship to promote the dialogue between research and art, for a junior scholar of Humanities.
- one 3-month exchange residential scholarship for a fine artist of Burgundy, France

Deadline for applications: 18th July, 2009

For more information: www.balmoral.de

Stuck in the pay gap? + Gender equality in the EU and Turkey

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 20:24:18 GMT

Two days for the International Women Day. After reading the last news about gender equality, rather than vibes of celebration I got an urge to run, write blog and try to provoke some kind of response.

For a start, the European Commision
has just launched a EU-wide campaign to help tackle the gender pay gap; Across the EU, women are currently earning on average 17.4% less than men.
The concept of 'equal pay for work of equal value' registered in the European laws of 1976, seems not so present in the daily practice of bussiness as in the burocratic papers. Curiously enough, the biggest gap is registered in the UK- to my knowledge, a country with a large history of equality policies.
So, what is going on?

“Firstly, there's straight-forward discrimination by employers – paying women less than men to do the same job. Some researchers estimate that straightforward discriminate accounts for up to 40% of the pay gap. Secondly, work traditionally done by women is still paid less. For instance, a nurse is paid less than a police officer. Thirdly, the UK has one of the longest working hours’ cultures in the EU, and as long as women shoulder the majority of parenting and caring responsibilities, women are unable to compete in the UK workplace..” - From Fawccet Society website.

Shellye Archambeau is a top executive running major businesses at companies such as IBM and Blockbuster in America. She noticed "a disparity in pay between men and women, but something else over the years: Few women she supervised came a knocking on her door demanding more money. The men, on the other hand, were more likely to squawk for a fatter paycheck." - From Msnbc.
Attention to our negotiation skills would definitely help...

But there are some battles won. After 12 years of struggle of women in Turkey, the Gender Equality Commission has been finally approved to represent Turkish women at the highest levels of its government:

“Women in Turkey finally gained a commission mandated to represent them at the highest levels of government. This representation also comes with unprecedented power to serve the interests of women: a substantial budget, the authority to bring about real change and the ears of Parliament and the Prime Ministry. In the last couple of years, Turkish women have united to transform a dysfunctional Penal Code into one of the world’s most progressive on protection of women and their rights. […] Much of the progress by Turkish women on equality emanates from local women’s groups and the changes they have brought about in their communities, a leading women’s rights advocate Pınar İlkkaracan told me a few months ago. In Canakkale, where women have mobilized the local power structure, the city "checks with its women’s group before building a road," -From Hürryet.com

Turkey has just made a big step on gender equality, and from a global point, it is worth to stop and think what can be learned from there. On the other hand, what is happening to the EU? Are we, EU citizens, becoming less active in the defense of our own rights and so, advancing at a slow pace? Is this sluggish progression connected to a generalized complicity and permissive attitude with the private sector - more often than the public - cause equality is not so “urgent” when it’s about money?

We could maybe get some answers in Brussels, as next 18th of March, ALDE Group is hosting the seminar “Gender equality in Turkey and the EU”:

“ALDE seminar on gender equality will cover topical issues, such as the representation of women in business and political life, gender equality in socio-economic life and the role of women in the EU accession process.   The discussion will focus on EU experience and lessons learnt through the analysis of policies. Civil society representatives will also share their practical experience of the daily life of women in both the EU and Turkey.   One of the focus points will be the impact of the enlargement process on gender equality policies, and whether a progressive improvement can be observed.   Finally, the seminar will assess the current situation of gender policies in the EU and in Turkey.”

Gender mainstreaming, equality at work environments, efficacy and support received by NGO’s, general attitude and level of implications of women and women organizations at a grassroots level: a lot to talk about if we put Turkey and the EU in the same scenario.

If you want to dig deeper on these topics, following a list of related reading:

Seminar “Gender equality in Turkey and the EU”: More info from ALDE site.

Equal Pay: Take action; To help the campaign of equal pay in the UK, by Fawcett Society.

EU launches campaign to tackle gender pay gap ; from Nieuwsbank.

The Gender Pay Gap: Still Alive at the Top; article from Bussiness Week, with interesting contributions and comments.

One reason for pay gap: Women don't speak up; Can it be connected to a lack of confidence by many to bring up the taboo subject of money?

Britain's gender pay divide is among widest in Europe; from the Telegraph.

Gender Equality in European Union; Summarizes and explains the most important points in the EU action programmes for equality. Prepared by the Office of the Equal Opportunities in Obnustam.

Women turned off by male-centric IT industry, expert claims; According to research by e-skills UK, male professionals in the IT and telecoms sector earn an average of £720 a week, while women earn around £500 a week.

Issues: Women's rights in Turkey; An article about women rights in Turkey, published last October by the ESI.

Istanbul’s Cultural Constellation and Its European Prospects; commissioned by LabforCulture.

Historical step on path progress; Recommended article about the new Gender Equality Commission in Turkey, from Hürryet.

And to finish, an open question; what about women representation in the arts and culture?
I will dedicate a future blog to this topic, but in the meantime, if you want to share experiences, knowledge or references, please leave a comment.

London Churches, Part 1

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 17:33:30 GMT

The idea of the London Churches project is to visit every church in the City of London - and probably a few outside - and use the visits as the basis of an online work. This isn't a blog, and it certainly isn't a historical or architectural guide. It's a work of hyperfiction, but derived from real places, real experiences, real observations and real conversations. In many ways it isn't about the churches themselves, but the experience of visiting them.

Part 1 is based on a visit made on Monday 6th April 2009, which took in the following:

St Martin-in-the-Fields
St Paul's, Covent Garden
St Clement Danes
Temple Church
St Dunstan-in-the-West
St Bride's, Fleet Street
St Martin, Ludgate

To view the London Churches project, go to http://edwardpicot.com/londonchurches/ .

- Edward Picot

http://edwardpicot.com - personal website
http://hyperex.co.uk - The Hyperliterature Exchange

is there a chance of organizing an European party?

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 13:42:36 GMT

You will find these quotations translated into English below
“La fiesta que sueño no sólo sería repartición y consumación del objeto sino que, a diferencia de los primitivos, no tendría objeto: ni conmemoración de una fecha ni regreso al tiempo original, sería disipación del tiempo, producción de olvido.
La resurrección de la fiesta es uno de los desenlaces del arte contemporaneo, lo mismo en el dominio de las artes visuales que en el de las sonoras y verbales: disolución de la cosa artística en la corriente temporal y cristalización del tiempo histórico en un espacio cerrado. La fiesta suprime, por un instante, la oposición entre presencia y representación, lo atemporal y lo histórico, el signo y el objeto significado.”

“El otro polo de la fiesta es la contemplación. Si la primera satisface una carencia en nuestra sociedad de masas, la segunda satisface otra en nuestra sociedad de solitarios. El arte de la contemplación produce objetos pero nos los considera cosas sino signos: puntos de partida hacia el descubrimiento de otra realidad, sea ésta la presencia o la vacuidad”
Octavio Paz
PRESENCIA Y PRESENTE: BAUDELAIRE CRÍTICO DE ARTE (Delhi, 1967)

My translation into English
“The party I am dreaming of it is not just a share-out and the object consummation but, to make a difference with the aims of primitive people´s parties, there is no object: not a commemoration neither a return to the primordial time, it is the dissipation of time and forgetfulness production instead.
The rebirth of the party is one of the endings of contemporary art, whether it is the visual arts' scope or the ambit of musical and verbal creativity: dissolving the artistic thing into the time stream, crystallizing the historic time in a closed chamber. The party suppress, for a while, the opposing points between presence and representation, the timelessness and the historic thing, the sign and the represented object.”

“The opposite pole of the state of mind at the party time is the contemplative state. If the first one satisfy the social need, which come as a result of living in overpopulated societies, the second one satisfy the social need generated by a lonely people society. The art created to lead people to a contemplative state produces artworks, but instead of being regarded as things, they are regarded as signs: the starting point whereby the people could discover another reality whether it was a presence or just emptiness.”

I am not a translator, so I wish I had been able to get the gist of these quotations.
I share Octavio Paz's dream, I would like other artists would share it too, and we were able to get our act together, pull everything off, and have people satisfying these social needs Octavio talk about.
It is long time ago since people have been gathering together just to have some fun, to reach this magic moment called by psychologist, yogis and hip hop gangs “state of flow”. This moment when your attention is so focused on what you are doing or experiencing that you lose track of time, when time stop ticking. Not guilt, nor regret feelings, which belong to the past, not fear, which project our mind towards the future. Getting rid of these feelings the present unleash on itself. These moments are what make people think, life worth the effort.
If this state is experienced and sheared by a group of people, it helps them to strengthen ties. It means social cohesion.
Having taken this into consideration and mused by the definition of “Panic Theatre”, given by Fernando Arrabal y Alejandro Jorodowsky, and some reviews I read about the events they organized in the late 60's in Paris, I decided to write a play to be performed in the context of a party.
In a Gothic sense this play is unfinished. I see it more as a framework, able to contain the work of many artists, such as painters, sculptors, a photographer, a video artist, a short film-maker, Djs, electronic sound artists, rappers, dancers, contemporary performing artists, … … . Using an universal transgressive ritual to show cultural diversity, and thus it would be a sample of the European arts' scope, an European artists (artists developing their careers in Europe) showcase.
Also this play is based on three European writers: Fernando Arrabal, Samuel Beckett and Georges Bataille. This might encourage people to read.
This has been devised as a collaborative project, consequently it would be a plunge into hot issues such as, to rise environmental consciousness, promoting: recycling, energy efficiency, renewable energy, to sum up sustainability.
You might think I am a fool, but a fool who have had enough time, and something else, to think thoroughly about it.
Such an ambitious project faces a lot of difficulties. From my point of view the most outstanding issue is cooperation, although it has been a key factor in human being evolution, it has always been casting the shadow of the social dilemma (the prisoner dilemma – co-operate or deceit – you can have a look at Wikipedia). I dare to recommend anyone interested in cooperation to read “NATURAL SELECTIONS, Selfish Altruists, Honest Liars, and Other Realities of Evolution”, it deals with evolutionary biology, and was written by David P. Barash.
Cooperation relies on truthfulness, and it requires a reliable frame, a frame where there is no sense in deceiving because you do not gain anything from it more than been exposed.
I was lucky to attend online the Forum for Creative Europe, held in Prague on March 26-27. I could listen very interesting presentation about how creativity enhance society in many ways, some planning, and guidelines, also criticisms, that the system needs to be reformed, that there is a need for new business models, new partnership, new ways of working, new values …, unfortunately I did not hear anything about the creation of an European intellectual property rights register, nor about the new European Cooperative Societies, which, for sure, is an instrument that would make it possible for the European society to achieve some targets stated in this forum.
There are projects but is there a real will?.
I wonder when the EU member States will be ready for the implementation of the COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 1435/2003 of 22 July 2003 on the Statute for a European Cooperative Society (SCE). I wonder if artists will be able to produce collective or collaborative art projects under the umbrella of an European Cooperative Society (SCE).

Hymn to St. Sithney

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 13:07:33 GMT

Copy of an article by Eric Mildren, Churchwarden of St. Sithney, in the November 2004 edition of “St. Elvan’s Round”, the parish magazine for Sithney and Porthleven.

During a visit on St. Sithney’s Day, 19th September 1993, by the parish priest and congregation of the Church dedicated to St. Sezni, in Guisseny, Brittany, they sang a ‘Hymn to St. Sezni’ in Breton. After the service the hymn sheets were filed away in our priest’s vestry.

When, earlier this year, Fr. Rex Hurrell asked in ‘the Coracle’ if anyone had hymns to Cornish and Celtic Saints, I sent him a copy. As reported in the August edition of ‘St. Elvan’s Round’, Fr. Rex was able to get this translated, first into French, then into English and finally put to verse with a suggested tune of St. Stephen. The hymn was sung for the first time in English on St. Sithney’s Day, Sunday 19th September 2004, as the gradual during the Eucharist when the Bishop of St Germans, the Rt. Revd. Roy Screech was the Celebrant and Preacher.

At the same weekend, Mr. Roger Henley, a nephew of Mrs. Jean Willey, was staying with her so that he could be installed at Truro as a new Bard of the Cornish Gorsedd, with the Bardic name of Gwas Lowenek (meaning Jolly Fellow).

On his return home he translated the hymn into the Cornish language and a copy is set out below.

Further background information, by Roger Henley

As can be seen from the following pages, the English version by Pamela Bousefield is a direct translation of the French version, with no attempt made to rhyme or scan, which must have been difficult for the congregation to sing. My Cornish version was almost a direct translation of the English, with reference back to the French where necessary, and resulted in the same difficulties for the congregation. Luckily, few, if any, of them know enough Cornish to attempt to sing it.

In 2005, a new English version was written by Roderic Dunnett, music critic of the “Church Times” and freelance writer for “The Independent”. Whilst this strays somewhat from the Breton original, it expresses similar sentiments, and, rhyming and scanning, it fits the hymn tune “St. Stephen” perfectly.

I have used Roderic Dunnett’s version as the basis for my new translation, which also rhymes, scans and fits the tune. Hopefully, in the future, when the use of Cornish has become more widespread, the congregation might sing my version. I pray the Lord will spare me to hear it!

Original Breton Hymn

Pedern da Saint Sezni

Diskan

O Saint Sezni, c’hwi ’pens brema
Eur gurunenn euz ar c’heera
Teurvezit, en ano Doue
Kleved pedern ha pugale?

1,
E Breiz-Veur, ar zant ze ganet
E tro ar bloaz pevar c’hantved
E dad, e vamm ’oa teud a feiz
Savet ’voe e doujans Doue
Diskan

2,
Klevit pedern al labourer
Ha roit glizhenn d’ar parkeier
Deuit d’e sikour’n e ezhommou
Ha deiz ha noz, en ha meulo
Diskan

3,
Saint Sezni, paeron hon fud-koz
Hon diwallit ha deiz ha noz
Diouz ar bed ar fallagriez
Mirit’n touez peoch ha furnez
Diskan

Prayer to Saint Sithney

Translated from the French by Pamela Bousefield, of St. Breward.

Chorus

O Saint Sithney, you now have
A most beautiful crown
In the name of God, will you hear
The prayer of your children?

1,
The Saint was born in Great Britain
About the year 400
His father and mother were people of faith
He was brought up in the fear of God
Chorus

2,
Hear the prayer of the ploughman
And send dew upon the fields
Come to satisfy his needs
And he will praise you day and night
Chorus

3,
Saint Sithney, patron saint of our ancestors
Protect us day and night
From the wickedness of the world
Preserve peace and wisdom among us
Chorus

Prayer to Saint Sithney

Arranged by Roderic Dunnett, Music Critic of the “Church Times” and freelance writer for “The Independent”.

Chorus

O glorious Sithney, nobly clad
In beauteous, saintly crown,
Pray hear your faithful children’s cry
Through Jesus Christ, God’s Son!

1,
Most Godly Saint, in Britain’s land
Brought up, as Rome declined *
Your father, mother, in the faith
Of right, God-fearing mind
Chorus

2,
Attend the farmer’s urgent prayer,
Send dew upon the fields;
Assist our needs, that you may hear
The praise each new day yields.
Chorus

3,
O Sithney, of our forbears Saint,
Protect us day and night
And to our weak, indifferent world
Bring wisdom, peace and light
Chorus

* a reference to the withdrawal of soldiers of the Roman Empire at the beginning of the 5th century, which, scholars tell us, enabled the Celtic missionaries to pursue their righteous endeavours.

Pysadow dhe Sen Sydhni

Translation by Roger Henley, Gwas Lowenek, of Roderic Dunnett’s English version

Diskan

Sydhni gloryus, gwiskys yn splann,
Dha gurun sansel yw.
Goslow orth kri dha fleghes len
Dre Yesu Krist, Mab Dyw!

1,
Sens Dywekka, yn Breten Veur
Orth difyk Rom, genys.
Dha das, dha vamm, o tus a fydh
Own a Dhyw y’ga brys
Diskan

2,
Klyw pysadow an aradror
Ro gluth war oll y dir.
Deus dh’agan sokor, ni a’th pys,
May fo dhis lawa gwir.
Diskan

3,
Sydhni, tasek agan hendas,
Ha dydh ha nos difres.
Dro dhe’n norvys, gwann ha myglys,
Golow, skentoleth, kres
Diskan

Meet Edward Albee in Amsterdam this September

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 10:28:36 GMT

Edward Albee comes to Amsterdam to see and discuss his modern classic ‘The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?’ as produced by Mirjam Koen. During Albee’s visit, lead Dutch Theatre Festival juror Clairy Polak will interview the dramatist about his work as a playwright and director.
Fri 11 Sep 20.30 hrs at De Balie.

Your're welcome to visit the Dutch Theatre Festival in Amsterdam www.tf.nl 3 – 13 September 2009 presenting the Dutch and Flemish highlights of the year.

The following shows will be accompanied by English subtitling:Toneel Publieksprijs Nominee: Kamp Holland by Orkater.
Sat 5 Sep 21:00 hrs and Sun 6 Sep 15:00 hrs and 20:30 hrs, Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam
For this, their sixth production with Orkater (the orchestral/theatrical touring company) Geert Lageveen and Leopold Witte leave behind their previous obsessions – the tulip mania of the Golden Age, female psychology and the happiness of children, to name a few – to concentrate exclusively on the condition of Dutch soldiers in the titular Afghanistan camp.

The Broken Circle Breakdown – featuring the ‘cover ups of Alabama’ by Compagnie Cecilia.
Sat 5 and Sun 6 Sep 20:30 hrs, Theater Bellevue, Amsterdam
The subtitular cover ups refer to the tattoos with which Elise, nick-named Alabama, has layered on to obscure the previously-inked names of her former lovers. Accompanied by the sound of a superb country band, Alabama (Mieke Dobbels) is doing much better since she met Monroe (Johan Heldenberg), although the loss of their child to cancer has left an indelible grief. Back to that title: a breakdown is a banjo solo in a bluegrass number. A musical and emotional education, the Compagnie Cecilia’s acclaimed show promises ‘life as a country song’.

De Geit of, Wie is Sylvia? (The Goat or Who is Sylvia?) Edward Albee by Onafhankelijk Toneel.
Tue 8 and Wed 9 Sep 20:30 hrs, Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam
‘How do I tell my wife?’ The scene in which Martin, a New York architect at the top of his professional game, confesses to his wife Stevie that he is cheating on her with a goat named Sylvia, is breathtaking. Writing some 40 years after his career-defining ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?’, Albee continues to shows no mercy to his liberal, right-minded and superior leading characters. This modern classic, in which love-for-goats is a metaphor for unfamiliarity with one’s own urges and desires, beautifully crystallises themes of love, faithfulness and accepting the exceptional. Producer Mirjam Koen and actors Bert Luppes and Ria Eimers (who also played George and Martha in ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?’) seem to have understood perfectly.

Tien Geboden - Marathon (The Ten Commandments, Dekalog Kieslowksi) by NTGent and Wunderbaum.
Sat 9 Sep 15:00 hrs, Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam
A bum-numbing marathon must-see. In 1988, the Bible’s Ten Commandments were reinterpreted by Polish filmmaker Krzysztof Kieślowski (he of the acclaimed ‘Three Colours’ series) into ‘Dekalog’, a ten-part television series set in a Warsaw tower block. This brightly-lit stage adaptation by Johan Simons and Koen Tachelet retains the moral dilemmas at its core: My husband is terminally ill. I am pregnant, but not by him; do I keep the child? My son murdered a taxi driver; is the death penalty justified? Big questions for a big production.

Box Office 1. Online: tf.nl
2. Telephone: + 31 (0)20 523 7798 (from 6 August)
3. Box Office: From the Central Festival Box Office in Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam (from 6 August) at Leidesplein
4. Ticket Price: €10,00 - €45,00 (marathon only) per person, per show

Time Out Amsterdam about the festival: "Taking place in Amsterdam between 3 and 13 September, this year’s Dutch Theatre Festival is for anyone hoping to experience the heady highs of 2009 theatre over an intensely rewarding 11 days.
Here’s how it works. – the magnificently refurbished Stadsschouwburg and its boho neighbour the Theater Bellevue – the Dutch Theatre Festival’s expert jury has cherry-picked the very best of the productions which premiered in the Netherlands over the past theatrical season, and invited its stars to return to Amsterdam for a final, triumphant curtain call.
From Edward Albee’s tragicomic meditation on bestiality, ‘The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?’, to the inspired country stylings of ‘Broken Circle Breakdown’, this year’s Dutch Theatre Festival is great news if the surprise hits of the Netherlands’ stage scene escaped your critical radar in 2009, if you’re hankering for a second viewing of that stand-out – or sold out – show, or if your Dutch simply wasn’t up to seeing a Dutch-language production first time around: Approximately half of the jury’s selections are accompanied by English-language subtitles, meaning language really is no problem for anyone wishing to participate.
Aside from the jury-selected programme, another unmissable ‘language-no-problem’ highlight of this performing arts extravaganza is a chance to see war drama Kamp Holland, this time with English subtitles. The nominee of the Toneel Publieksprijs, best theatrical production by the Netherlands’ theatre-going public.
See you at the theatre!" Time Out Amsterdam

The Amsterdam Fringe Festival offers an extensive international programme. Please check www.tf.nl and www.amsterdamfringefestival.nl

10+ (former 5th Street Theatre)'s Reporter's Blog

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 22:35:13 GMT

One of Ovul Avkiran and Mustafa Avkiran's last productions Reporter (Muhabir), which was premiered in Rotterdam on 3rd of February, played for 39 times in 4 months, in 4 countries across Europe and 19 different cities across Turkey.

You can follow the journey of Reporter from http://muhabir-reporter.blogspot.com/

The Relentless Eye

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 16:13:34 GMT

The Relentless Eye:
Global Cell Phone Photography 2009
Cell phone cameras are the relentless eye of the global simulacra. Simple and everywhere, cell phone cameras have transformed how photography is practiced. Helen Day Art Center announces the first of its kind international call to cell phone artists. We seek entries that reveal the creative mind through this ubiquitous medium for a ten-week exhibition opening September 25th, 2009. Entries will be juried by the acclaimed photographer, Eirik Johnson (www.eirikjohnson.com). For detailed information and submission guidelines visit us online at www.helenday.com
Deadline for submissions is August 31, 2009.