Bearing in mind Helmut Anheimer´s article on “How can the cultural sector survive the financial crisis?”, I found the new strategy from the A Soul for Europe initiative quite appropriate.
After the 3rd Berlin conference last November, where it all started up in 2004, this civil society platform is becoming younger, decentralised and multiplied. Its new modus operandi, includes, among other actions:
- Additional premises and partners in several other cities in Europe, besides the Berlin office: Amsterdam, Belgrade, Brussels, Porto and Tbilisi;
- A new Strategy Group compromising 30-40 young Europeans that will be responsible for the Initiative and practical implementation of its goals;
- A proposal made to the business community and the European Commission to set up a permanent working platform to serve as an "interface" between the cultural, business and political sectors in order to energise the essential and much needed interaction between these sectors.
The initial idea of this Soul is helping culture to bring greater influence to bear on Europe´s development. And also to give a voice and a role to civil society on this process. Thus as Simon Mundy, a cultural policy analyst, reported from the last Berlin conference, “the cultural sector may offer its ideas, resources, invention and people to help Europe out of the economic recession and political stagnation”. Surely this renewed Soul is better positioned to give Europe a hand out of this crisis.
Follow A Soul for Europe activities here.
Find more about the foundations consortium of the inititative: Compagnia di SanPaolo, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian , Robert Bosch Stiftung and the Stiftelsen Riksbankens Jubileumsfond.
Taggé comme:
artistic platforms, civil society, cultural policy, EU, financial crisis
LabforCulture est une initiative partenaire de la Fondation européenne de la Culture.
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