LabforCulture Blog

Job opportunity: Junior Communications Officer (Amsterdam)

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 10:12:49 GMT

We are looking for a Junior Communications Officer to support our Communications Team, in Amsterdam.

The position is 4 days a week (0.8 fte) Starting: April

Profile & Tasks

The main tasks will be to support the Senior Communications Officers in their daily activities and all ECF related events.

The profile

A junior communications person who has relevant experience (min 1 year)
Having a communication education at a HBO level
Strong affinities with our remit
Excellent digital knowledge (PC) and Office package (ideally including Powerpoint and Adobe
Dutch as mother tongue and good in English (additional language welcomed)
An enthusiastic team-worker who can also work well independently
Can work under time pressure and has the ability to manage workload according to the needs of the communication team
Feels comfortable working in a multi-lingual team and organisation.
Character attributes: efficient, accurate and lively

The tasks

Support the Communication team in day-to-day activities as advised by a Senior Communication Officer
Be responsible for the maintenance of the ECF website under the guidance of a Senior Communication Officer and in liaison with other staff:
Upload documents and visuals
Keep track of information on the agenda (in liaison with other staff)
Be responsible for the communication office management under guidance of Senior Communications Officer :
ECF print work: stock management, re-print and according to experience new small print works
Online research when required for an event or project
Organise and carry-out mailings (e.g. digital Christmas card, invitations)
Agenda planning (meetings)
Keep track of events planner
Data administration
Support the Communication team in events and special project delivery
Invitation mailing coordination
Online / offline research regarding topic or potential invitees
Data administration
Support on site

We offer

A 12-month part-time (4 days per week) contract with 8% holiday allowance and 13th month - with a view on prolongation
Salary, commensurate with experience, ranging from Euro 2.013 - 2.627 gross per month on a full-time basis (5 days/37.5 hours per week).

Email your application to Kati Visser, Executive Secretary: kvisser@eurocult.org.
You must include a letter of motivation, detailed CV and contact details of referees.

Closing date for applications: 17th March 2010 and interviews will be held in the first week of April
The ECF has a diversity policy and encourages applicants from all backgrounds.

La rencontre de Pécs - The economic slowdown and the future of local cultural policies

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 10:54:27 GMT

3-6 March 2010, Pécs, Hungary - committee and thematic meeting of Les Rencontres - Association of European Cities and Regions for Culture

Considering the difficult economic situation that states, local authorities and their private partners are facing, Les Rencontres have decided to organize a meeting to initiate a reflexion on the role of culture in times of economic crisis.

The slowing down of the economy has enhanced the limits and the fragility of the system. It has led us to think about new ways of living together. In this society of a new type, Culture is bound to play a central role in the respect of a sustainable and fair development. This meeting is also an opportunity to make the first assessments of the crisis. It will analyse the future developments in the cultural sector as well as its function in the creation of a new societal paradigm. Lastly, the purpose of the meeting is also to foster a collective discussion so as to single out propositions, which enhance the significance of cultural development and ensure its sustainability.

This meeting will also be an opportunity to explore Hungarian artistic life. Thus, it will propose many cultural activities in the framework of Pécs 2010 as well as a guided tour of the city.

Click here for more information.

Culture Jobs International: Find a job in the cultural sector!

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 15:22:23 GMT

Arts Professional just launched the Culture Jobs International service!

Culture Jobs International is a European website that keeps cultural operators informed about jobs in Europe, and enables cultural organisations to recruit from across Europe. The main collaborator is Changing Room (a project by TransEuropeHalles to stimulate cross-border mobility of cultural operators). Culture Jobs International is a service provided by Arts Professional.

The service is made available as a widget on partnering websites - you can see it in action on the Changing Room website.

Of course, we are working on putting it up on www.labforculture.org too!

Job opportunity: Grants project officer (Amsterdam)

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 16:49:48 GMT

European Cultural Foundation is looking for a Grants Project Officer (0.8 fte - 4 days per week).

The Grants Project Officer will help run and develop ECF's Grants programme.

The main tasks will be to coordinate, administer and monitor ECF grants; to network with (potential) grantees and others; and to assist ECF's communication on Grants and the sharing of knowledge derived from Grants.

Click here for more information about this opportunity.

How can culture and the arts help us understand and influence climate change?

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 17:51:21 GMT

Read our special focus on COP15 in Copenhagen!

On December 7th – 18th 2009 the United Nations Summit on Climate Change (COP15) will take place in Copenhagen. To contribute to this some of the world's most influential cultural networks, organisations and leaders will get together in Copenhagen for the Culture|Futures symposium (December 7th - 9th).

Why?

Because culture interconnects with the reality of climate change and ecology. Consequently Culture|Futures will aim to establish a set of common understandings and definitions, and to identify important perspectives for cultural strategies for sustainable development.

Already by now cultural activity is bringing about some of the changes necessary for an ecological age, drawing on evidence and material from existing cases with the future ambition of developing and extending the material into a comprehensive and dynamic reference source. But when the world’s most influential cultural networks, organizations and leaders get together in Copenhagen they will discuss a number of other possible areas for action for the cultural sector - emphasising that cultural action is a priority as an independent domain.

The cultural sector includes people, institutions and enterprises in art, design & architecture, film & media, cultural heritage, sport, education, leisure, communication and many more areas. In diverse ways they express identity and communicate and bring alive their perspectives through practice.

The cultural sector can provide leadership for an ecological age
The cultural sector can lead through its good relations with citizens
The cultural sector can develop sustainable best practices and in doing so
The cultural sector must establish collaborations with other sectors to enable the cultural transformation to an ecological age

What will Culture|Futures actually do?

Culture|Futures will provide the global platform for communication and dialogue between cultural actors. It will encourage cooperation between leading cities on ways to develop comprehensive cultural actions as the world’s population becomes increasingly more and more urbanized. And finally, Culture|Futures will engender a collaboration between research centres and networks supporting the creation of an evidence base of best practice to support the work of cultural practitioners.

International and national organisations involved

Culture|Futures is the brainchild of the Danish Cultural Institute and Arup, having been first presented at the Poznan COP 14 in December 2008.

International and national organizations involved in Culture|Futures include:

Culture|Futures is convened and coordinated by Mr. Olaf Gerlach-Hansen, Danish Cultural Institute in cooperation with all the collaborating organizations.

> For more information: www.culturefutures.org

This article is part of our special focus COP15 / Copenhagen in cooperation with Culture|Futures.
Click here to read more articles.

The Long road – driving through Balkan History

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 10:24:43 GMT

Almost 20 years since the collapse of the old Yugoslavia, the time has finally come for the ultimate Balkan road movie... A new documentary film produced by SEETV explores different perceptions of common history in the Balkans. How do these differing visions impact the present and the future of the region?

Two writers, Miljenko Jergovic from Croatia and Marko Vidojkovic from Serbia, share the driving in a Yugo, the ultimate symbol of their common past, and drive it from one end to the other of the road once known as the "Highway of Brotherhood and Unity". The shooting is now completed and this new TV documentary is to be released in February 2010.

It is a journey through the past, present and future... from Slovenia to Macedonia, via Croatia, Bosnia and Serbia. Our two drivers aim to look at their common past, find out how history has set them apart, ask where the present is leading them - and have a lot of fun while they are about it. As the Yugo dodges lorries, fast cars and queues at endless border controls Miljenko and Marko take a wry look at the state of the Balkans.

> More information on SEE TV website

SPACE training programme

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 17:18:15 GMT

As announced, SPACE - Supporting Performing Arts Circulation in Europe, launches the training programme addressed to professional programmers, as second training programme after Arts Managers on the move.

The aim of the training programme is to improve the networking between professionals, to give opportunities to know more deeply the performing arts system of some European Countries, to share experiences and knowledges, in order to be able to play with always more awardness on themes as standardisation, role of the programmer, in the frame of international programming.

> Download the announcement (PDF format)
> Download the application form (Word format)

More information can be found at www.spaceproject.eu.

The penultimate “Cultural blogging in Europe” interview with Alessandro Ludovico

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:03:19 GMT

LabforCulture’s research on Cultural blogging in Europe reaches its penultimate interview with Alessandro Ludovico of Neural magazine. Having launched the research series in April this year with Annette Wolfsberger, a producer, project manager and researcher in the fields of media arts, contemporary & popular culture, we now have interviews with bloggers and online writers from much of Europe.

Alessandro Ludovico is a media critic and has been producing Neural magazine in English and Italian since 1993. It is complimented by its blog http://www.neural.it. As a self described “geek”, he talks us through the advent of his first print magazine publication 16 years ago and the birth of “something I cannot really call a blog” launched 12 years ago. He is also known for the inspired Google Will Eat Itself project and Mag.net readers edited with Nat Muller. Alessandro‘s interview is truly an opportunity to see how digital culture has developed and how working practices have developed as a result of those changes.

If you have missed the other interviews in the series then sign up to our blog RSS feed to be notified of future announcements and to see the previous interviews then go here.

Finally the Cultural bloggers map we launched in the summer has amassed well over a hundred blogs. Have a look at them or add your favourite/your own to the map. We want it to reflect as many cultural blogs as possible in Europe. How does the cultural blogging scene look now?

Charter for Innovation, Creativity and Access to Knowledge

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:59:41 GMT

More than 100 organizations, citizens and specialists from 20 different countries participated last week in the Culture Forum of Barcelona and created a huge international coalition to urge respect for the civil rights of citizens and artists in the digital era. After days of intense work, the Charter of the Culture Forum of Barcelona for Innovation, Creativity and Access to Knowledge was produced.

More information and the full text of the charter can be found on http://fcforum.net/

LabforCulture interviews Navid Modiri of "365 things you can do.com"

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 16:00:37 GMT

Navid Modiri is an interesting guy. He has managed to create a fun and creative blog which he lives off 100%. LabforCulture interviewed Navid revealing his entrepreneurial moves and the next steps.

Navid says he started out by realising that he was spending too much watching TV, being bored and "consuming a lot". He already used social online tools and starting a blog became a way "to do something to feel alive". So he started posting different things to do each day, such as an activity or game, hence the name 365thingsyoucando. Have a look at the entry "Put yourself on Wikipedia" for example!

With 1000’s of people starting to follow the blog and opening their own 365thingstodo blogspots the movement started to grow. Navid now also organises offline events such as workshops and seminars in museums and schools, promoting his blog, and the overall concept to create!

He says when asked about offshoots of his blog, "the weed is part of the process... it's about letting go and people doing their own thing", which is a interesting business model. The original blog is written in Swedish and has received regional and national funding. In January 2010 it will be available in English too. There is a demo up where you can experience a number of 365thingsyoucando.com in English already. Have some fun with it!

Wim Wenders closing speech - I'm talking about us, Europeans!

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 10:02:48 GMT

Closing speech by Wim Wenders, President of the European Film Academy, during the European Culture Forum.

The speech was read out by EFA director Ms Döring, and is available for download as a PDF on the European Commission website.

A few months ago, the European Film Academy organised a think tank dedicated to "THE IMAGE OF EUROPE".

The think tank took place under the patronage of the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, who actually joined us on that occasion and took a very active and very outspoken part in it.

Why did we, a group of around twenty filmmakers such as Costa-Gavras, Agnieszka Holland, István Szabó, Volker Schlöndorff and myself (all of us convinced Europeans), but also some younger colleagues such as Marjane Satrapi
(who made the wonderful animation film PERSEPOLIS), Johanna ter Steege and Labina Mitevska, two actresses, very much committed to Europe, one from The Netherlands, the other from Macedonia – why did we feel the urge to talk about "THE IMAGE OF EUROPE"?

Through our European Film Awards the European Film Academy is promoting European cinema for over 20 years now. Each year we are blown away by the talent, the inventiveness, the courage and the social awareness of their creators, we're blown away by the never-ending variety of amazing images, of surprising stories, of wit, craftsmanship and mastery that are used by these filmmakers to portray a striking continent, our own, EUROPE.

And yet, it seems to us, that these IMAGES OF EUROPE do not correspond to the IMAGE OF EUROPE that is perceived by its citizens in their every day lives.

The utopia that "Europe" once represented when I grew up as a boy or as a young man, fifty, forty years ago, or the hope and enthusiasm that we all witnessed only twenty years ago, when the Berlin Wall came down and seemed to turn a dream into reality, over night, a dream that had carried and united the people of Europe throughout decades of separation... this utopia, hope and enthusiasm have gradually been taken over by lethargy and scepticism.

Well, not so in our think tank.

These filmmakers were dedicated Europeans, we seemed to know exactly how much Europe meant to us. Europe was present, alive, wanted and needed in our midst. Why was it, why is it, that the Directorate General which is responsible for Communication isn't counting more on us, isn't using us, the specialists, if you want, when it comes to European imagery and storytelling? Why did we have to impose us, lift our fingers and say: "Hey, we're here, we're good at this! Emotional communication is our business!"

Why doesn't the Commission turn on its own impulse to the competent and dedicated Europeans when it comes to communication? Could it be, that the political Europe has forgotten who this continent belongs to? That it belongs to THE EUROPEANS and not to its INSTITUTIONS? We're ready! We're on standby!

But we don't seem needed.

I'm not just talking about a bunch of film people, I'm talking about US EUROPEANS! Are we only asked to show up when it comes to elections? The one political, economical and cultural entity that people are most relating to is their REGION. That's all they really need.

It's their home, their roots, their refuge, their own history, their local accent, their landscape, their taste, their food, their local colour... Everybody of us Europeans has his or her own region deeply engraved in us.

And then there is the much bigger context, of course, our country. Already we do not feel quite so involved. Nationalism isn't so popular anymore. For many of us, the country, or the nation, is rather a burden. Especially in Germany, we have mixed feelings about it.

Anyway, all I'm saying is: that political entity of the "nation" is more removed, less in our hearts than our "region".

Then there is the very big context: the global one.
We all learn to think in these terms, and people are more and more aware of global economics, politics, warming... global anything.
But that is even more removed, and for many rather a source of anxiety.
Too big!
The refuge is the region, the necessary evil the country, or the nation, and the overpowering scary notion is "the globe, planet Earth".

Now where the hell does "Europe" fit in?
Somewhere in between?
It is a bigger idea than our countries, yet not as big as the world...

DO we NEED this additional entity, these additional politics, these additional elections, this additional representation? Many people ask themselves that question. And they are NOT given good answers!

"What does Europe do for me?" they rightfully ask.
This is probably the most often asked question you're facing, you, "professional Europeans", who are working with and enjoying (hopefully, because yes, we do!) the idea of Europe on an every-day-basis.
While we are enjoying Europe, while we can even not imagine any more our lives WITHOUT this multitude of voices, of characters, mentalities, languages, we see a growing weariness among Europeans, an obvious lack of emotional response towards Europe.

I have been here before, a couple of years ago, to speak and think loudly about these matters on the invitation of a civil society initiative called "A SOUL FOR EUROPE", ("Europa eine Seele geben!") that has been relentlessly spreading the word about CULTURE as the base and underlying foundation of European identity.
The proclamation of a radical change of paradigm was and is their (shouldn't I rather say OUR) message.

It represents the very core of our European tradition and wealth, that for us "culture" is more than just decoration, more than just the icing on the cake. After centuries and centuries of a shared history through good times and through bad times, culture is part of our European genes, it is our soul, it is not an extra feature, it is the base model, the real thing, this continent's driving force, its engine! It is our most precious capital, yes, the tremendous property we Europeans own together.

If we want to make the most of our talents, it would be utterly stupid not to use this fortune to the limits, not to capitalize on it and to maximize its profits!
Our economic growth, our regional development, the chances of our foreign policy, our entire social life together, these all reach their true potential only, if we charge them up with this cultural factor.
It is the leaven that will make our bread (or cake) rise and prove to be wonderful, unique, more than filling.

But it has to act in all our European activities, from finances to trade to transportation to health, infiltrate all areas and make them blossom.

The European Agenda for Culture drew exactly the right consequences, by declaring CULTURE to be an integral factor of all European politics. It is up to us, the people in the cultural fields, to prove how right the Commission was, indeed, when they drew up the Agenda in 2007!
And that is, in the end, why you're all here now, at this European Culture Forum.

But: Isn't there something strangely wrong, something turned upside down, so to speak, with this “Cultural Agenda”? Isn't culture, as it is used in daily reality, still the icing on the cake, the little bit of extra decoration, the excuse, or justification rather, to continue otherwise with “politics as usual”?

Let me approach this from a different angle:
I travel a lot.
I worked in Africa, I lived in the US, I visited South America several times last year, I spent a long time in Asia...
Assuming all these perspectives I saw one thing distinctly: Europe is seen from all over the world with the utmost respect, even with a great deal of longing.
It represents a bastion of freedom, equality, diversity, and prosperity, but as the sum of it all Europe is seen as a stronghold of culture, it is seen as a civilized place, a realm of all the ideas and the human rights that our entire modern age is inspired by, and aspiring of – A PROMISE OF WEALTH!
Not so much material wealth, that exists elsewhere as well, but of spiritual, of “cultural wealth”.

Europe is seen as tolerant, with a lot of respect for minorities, accepting differences, able to solve situations through dialogue. In a strange way it is seen like the melting pot that America once represented – from outside, that is! Coming home to Europe, however, you realize it's not quite so. Europeans are often unhappy, discontent, insecure, scared, paranoid, slightly xenophobic or even downright racist, clinging to old ideas, shielding and protecting themselves...
They live in paradise, but they somehow don't appreciate it.

Which brings me back to the problem of THE IMAGE OF EUROPE.
It is obvious that Europe has an “image problem”, so to speak, a lack of positive branding, if you want to call it that. What can we do, to change this attitude towards Europe, to consequently, radically, change it's IMAGE?

The right image is the result of a good communication – as members of a modern, globalizing world, we are repeating that lesson every day, like a mantra: It's all about communication... but the communication of WHAT?

Allow me to be frank:
There is a disease at work here that is common, inherent to every organisation and structure all over the world. Every administration has the tendency to think of itself as the essence of what it administrates!
Administration always wants to become its own subject!
It wants to be what it should only serve.
But every “body” tends to do that, spend it all on itself, make itself the Holy Grail!
And Europe is no exception from that rule. Brussels exists to help administering Europe, but instead it thinks it IS Europe. Which is just as absurd!
Europe is not Brussels, Europe is out there, it is the peoples of Europe, their regions, their wealth, their culture, not the administration of all that.

“Europolitics” have stolen Europe from its rightful owners, the Europeans, and their revenge now is: disinterest. Refusal even.
Far too long Europe, or I should rather say: “the European authorities”, have been trying to convince its citizens of the quality of their political, of their administrative work. “European communication” is not much more than efforts of persuasion of the quality of its political management.
Just visit each of these “European centres” in our capitals.
That means: The administration tries to justify itself and sell us that justification as “European message”, instead of persuading Europeans with Europe itself, with its spirit, with its glory, with its history, with its culture, with its industries, with its languages, with its endless possibilities.
This Cultural Agenda has to put things back on their real feet. They have been upside down too long. It is us, the Europeans, who build Europe, “the meaning of Europe” is nothing but us again, everything Europe could be, it can be, because of us, THE EUROPEANS. Our work, our ideas, our dreams propel Europe, not its administration, and not its politicians!

This reversal back onto its feet would demand a revolution in European communication policy! Not less, and not more.
Stop putting the righteousness of European politics into the centre, and put the thing itself, EUROPE, in that place!
The work that needs praise is not the work of the administration, it is the work of the European people. They are the true actors, representatives, performers. They have to be given centre stage, they have to be asked, pushed, enticed, lured to give up their role of onlookers, audience, bystander, spectators and step into the arena. It is THEIR OWN HOUSE, they are not the visitors!
Most Europeans have no idea that they own that house!
But the ongoing project “Europe” is only worth it because of these present and future Europeans! They should know (and love) all the good reasons why so much effort has been put into it. Not in order to build an Empire or to rule the world, but to live in a haven of peace, in a continent that has been ravaged and destroyed by wars for centuries and centuries. Europeans need to feel part of that most exciting chapter in their history! That is the message to be conveyed!
No further efforts to try to gain consent and approval for politics and administration, for all the unconvinced and inconvincible.

Put Europe itself on the agenda, its people, its landscapes, its cities, its arts, its industries, its ideas, its good and its painful experiences, but LET EUROPE SPEAK FOR ITSELF!

The “European Agenda for Culture” which was signed by the member states two years ago has rightly acknowledged the constructive importance of culture for the genesis of modern Europe, of a prosperous Europe with an open minded and peaceful future. The Agenda acknowledges the central role of culture in all European political areas, from regional politics to foreign affairs, from economy to education. This recognition of the mediating impact of CULTURE represents a milestone in the younger history of our continent and – please allow me to say this – is, indeed, a great achievement by the political management of Europe, it is a case of enormous good luck for Europe!

This Culture Forum was the chance to take stock of how much the aims of the agenda have become reality. I'm sure you have discussed openly and frankly whether you have been successful during the past two years blowing life into dry paragraphs. I'm sure you have done your utmost to achieve their aims, even when you may have felt tired of what seems to be the work of Sisyphus.
I fear: as long as we are not able to revolutionize our communication policy, “selling Europe to the Europeans” will always feel like pushing a rock uphill.

“We have to concentrate more on the emotional side of Europe”, President Barroso stated at our think tank. And he continued: “Cinema can help us to create an emotional relation. Through cinema we can indeed speak about the European dream and we can develop it together.”
He is only too right!

Cinema has become the most powerful language of our times, its images have become the lingua franca of the planet.
A whole generation is growing up with this global visual language. You have been talking a lot about mobility these days. There is one mobility, however, that we should pay more attention to, and that is mental mobility.
What is powering imagination more than to be transported somewhere else!
How does that happen today if not through movies, moving images in every shape and form on whatever circuit or through what channels. Our films, our images and ideas have to travel again not just our young Europeans! Their visions, hopes and fears have to travel on, through our, or their, own images, through our very own European Cinema.

National ideas are shrinking more and more in the global age, while local and regional impulses continue to thrive and give people the roots they so badly need in the global community.
These regional roots are the very strength of our “European Cinema(s)” and of our story-telling. We tend to think of our diversity as our handicap. On the contrary! In the future it's going to be our biggest asset!

That Europe of the future will not exist in the minds and hearts of its people if it will not continue to project its own imagery and stories with confidence, emotions, guts, attractively and convincingly, at the height of the available technology, as state of the art, both in industrial and cultural terms. The reality is very different, though, painfully different! Neighbours in Europe know much less about their neighbours than we'd ever want to admit.

The most powerful image factory in the world – I am speaking about the American film industry – learned everything from us Europeans, so to speak: from the Austrians, Hungarians, French, Spanish, Swedish, Danish, Polish, English, German. “Talent” came over often for political reasons and discovered a universe ready to receive their gift, so that they could expand their visions and their talent freely. Hollywood embraced them and integrated their diversity.
The American Dream was the product of European inventiveness! It was, and is, the most powerful product of Cinema.

We don't have to imitate. We know!
We have it in front of our eyes, our European Dream.

It has come true in a bigger way than the boy I was 50 years ago ever thought possible! The World is ready to embrace it.

Let's not be modest about it.
Let's show it proudly and communicate it proudly: Our European Continent in its most glorious, prosperous and peaceful shape ever! Teach Europeans at a young age, in school, about Europe, and about cinema, about its own language and heritage of images, so they learn better how to see and differentiate and are in a more educated position to understand and digest and cherish.

With Sweden having the European leadership right now, we feel it is a very good moment to bring this request to the attention of our governments: Establish the audiovisual language and grammar as an integral part of the school curriculum and as a medium of communication. We have to bring our heritage, not just new films, to our neighbours, introduce us to each other's film culture in new imaginary ways.

Our diversity, still often seen as our curse, is our blessing, but will be our greatest in the future.
Let's nourish it.
Let's communicate it.
Let's teach it.

Image: Wim Wenders by _titi on Flickr

Videos, reports and twitter from the European Culture Forum

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:39:01 GMT

Following on from our past successes of blogging and videoing from European cultural events we are bringing you more from the European Culture Forum in Brussels, 28-30 September. LabforCulture teamed up with Culture Action Europe and the resulting commentary is new and interesting from some key people working in culture, across Europe.

Firstly, Odile Quintin, DG Education, Culture and Youth, European Commission who gave the nod to the purpose of the Forum gathering and laid out her thinking on an open approach for future cultural development into 2013. Steve Green, EUNIC, described his role as a rapporteur of the event, EUNIC's global reach, and gave congratulations to the Commission in the engagement of their development, international and external departments at the Forum. Michael Wimmer, EDUCULT, highlighted three positive developments he experienced during the Forum, one being this new openness, and lateral involvement of other sectors and actors by the Commission.

Catherine Fieschi, from Counterpoint, British Council gave a fresh view on the future challenges for institutions working with new cultural actors. "On a good day these actors are coming to us [institutions], on a bad day they are not". Also have a look at this blog posting on a session she took part in.

Pia Areblad, Tillt described their organisation's role in working in business and cultural actors, and the methodology of working with the Commission on cultural policy development. Isabelle Schwarz, European Cultural Foundation discussed the European Agenda for Culture and the "challenges now in translation to deliver results" and highlighted the next landmarks that can impact development.

The three rapporteur reports are available here: Bernard Foccroulle, composer, opera director; Steve Green, EUNIC and Chris Torch, Intercult. Katherine Watson, LabforCulture and Ilona Kish, Culture Action Europe also presented a flash session on "Mobilising and broadening the debate: Civil Society Networks and Online" which was full and some great questions followed, the link will be available soon here. Finally, check out the twitter quotes we posted!

Thanks to all involved for your great comments and time.

Thanks to the European Year of Creativity and Innovation 2009 for the image

European agenda for culture in a globalising world

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 16:46:03 GMT

Culture Action Europe produced a summary document when the European agenda for culture was published by the European Commission in 2007. You can find below an interactive version of this summary note. Click here to download the original file.

For more information on the European Agenda for Culture: http://ec.europa.eu/culture/our-policy-development/doc399_en.htm

This presentation is adaptated from a document by Culture Action Europe.

Video interview with Pia Areblad

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 13:16:35 GMT

Pia Areblad, CEO of Tillt (Sweden) describes her organisation’s role in working in business and cultural actors, and the methodology of working with the Commission on cultural policy development.

Video interview with Michael Wimmer

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 09:30:22 GMT

Michael Wimmer works at Educult, an institute based in Vienna looking at issues related to cultural policies and education. In this interview he shares his impressions of the Forum - pointing out the progress made and the willingness of the European Commission to work transversally with all the other fields. "Culture is not anymore an isolated territory"!

Final report - Steve Green - European Culture Forum

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 09:17:33 GMT

Steve Green, Team Leader at EUNIC, accepted to share his final report reflecting on the theme Culture as a vital elements for external relations.

Culture as a vital element of external relations

It is very satisfying to open my remarks in a spirit of congratulation. When I look back at the discussions many of us had at the Lisbon Forum two years ago and fast forward to the last two days I can see significant advances.

Two years ago the very concept of culture playing a vital, note a vital, role in the European Union’s external relations was novel. Indeed it was not then accepted by many here in Brussels: a position, sadly, which is still the case in many European capitals today. Culture, the arts, was seen as side issue and not “really important” in the global scheme of things.

How things have changed. A succession of major conferences, at the European level, in Ljubljana (New Paradigms, New Models), in Brussels (Culture and Development) and Prague (culture and creativity) and countless less visible meetings have borne fruit. And by EU standards in a remarkably short time span.

Over these two days we have seen the active and very public support for culture from many areas of the Commission’s work. Increasingly other DGs beyond Education and Culture are seeing the benefits culture and the arts can bring to their objectives. I even learnt a new phrase: embed rather than mainstream.

The developments are bearing practical fruit. The Eastern Partnership is a good example. The major political agreement between the EU and the six countries of the partnership (from Belarus to Azerbaijan) contains an explicit section on culture (and the money starts next year).

This progress needs recognition and I have to congratulate Commissioner Figel, on his last day in office, and Mme Quintin and her colleagues on a job well done since Lisbon.

Now, let’s look to the future. What did we learn from the plenary and the three workshops to help us, to guide us, over the next few years? Well we listened to a wealth of informed comment, of practical suggestions from the ambitious to the detail (the devil is always in the detail so don’t mock seemingly small issues), and perhaps above all of commitment. Virtually everyone does indeed subscribe to the view that culture, the arts, the creative industries, should be a vital element in the EU’s external relations.

I’d like to draw out some common observations from the four sessions and to reflect on those themes.

I start outside the world of the arts to take the broader picture and nowhere better to start than the financial crisis. We all know that public sector budgets are being squeezed and will continue to be squeezed over the next few years. And not just in the public sector; foundations are finding life tough as well. The crisis affects probably everyone in the room. But in a seeming paradoxical way this is the time when the arts and culture can contribute an enormous amount to our societies; emotionally, economically and simply enjoyably. We need to make that case.

We must also take notice of the geo-political environment both within Europe and in the rest of the world. In many areas life is tough and getting tougher. Financial uncertainties contribute to nationalism, to racism, to tensions; at a local level and in today’s interconnected world at global levels. And I haven’t even mentioned climate change.

A third, underpinning theme, is a recognition that personal space, cultural space, is changing very rapidly. Far faster than we imagine; far faster than organisations can comprehend and adapt.

We have always heard that artists know no borders. With migration, travel and of course the entire digital universe the personal cultural space alters many traditional ways of thinking and many even very recent approaches. What I write on TripAdvisor about my hotel here in Brussels will impact for several years; what a musician uploads from an internet café in Senegal onto MySpace reverberates around the world.

Cultures and cultural inter-actions around the world are changing, under pressure for some, invigorating for others. We live in one society with many cultures side by side and intermingled. The Other culture is no longer a long way away only glimpsed on the TV screen; it is our neighbour and life is better because of it.

Several speakers turned to values. They were frequently mentioned in the opening session of this Forum and explored in more detail in one of the workshops. And the phrase European values kept cropping up, alongside universal values. Transparency, the rule of law, openness, diversity, democracy, you can fill in the rest.

And this leads to one of the first implications for the future programming of culture in the EU’s external relations. We started off the week with the European Literature Award and I’ll turn to creative writing courses for the apt comment: Show don’t tell. Lesson One. Show don’t tell.

In our culture programmes, in how the arts are embedded in other programmes, we need, as Europeans living up to those values, to demonstrate those values in our behaviour and approach.

Rather than promoting, we share; we need to recognise and openly acknowledge the unequal nature of possible partnerships and we adjust accordingly; we call programmes “with” and not “towards” someone or some area.

I hear, or hope to hear, more terms based around mutuality, of mutual benefit, of two-way. We need to be as open to inward cultural movements, and the changing ones within our own countries, as we are keen on outward movements. Just how open are we to seeking change ourselves? Europeans do not have the monopoly on creativity and innovation; sad to say we do need to remind ourselves of that from time to time. We have as much to learn as to contribute. Cultural policy starts with listening.

If we believe in diversity we must not just recognise it but practise it, (with three male rapporteurs this afternoon?). Pragmatic but critical issues of mobility, of visa policy, of access to markets came up in all three of the Forum’s themes. Unsurprisingly they came up in the external relations theme very strongly. That they were no surprise does not lessen their importance.

Speakers made us aware that in many parts of the world the public sector differs from that within the EU. Culture Ministries may not be as strong, with a weak or non-existent culture of engaging with civil society, with individuals, in policy formulation. The personal rather than the institutional may be the springboard for action.

The message for those designing new programmes is to focus on building awareness within public administrations of the wider and societal benefits of the arts and culture. It has taken us long enough in Europe to acknowledge that, and even here we are patchy in practice. But we heard today, as we did in the earlier Brussels conference on development that there are movers and shakers who want to lead change. Listen.

I was intrigued by the practical issues which emerged. Here are some of them.

“Be country specific” was a frequent plea; one size does not fit all. And yet that localism immediately morphed into the need to create regional spaces for emotional and marketing reasons which in turn need the development of networks. Concentric circles came to mind. Perhaps the European arts networks that have dome so much in Europe can turn their attentions to other parts of the world?

A second area of practicality centred on long termism. We are in for a slow burner, this is an area where a short term focus, of quick in and out projects, let alone one-off events, of single-year based programmes are not suitable or effective. The attitude which thinks that just because we did intercultural dialogue last year we can move on will not be appropriate. Patience, progressive and consistency are the watchwords.

I must admit I would not like to be a teacher today. I would be expected to solve all the world’s ills as well as teaching and enthusing my students with curiosity about my subject. Now try to imagine doing that as an untrained teacher in front of a class of 60 children in poor buildings and limited if any materials. Of course education and schools are fundamental to our future but lets’ not forget we need to hit the Millennium Development Goals as well. Access to quality education is critical. Teacher training programmes are the key. Not least in areas of conflict. Can the arts prevent conflict? Probably not but they have a crucial role in post-conflict activity.

But for culture to be a successful as well as a vital part of the EU’s external relations we need to look here at home. I’ve already mentioned our own willingness to be open, to learn but several other pointers came through the workshops.

The responsibility rests not just with the EC. It rests within member states, and increasingly not just at national level but with regions and cities. It rests with civil society, with ourselves. Wouldn’t it be good if everyone here now walked out of the room with one personal action point they have formed from this Forum.

For myself there were fortunate requests that member states, including their cultural relations institutes, work closer together. Outside Europe we are increasingly seen as Europeans. I was interested in the culture coordination process in Tanzania bringing everyone together for sharing and coordinating.

Cultural policy is not only about the arts. It is about society and the type of society we want to live in. In external relations, Europe’s international culture, its brand if you like, surely needs to be one of trust; earned not claimed. The arts, by opening up creativity and personal expression across borders is a powerful force.

As this Forum has shown there are committed advocates for the role of culture in the EU’s external relations; we have made the case to ourselves and to an increasing number of decision makers.

Culture is not merely a vital element in external relations. It is only by including culture, and cultural understanding, in our external policies can we contribute to others achieving their objectives and so achieve our own.

Steve Green
Team Leader Presidency, European Union National Institutes for Culture
30 September 2009

Video interview with Steve Green

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 09:06:41 GMT

Steve Green is Team Leader at EUNIC, a European network of national institutions for culture. During the Forum he was the rapporteur in the session dedicated to "Culture as a vital element for external relations" and points out the progress made and future expectations in this field.

Thanks to Daphne Tepper (Culture Action Europe) for her collaboration in this series of interviews.

Final report - Bernard Foccroulle - European Culture Forum

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 14:01:22 GMT

Bernard Foccroulle, Director of Aix-en-Provence festival, has kindly accepted to share his final report, reflecting on the theme Culture as a catalyst for creativity and innovation. This report is only available in French.

Introduction

Cette session comprenait trois ateliers :

l’atelier A traitait d’une stratégie européenne de la créativité
l’atelier B abordait la question de quelle politique industrielle ou culturelle pour la culture et les autres industries créatives
l’atelier C était consacré à la relation entre culture et développement régional

Lors de la rencontre avec les trois modérateurs qui a suivi ces ateliers parallèles, j’ai été frappé par une réflexion de Katja Reppel (DG Entreprises), modératrice de l’atelier A, qui questionnait l’équation « culture = créativité », qui semblait aller de soi pour la plupart des intervenants. Mais toute culture est-elle nécessairement synonyme de créativité et d’innovation ? Et n’y a-t-il pas des exemples frappants de créativité en-dehors du champ de la culture et de al création artistique ?

Plutôt que de nous laisser emporter par une équation trop simpliste entre ces deux termes, ne devrions-nous pas plaider plutôt pour des alliances et des synergies, dans le respect des identités spécifiques de chaque sphère d’activités ?

Cette réflexion m’a rappelé le contenu de discussions qui ont eu lieu durant les Rencontres Européennes d’Aix-en-Provence et d’Avignon en juillet 2009 : il est apparu en effet que nombre d’artistes rencontrent de plus en plus de difficultés à pouvoir réunir les conditions d’un travail véritablement créatif et innovant, pour des raisons diverses, qui tiennent autant au financement qu’à l’organisation de la vie culturelle. Pouvoir prendre le temps de créer, d’expérimenter, pouvoir prendre des risques, voilà des nécessités impérieuses qui se posent aux artistes et aux institutions culturelles.

Autrement dit, réfléchir sur les notions de créativité et d’innovation ne porte pas seulement sur les possibles interactions entre culture et industrie, mais aussi – et avant tout ? - sur le développement du monde culturel lui-même.

Cela dit, les interventions et débats ont permis de faire émerger un certain nombre de préoccupations dominantes, que je vais tenter ici de thématiser succinctement. Cette synthèse comporte une forte part de subjectivité, et devrait certainement être complétée par d’autres regards et par l’insertion de propositions concrètes qui ont été formulées mais ne peuvent pas toutes figurer dans un texte de synthèse.

1. Transversalité, interdisciplinarité, innovation

Il apparaît très clairement que créativité et innovation sont fortement liées à la mise en relation de disciplines différentes, complémentaires, parfois très éloignées les unes des autres. On constate d’ailleurs que de plus en plus d’artistes créatifs sont attachés à cette dimension de décloisonnement dans leur travail, soit individuel, soit en équipe.

Il faut toutefois souligner que très souvent, les politiques culturelles régionales ou nationales sont mal adaptées à l’interdisciplinarité !

Robert Marijnissen (Amsterdam, AMIDSt) défend l’idée de plateformes ultra-innovatrices, susceptibles de porter des projets à risques, à forte valeur innovante. Il croit beaucoup dans l’innovation provenant de connexions inattendues, et recommande dès lors des plateformes souples, non rigides, susceptibles de créer surprise et créativité.

Pekka Korvenmaa (Taik University of Art and Design, Helsinki) présente une initiative pluridisciplinaire à Helsinki: trois départements universitaires ont créé un espace commun associant technologie, management et design. Cette expérience est féconde, et pourrait se transposer à l’échelle européenne.

Il reste toutefois nécessaire que chacun conserve son identité propre: en mélangeant toutes les couleurs, on obtient une couleur brun-gris qui n’est pas du tout attractive, ni créative, ni innovante!

L’Union Européenne aurait certainement intérêt à promouvoir plus largement des expériences de ce type, d’une part à l’intérieur du champ culturel, et d’autre part entre le champ artistique et d’autres secteurs de la vie économique et sociale.

2. Des relations nouvelles entre le monde culturel et le monde économique

Les discussions ont donné l’impression que le monde artistique et culturel est plus ouvert aujourd’hui qu’il y a dix ou vingt ans à la perspective de développer des partenariats avec le monde des entreprises. Certes, les dangers d’instrumentalisation restent présents à l’esprit, mais de nombreux artistes ou institutions perçoivent mieux l’intérêt potentiel de ces partenariats qui vont bien au-delà des relations de « parrainage » ou « sponsoring ».

On en trouve un exemple original dans la proposition de « résidences d’artistes en entreprises » formulée avec succès par « Marseille-Provence, capitale culturelle européenne 2013 ».

Les relations dont il est question ne devraient dès lors pas être limitées aux relations entre artistes et industries culturelles, même si celles-ci ont naturellement un caractère privilégié.

J’ai été frappé d’autre part par la réflexion de Raj Isar qui soulignait le fait que le champ artistique échappe pour une bonne part à la logique marchande, et que cette spécificité doit être reconnue et respectée, même dans le contexte de cette réflexion sur les relations entre les deux secteurs. Il me semble voir dans cette réflexion une invitation à penser que dans certains cas les artistes ont intérêt à se déplacer vers le monde économique, et dans d’autres cas, ce serait aux entreprises de venir à la rencontre d’artistes, même très éloignés de leur monde de fonctionnement.

D’autre part, les inquiétudes du monde des industries culturelles ont largement été évoquées, et sont reprises notamment dans le point suivant.

3. La diversité culturelle en danger ?

La diversité culturelle est fréquemment invoquée, notamment en ouverture de ce Forum, comme une valeur essentielle aux yeux des Européens et de l’Union Européenne. Mais cette diversité culturelle n’est-elle pas en danger, n’a-t-elle pas déjà entamé un fort mouvement de repli et de récession ?

Jordi Savall a rappelé que l’après-guerre a vu l’arrivée des techniques d’enregistrement de la musique dont l’impact positif a été considérable, mais qui ont également eu comme conséquence directe la disparition rapide de milliers d’ensemble musicaux amateurs ou professionnels dans les villes et villages de toute l’Europe. Ne nous trouvons-nous pas aujourd’hui face à une mutation technologique encore plus puissante, dont les conséquences positives et négatives forment un tout d’une extraordinaire complexité ?

Dans son intervention, Michel Lambot souligne ce paradoxe: l’accès au public est plus facile que jamais, l’accès au marché est plus difficile que jamais!!

Il lance un véritable cri d’alarme! Les PME culturelles sont menaces de disparition face à la concentration, à la croissance des technologies…

Il formule une série de propositions visant à préserver une diversité culturelle européenne extrêmement appréciable, mais à ses yeux, en danger.

4. L’art à l’école, ferment de créativité et d’innovation

On aura noté durant les différentes sessions de ce Forum l’expression d’un consensus unanime sur l’importance de la formation artistique à l’école, depuis le fondamental jusqu’à l’université. Les enjeux dépassent la sphère artistique : c’est bien de la nécessité d’un enseignement globalement plus créatif qu’il s’agit.

Mais l’évolution actuelle ne va-t-elle pas plutôt dans le sens d’évacuer les pratiques artistiques de l’école ? Comment l’Union européenne peut-elle favoriser le retour des pratiques artistiques dans l’enseignement général, et à travers elles, stimuler la créativité et l’innovation auprès de dizaines de millions de jeunes Européens ?

Yannick Guin (Nantes) donne l’exemple de clusters associant écoles d’art et entreprises nouvelles aboutissant à des projets développant l’innovation. Nantes fait partie d’un réseau européen de villes qui favorise l’échange des bonnes pratiques. Voici un indice supplémentaire de la valeur ajoutée de ces réseaux européens dont le nombre de cesse de croître.

Un message encourageant a été apporté en ouverture du Forum par la Ministre suédoise de la Culture, qui a clairement indiqué la volonté de la présidence suédoise de faire avancer concrètement ce dossier « art et éducation ».

5. Questions sur le copyright

La question du copyright a été clairement adressée par les éditeurs, très fragilisés par la montée du piratage. Ronald Schild (Libreka) a également expliqué la menace que Google fait peser sur le monde de l’édition en numérisant les ouvrages « out of print » et les livres « orphelins ».

On constate toutefois des opinions divergentes selon qu’on adopte le point des éditeurs, des artistes, ou celui des consommateurs. A l’ère de la numérisation et d’Internet, comment trouver le moyen de rémunérer les auteurs, les interprètes et les éditeurs, tout en élargissant considérablement l’accès aux œuvres de création?

La solution passerait-t-elle par le développement intensif d’une offre payante mais très accessible ? L’Union européenne sera-t-elle en mesure d’accompagner, de faciliter une telle évolution ?

On a également mentionné deux projets de la Commission (le Digital Agenda et le projet sur la Propriété Intellectuelle) auxquelles le monde culturel devra se montrer attentif et dont il devra impérativement s’emparer afin d’en nourrir le contenu et de formuler ses propositions spécifiques.

6. Une politique culturelle concertée à l’échelle de l’Union Européenne

L’atelier consacré à la relation entre culture et développement régional a fait ressortir toute la richesse de cette relation, mais a fait apparaître également certaines conditions indispensables pour un développement harmonieux.

Patricia Salvaçao Barreto (Ministère de la culture, Portugal) souligne la nécessité d’intégrer la culture dans le développement régional en s’appuyant sur des partenariats entre le monde culturel (parfois réservé), la société civile (encore trop peu impliquée) et le monde économique.

Elle suggère le concept d’intelligence territoriale, qui consiste à inclure les communautés locales dans les projets culturels régionaux ambitieux.

Beatriz Garcia (Liverpool) fait observer que lors des capitales culturelles européennes, les opérations culturelles qui ont le plus grand impact à moyen et long terme sont les opérations à petite échelle. A l’échelle d’une politique culturelle et industrielle, n’est-ce pas une orientation possible : tabler sur un grand nombre de petits projets à forte valeur innovante, et pas seulement sur des projets spectaculaires ?

Ce qui ressort clairement de cet atelier, c’est à nouveau la nécessité de la transversalité. Ce qui apparaît comme une nécessité à l’échelon des villes et des régions, peut sans doute servir de modèle à l’échelle de l’Europe.

Sébastien Saunier présente l’exemple de l’IFCIC (Institut Français pour le Financement du Cinéma et des Industries Culturelles), qui assure des formes de soutien sous forme de produits financiers adaptés au numérique. Cette forme de soutien financier qui n’appartient à la catégorie des « subsides » mais plus tôt des « investissements », pourrait inspirer également l’action de la Commission.

Guillermo Corral van Damme (Ministère de la Culture, Espagne) exprime une attente ressentie par de nombreux participants, considérant que nous avons besoin d’une stratégie globale culturelle européenne. Il évoque différents domaines d’une intervention possible et souhaitable de la Commission.

Conclusions

La transversalité est un fil rouge qui a parcouru tout ce Forum. La transversalité se décline à tous les niveaux : entre différentes disciplines artistiques, entre institutions culturelles et le monde associatif, entre le monde culturel et celui de l’éducation, de la recherche et de l’économie, et enfin au niveau des politiques culturelles.

C’est d’ailleurs la force et l’originalité de l’Agenda Culturel de l’Union européenne, qui repose sur cette nécessaire transversalité, bien marquée lors de ce Forum par la présence - très appréciée - de responsables de plusieurs directions générales.

Le rapport entre culture et éducation forme un autre fil rouge, d’une importance considérable. Comment l’Union européenne pourra-t-elle renforcer cette dimension essentielle dans ses politiques éducatives et culturelles ?

Lors de la cérémonie de remise des prix littéraires européens, le Président J.M. Barroso a redit son intention de placer la culture et la créativité en tête des priorités de la future Commission.

Le sentiment qui domine parmi les participants à ce deuxième Forum Culturel Européen est que l’Union Européenne doit maintenant passer à l’acte, et concrétiser différents projets en phase avec l’Agenda Culturel. Cet effort de concrétisation devrait un effort de toutes les parties concernées, la Commission et ses différentes Directions Générales, le Parlement européen, mais aussi les Etats membres et les Régions. Conséquence directe de la transversalité évoquée plus haut, la question de la coordination entre ces différents niveaux de pouvoir s’avère cruciale.

La crise économique ne réduit pas la nécessaire focalisation des partenaires européens sur ces questions culturelles : elle impose au contraire des mesures d’urgence, pour le court, le moyen et le long terme.

We need each other - EU Culture Forum

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 12:07:46 GMT

The breakaway session on "Major international partners" at the European Culture Forum on the 30^th September was a great example of the European Commission engaging in a sensible and practical discussion on the sector working externally and internationally.

The moderator, Karel Kovanda, DG External Relations was humorous, humane and smart in his drawing out of opinions and commentary from the guests. They were Catherine Fieschi, Counterpoint, British Council; Delphine Borione, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, France and Gijs de Vries, European Cultural Foundation, The Netherlands. Each guest gave their pitch to three different questions.

From a LabforCulture perspective, several interesting points came up, largely from de Vries and Fieschi. Focusing on one which seemed like a thread throughout the Forum but was never really vocalized in very clear or sensible terms except here: working together, across disciplines and working in a multi-voice generation in our changing digital society.

Fieschi talked about the outdated thinking or retaining roles such as producers and consumers and experts and amateurs (something we have been discussing in the Converging Pathways to new knowledge space). The central message seemed to be to develop voices and relationships, start working in networks, co-produced and a polar way. Maybe some believe the cultural sector is doing this enough but looking at other sectors, more could be done.

See the LabforCulture interview of Catherine Fieschi here.

Final report by Chris Torch - European Culture Forum

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:13:26 GMT

In the final session on the 30th September, moderated by Odile Quintin, Director General for Education and Culture, we were introduced to three rapporteurs of the conference. Each rapporteur had been asked to respond to certain themes running through the conference. Chris Torch, Artistic Director of Intercult, has kindly shared his report with us, and you, reflecting on the theme Cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue.

Commitment.

Mrs. Adelsohn Liljeroth, the Swedish Minister for Culture, launched her opening speech with a plea for intercultural action. The national proposition for culture that her Ministry delivered recently included one completely new long-term objective: to increase international and intercultural exchange and collaboration. This is a clear example of how a Member State can take the lead into new territory and potentially effect change by other nations.

Complementary initiatives at all levels – the local, the regional, the national and the European – must be encouraged and the interplay between them must be intensified.

Commitment.

The presence of Mrs. Pack and Mr. Pöttering from the European Parliament and, of course, Commissioner Figel gave a clear sign of the sincerity of the Commission and the EP in committing to an ongoing intercultural agenda.

Commitment.

The presence and participation, in one of the workshops I followed, of Mr. Morin from DG Employment and Social Affairs (as well as representatives from various DGs in the two threads that Steve and Bernard will report on later) underlined the increasing sensitivity to the cultural factor by other sectors. This is hopeful and provides an incentive for artists and operators with social, environmental and educational concerns to actively seek out partnership in return.

Disappointment.

I did not once, during the Opening Session, hear a reference to migration as a major factor in the transformation of our cultural landscape. The diversity of the European urban centers was not dealt with directly. This is either naïve or an intentional avoidance of a potentially uncomfortable theme. Europe is enriched by the diversity of its citizens, including those who were not born here. Concrete preventative action must be taken to reduce the tensions caused by the flow of peoples. Cultural action is essential in this work.

Disappointment.

As the Platform for Intercultural Europe, one of the structured dialogue partners with the DG Education and Culture, consistently points out, there is no formal Partner to receive recommendations from our sector. No OMC working group on interculture is set up. And I heard none of our speakers propose it. This is a missed opportunity to strengthen one of the tools that DGEAC has developed, now, when a broad cross-section of cultural, social, educational and human rights activists have been gathered to share their knowledge.

Concrete recommendations

made during the three parallel workshops, 29 september 2009

I choose in my final report not to mention names, mostly because I worry that I will forget someone or mispronounce them terribly. But here are some conclusions drawn from the three workshops during yesterdays session, with the competent support of the moderators and also colleagues from DGEAC and the Platform for Intercultural Europe.

Workshop A: Mobility of artists and other culture professionals

We received a brilliant and practical analysis of the obstacles to mobility regarding visas, passports, taxes and the lacking transparency of regulations. Harmonizing and modernizing the movement of artists across EU and neighboring countries borders is a crucial step. The suggestions have been on the table for some time now. It is time to act more concretely to implement them.

Imbalances that exist between regions and resource must be countered. We need to increase contact with other regions and other continents, not reduce it.

Continuity and long-term solutions in mobility schemes must be secured. “One off” initiatives are not especially useful.

The importance of access for non-EU nationals was underlined. Again - formal obstacles must be eliminated or greatly reduced with a special sensitivity to artists and cultural operators.

Workshop B: Education and Training

Education and Culture are equally important and closely intertwined. Creativity is the point of contact. Synergies between the two must be encouraged and resourced.

Special focus should be given to the training of teachers, as the key links between educational agendas and creative stimulation of students.

Emphasis and attention should be given to non-formal and informal educational initiatives, where the cooperation between school, community and family is developed. Here the European added value is obvious and especially fruitful.

Primary schools are essential arenas and points of contact. The strongest intercultural competences are formed during the first years of public education.

The cultivation of creativity must be regarded as a necessity for social inclusion and future economic development. This creates natural alliances with other EU sectors, bringing other competencies onto the playing field.

Evaluation methods must be built into every initiative and new measurement tools must be created. Politicians and their constituencies demand concrete evidence. This will strengthen our base for constructive advocacy for Culture and the Arts.

A key to future creative generations is the development of “media literacy”, for students and teachers alike. There is a knowledge gap between teachers and children that must be bridged at the same time as we instill critical thinking in an information-driven society.

There was no specific discussion about intercultural learning approaches. This is a missed opportunity at a time when new approaches are required due to increased diversity in our cities and neighborhoods.

Workshop C: Access to Culture; Participation; Youth

We must stop delivering the dominant culture and allow ourselves to be mutually transformed in encounters with other cultures and nations. The multiplicity of identities is both an individual and a collective strength.

We must stop perceiving and countering “the digital threat” – instead regarding the broad distribution of communication technology as an opportunity.

Working together and across professional areas and disciplines is crucial. Creating a grid of support and action between artists, social workers, teachers and citizens themselves. This is transversality at a community level.

There is a need for greater concentration on audience development schemes and the exchange of approaches between different operators in different contexts. This is the foundation of inclusion.

A few general comments

picked up during these intense two days, 29-30 september 2009

As a colleague from Culture Action Europe, the advocacy network for European cultural politics, put it the other day: "It is time to put our money where are hearts are...".

The European project, as imagined in its most complementary and constructive form, has been stumbling for far too long. Without serious engagement in cultural action - as a sustainable alternative to introversion, populism and even military action – there will be no European project.

Without intense mobility of artists and ideas, there will be no messages of peace across borders.

Without strategies for education and life-long learning that are intercultural in the true meaning – mutual transformation – there will be no sharing of knowledge across borders.

Without intercultural meeting places where peoples, cultures, generations and disciplines gather and surprise one another, there will be no common values to defend.

Without planning cultural exchange into the strategies of every aspect, every DG, every endeavor of the EU, there will be no consensus or mutual aid or solidarity between nations.

When the European project is reduced to administrating things rather than inter-cultivating them, it will lose its sustainability and the enthusiasm of European citizens.

Less than 0.5% of the total EU budget is not enough to do this job.

In 2009 and far beyond, we need to incite the innovative capacity of an entire continent, if we to face challenges we don’t even know yet exist and can hardly imagine.

It is, in fact, time to put our money where our hearts are. And our hearts back into our work.

Chris Torch
artistic director – Intercult (Sweden)
vice-president – Culture Action Europe
steering group member – Platform For Intercultural Europe