Policies for Culture news

Action project update: "Identifying and implementing new efficient funding mechanisms for the cultural sector in the Republic of Moldova" (Chisinau, Republic of Moldova)
Following the first phase of identification and analysis of different funding mechanisms for the cultural sector, and considering the specific context in Moldova, the project's expert group has decided to propose the setup of an alternative funding mechanism similar to that of cultural funds which have been developed throughout Eastern Europe in the last eight years. In view of developing a policy proposal for its setup, the experts group split its activity within three working groups focusing on: 1) a general presentation of the mechanism and its relevance and feasibility in the Moldovan context; 2) its funding sources; 3) the distribution of funds - elaboration of the general principles and guidelines for the distribution of financial support for cultural activities from the Fund. The policy papers of the three working groups will be finalised by the end of June, so that the final policy paper will be submitted to policy makers and the cultural sector during the month of July. The paper will be further discussed, with the view to further precising it and to its adoption, during a series of focused round tables at national level during August-September and a final international conference which will take place in Chisinau during the month of October.
For more information write to Veaceslav Reabcinschi at slava@mcc.md or visit the page dedicated to this project.

Action project update: "Strategic Development of Suburban Culture, Obrenovac" (Belgrade, Serbia)
The English version of the paper underlining the key strategic lines for cultural development in the municipality of Obrenovac is now available on the Policies for Culture website in the page dedicated to this project.

 News from the region

Croatia: Croatia becomes a candidate for EU membership
Following their application in March 2003, and the Commission's recommendation that the EU open accession negotiations with Croatia, the second former Yugoslav republic was awarded candidate status on 18th June, after Slovenia, which joined the EU on 1st May this year. The European Council agreed that Croatia meets the political criteria and the conditionalities established by the European Council, and moves from the status of applicant to candidate country for EU membership. "The achievement of candidate status by Croatia should be an encouragement to the other countries of the Western Balkans to pursue their reforms", the EU leaders stated, repeating their affirmation that "the future of the Western Balkans rests within the European Union".
More details are available here.

Montenegro: Final step in the cultural policy review process: the national debate (Podgorica, 24-25 June)
The Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Montenegro and the Council of Europe organised in Podgorica, on 24-25 June, the National Debate on Cultural Policy. This Debate was the final phase of the evaluation process of the cultural policy in Montenegro initiated in 2002 in the framework of the project MOSAIC II of the Council of Europe. Following the already well-known format of the evaluation process, the background documents of the debate were the National Report on Cultural Policy, drafted by the Ministry of Culture, and the Experts' Report with recommendations made by the experts team of the Council of Europe. The experts team included Naima Balic, Vice-Minister of Culture of the Republic of Croatia; Alessandro Bollo, Research Coordinator, Fondazione Fitzcarraldo (Torino); Milena Dragicevic-Sesic, Rector, University of Arts in Belgrade; Norbert Riedl, Head of the Department for bilateral and multilateral cultural international affairs, Austrian Federal Chancellory; and Jörg-Ingo Weber, Former Director for International Cultural Relations, Senate of Berlin. As precised by the organisers, the debate aimed at giving all cultural actors in Montenegro the possibility to participate in a wide and open discussion on the key issues in the field of cultural policy, as well as to contribute to defining middle- and long-term priorities of cultural development which will serve as a point of departure in the design of a cultural development strategy of Montenegro.
To receive a copy of the reports send a message to cultural.policies@coe.int.
For more information please write to Tamara Jokovic, Manager for Cultural Research, Ministry of Culture of Montenegro, at tamara_jokovic@min-kulture.mn.yu.

Romania: Sibiu - European Capital of Culture 2007
An unanimous decision taken at the end of May 2004 by the Council of Ministers of Culture, Education and Youth of the European Union designated the city of Sibiu as a European Cultural Capital for the year 2007, together with Luxembourg, the main supporter of its candidature. The two cities are now entering a partnership for cultural dialogue, to be developed in common projects for the year 2007. Sibiu thus becomes the first city in Eastern Europe to hold the title of European Capital of Culture (with the exception of the 2000 large wave of 9 cities which also included Cracow and Prague). A series of investments into the development of the city of Sibiu in general and its cultural infrastructure in particular are expected to be done during the following 3 years, benefiting from both European and Romanian financial support.
For more information about the European Capitals of Culture initiative visit this page.

Romania: The Balkan Express encounter
The last meeting of the Balkan Express - the Balkan performing arts network, project initiated by a series of IETM members - took place in Sfantu Gheorghe, Romania, from 11 to 14 June. The event was organised by ECUMEST Association, Bucharest (BE contact point for Romania), in partnership with the Atelier International Theatre Festival and Arcus Cultural Center, and brought together cultural operators and artists from Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro, and Slovenia. The focus of this meeting was "Audience development: Sharing practices and experiences in the region" and the presentations within this framework generated a dynamic exchange of opinions between participants. This theme was complemented by a training session dedicated by Corina Suteu to cultural networks and cultural cooperation and by an artistic workshop held by the prestigious theatre and opera director Andrei Serban. A booklet documenting Andrei Serban's workshop will be published by the end of 2004.
For more information write to Oana Radu, programs director at oana.radu@ecumest.ro or visit www.ecumest.ro and the Balkan Express web-page at http://www.ietm.org/projects/Balkan/.

 Projects and Initiatives

ECF launches "CPEG" - a Policies for Culture spin-off Initiative in Cultural Policy Education & Training
The "Cultural Policy Education Group" - CPEG - is an expert group that addresses CEE and SEE universities, lecturers, students and scholars dealing with cultural policy issues and professional education. CPEG is based on the recognition of a growing demand to provide students and professionals in the cultural field with theoretical and practical knowledge on contemporary issues of cultural policy. The initiative is closely affiliated with the expert network of the 'Policies for Culture' programme. The initiative concentrates on cultural policy courses and universities in CEE and SEE (Albania, Belarus, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia & Montenegro, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine) and involves individual partner institutions from other parts of Europe.
For more information write to Milena Deleva, CPEG Central Coordinator (Sofia) at mdeleva@cult.bg or visit http://www.policiesforculture.org/cpeg/.

 Upcoming Events

Reminder. July 11-13: "Sharing cultures. Cultural Cooperation in the New Europe" conference (Rotterdam, the Netherlands)
This event represents the last in a series of four conferences which took place in the framework of the "Enlargement of Minds" initiative of the European Cultural Foundation. The conference has four objectives: to raise awareness of the possible cultural impact of enlargement; to discuss the roles and responsibilities of politicians and the media in preparing the public for the enlargement process; to make concrete recommendations for increasing the flow of information and cultural exchange on the subject of enlargement; to stimulate artistic encounter. Artists, intellectuals and cultural operators - as well as politicians and media professionals - from both EU and acceding countries will be able to air their views and question one another on the cultural prerequisites and consequences of EU enlargement.
For more information visit www.eurocult.org or write to Isabelle Schwarz, Cultural Policy Development Manager, at ischwarz@eurocult.org.

Reminder & update. August 23-27: The Congress on Cultural Rights and Human Development (Barcelona, Spain). Questionnaire launched prior to the event
The Interarts Foundation is organising, together with UNESCO and the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation (AECI), an International Congress on Cultural Rights and Human Development within the framework of the Universal Forum of Cultures Barcelona 2004. The Congress is expected to be a major encounter of experts, international organisations and networks from different fields related to cultural rights, human rights, cultural diversity, policies and human development. Besides the preparatory
pre-fora, the Interarts Foundation has recently launched a questionnaire in order to get a clearer picture of the regional, local and individual perceptions that exist on cultural rights and the role of culture in development; this will help in defining and assessing the rights and duties that people find important, in order to guarantee a fuller participation in cultural life in the 21st century. The preliminary results of this study will be presented during the Congress. The questionnaire is available in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, German and Catalan on Interarts website and is expected to be filled in and sent to ustaiger@interarts.net or alaaksonen@interarts.net by July 31.
For more information visit the section dedicated to the Congress on the Interarts Foundation's website, where more details on the pre-fora to the congress are also available.

September 30 - October 2: International Conference on "Cultural Policy and Art Production" (Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro)
The University of Arts in Belgrade is organizing the conference "Cultural Policy and Art Production" which will be held in Belgrade from September 30th till October 2nd, 2004. The conference aims to explore and define new strategies and instruments of cultural policy in the field of art production and identify interactive relations between cultural policy decision makers and all actors in the filed of arts.
For further information write to Jasmina Milovanovic at medjunar@arts.bg.ac.yu or visit http://www.arts.bg.ac.yu/index_en.html.

October 21-23: 6th Rencontres Européennes de Cluj: The conditions of the artistic creation in the enlarged Europe (Cluj-Napoca, Romania)
The French Cultural Centre in Cluj-Napoca oganises, between the 21st and 23rd of October 2004, the 6th Annual European Workshop, three days of workshops and public debates about the cultural and creative dimension of the European integration. The Annual European Workshop's goal is to examine the role of culture in the European integration process and the relationship between different cultural actors in the member countries, the new joining countries and the candidate countries for the integration in the European Union; the development of cultural relations between the Eastern and Western countries, at the prospect of the EU enlargement; the contribution of cultural actors: artists, agents, intellectuals, journalists to an even bigger opening of borders to creative cooperation.
For further information, please contact Irina Costiuc at irina_costiuc@ccfc.ro or visit http://www.ccfc.ro/01/re.html.

November 2-4: Eye to eye - The Global Conference on Cultural Relations (London, Great Britain)
"Eye to eye" is a conference organised by British Council and Counterpoint, its think-tank, which will attract the widest range of profesionals, bringing together journalists, artists, diplomats, NGO's, policymakers, teachers, writers and intellectuals. Its aim is to re-think cultural relations, which must focus on the key issues of the 21st century such as multiculturalism, diversity, identity, human rights, foreign policy ans social inclusion, seen anew in the context of globalisation. It will mean 'mutual listening' and a creative strategy for cultural relations.
For registration and further information, please contact James Kennell at James.Kennell@britishcouncil.org or visit www.counterpoint-online.org.

 Opportunities

Postgraduate Degree on International Cultural Cooperation (2004-2005)
Application deadline: July 31, 2004
The Interarts Foundation and the UNESCO Chair on Cultural Policies and Cooperation of the University of Girona, are once more coordinating the post-graduate program on International Cultural Cooperation. The program offers a refresher course within an international framework, promoting the exchange and transfer of information on current issues in the field of cultural administration, from the perspective of reflection and cultural cooperation. The course makes special emphasis on the field of cultural cooperation, cultural policies and the development of international projects on cultural and artistic administration. The international composition of the group of students and teachers facilitates the direct exchange of experiences and resources during the sessions. The course takes place in Barcelona with the collaboration of a wide range of professionals and cultural institutions. The beginning of the course is planned for October 2004 and the application period is between the 1st June to 31th July.
For more information please contact the course coordinator, Silvia Grau at interarts@interarts.net or visit www.interarts.net.

University of Arts in Belgrade: Postgraduate Studies in Cultural Management and Cultural Policy in the Balkans
Final application deadline: September 15.
The postgraduate programme is organised by the University of Arts in Belgrade, in partnership with the French universities Lyon II and Institute of Political Studies in Grenoble, as well as a series of regional partners among which the ECUMEST Association. It enjoys the support of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with the participation of UNESCO and the Central European Initiative. The programme is open to graduates with university degree and to professionals with proved experience in the field of culture (at least two years) from the Balkan region as well as other European countries with an interest in the region. It aims to train the future managers of cultural organisations and cultural project leaders by providing necessary theoretical and practical tools for development and implementation of cultural policies and cultural projects. Applicants are encouraged to send their dossiers as soon as possible. French-speaking applicants from the region are advised to ask at the French Embassy in their country for scholarship opportunities.
For more details write to Marijana Cvetkovic, programme coordinator, at medjunar@arts.bg.ac.yu or visit www.arts.bg.ac.yu or www.ecumest.ro to download brochures and application forms.

 Publications & Information Resources

Bulletin no. 3 of the FCC (Forum for Cultural Cooperation with SEE)
June 2004. The last issue of the FCC's bulletin contains a brief report following the special FCC session organised in the framework of the "Networking for the Arts in Europe" conference, which took place in Cork (Ireland) on 20-23 May. The FCC supported the participation to this conference of a small group of practitioners from SEE, facilitating also the presentation of the Statement of the Policies for Culture Task Force. A special session was organised on cultural cooperation with SEE were, exploring questions such as: how and if cultural cooperation with SEE will change now that enlargement became a fact on May 1, 2004; how second tier accession countries such as Bulgaria and Romania feel in relation to the new EU; what needs to be changed to allow for enhanced cultural cooperation between the EU and SEE; what is the cooperation policy of the EU with regard to SEE; what is the cooperation policy of the EU members states national governments; what should the priorities of the Ministries of Culture in SEE be with regard to cultural cooperation with the EU. Read more about this session in the bulletin. A second larger FCC meeting will be organised at the ECF's conference "Sharing Cultures" (see above).
For more information access the FCC bulletin at www.eurocult.org or contact Hanneloes Weeda, Senior development officer, European Cultural Foundation at hweeda@eurocult.org.

Cultural Employment in Europe
May 2004, press release of Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities. Eurostat released some key data on cultural employment, comparing its characteristics with total employment. This information is based on the 2002 labour force survey and covers the EU Member States, Iceland, Norway, Bulgaria and Switzerland.
Consult this news release here.

Resituating Culture
Council of Europe publication, 2004. The interdisciplinary contributions to resituating culture combine overviews of relevant cultural theory with the research and perspectives of the individual contributors. Emerging from the Council of Europe / European Commission partnership on youth research, this publication is of particular importance for youth workers, trainers and researchers active at local, national and European levels, and for any readers interested in cotemporary debates on culture.
More information is available here.

Investigation of the economic potential in the field of creative industries in Vienna
Study, 2004. Together with Mediacult and Wifo, the Kulturdokumentation has carried out the study "Investigation of the economic potential of the 'creative industries' in Vienna" on behalf of the City of Vienna, the Vienna Chamber of Commerce and the Vienna Film Fund. The "creative industries", already an essential component of economic and cultural policy discussions, are increasingly recognised as a success factor for Vienna as a business location and of a lively, modern city culture. The current study analyses the market, innovation and job potential of market-economy-oriented sectors such as design/fashion, graphic design, advertising, multimedia and architecture, as well as those at the intersection of the arts and commerce, such as literature and publishing, music, film, fine arts and the arts market and performing arts, libraries and museums. An English summary and the full German version of the study are available at http://www.creativeindustries.at/.