Policies for Culture news

Belgrade workshop: Cultural policy research in the countries of South East Europe: setbacks and prospects (Belgrade, October 2-3)
This international workshop organised by the Policies for Culture programme will take place in the framework of the recently established Task Force for Cultural Policy Research in South East Europe.
Among the objectives of the workshop are: mapping the gaps arising between policy and research in individual SEE countries, as well as the good examples of productive partnerships between policy community and research community in SEE and other countries; raising awareness of liabilities of the lack of research, on the one hand, and assets resulting from the policy supply with independent research results, on the other; initiating the development of research interests and capacities in SEE countries, which may be supported by SEE states as well as by inter-governmental or non-governmental organisations; defining the most urgent topics of research as well as the methodologies to be applied in order to easier convert research findings into policy papers, which could have an impact at national and local level.
For more information contact Policies for Culture at info@policiesforculture.org. More details will be available early September at www.policiesforculture.org.

The second issue of InSIGHT - Policies for Culture Analysis and Opinion Reporter
The present issue of the Policies for Culture InSIGHT (July 2004) features an article on present
cultural policy issues in Montenegro, by Svetlana Racanovic, and a mapping of the cultural evolutions in the Republic of Moldova after 1989, by Vitalie Ciobanu.
Read it online at the programme's website: Policies for Culture InSIGHT No.2/July 2004.

Action project update: ARCult - Romanian Cultural Agency - follow-up (Bucharest, Romania)
The ARCult programme developed by the ECUMEST Association is designed to provide the Romanian cultural sector with specialized assistance in the field of cultural policy and legislation, to facilitate communication and cooperation within the cultural sector and to contribute to the general improvement of the framework in which this sector functions. Among its future activities, ECUMEST will organise in partnership with the Romanian Academic Society (SAR) a conference dedicated to cultural policy in Romania and the programmes of the political parties in this field in view of the November 2004 general elections. The event will take place on 27 October 2004, as part of a series of similar round tables on different policy issues under the title Alternative Ideas - co-hosted by SAR and Friederich Ebert Stiftung. A second ARCult event will be organised during autumn 2004, focusing on the public funding system of cultural NGOs, established through a governmental ordinance in 2003. The roundtable is prepared following the closing of the first session of evaluation and awarding of grants through this funding system.
For more details contact ECUMEST Association at ecumest@ecumest.ro.

 News from the region

Bosnia and Herzegovina: International Conference of Ministers of Culture of South-Eastern Europe and Italy (19 July 2004, Mostar)
The recent international conference of the ministers responsible for culture in South East Europe and Italy, connected to the events dedicated to the reopening of the Old Mostar Bridge, focused on matters of cultural heritage. It resulted in a declaration of the participating ministers concerning the enhancement of culture and cultural heritage for the stabilisation and the sustainable development of the region and in an action plan designed for the implementation of this joint declaration. One of the provisions of this action plan refers to the "South-East European Culture Heritage Trust Fund", established and managed by the UNESCO-ROSTE (Section Culture) that will support the implementation of regional activities aimed at fostering cultural cooperation among SEE countries. A voluntary contribution to this fund, of Euro 800,000, was made by the Italian Government - Italian Development Co-operation (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) in order to ensure the immediate operability of the fund.
For more information, the Mostar Declaration and the Action plan visit the UNESCO website.

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Reopening of the Mostar Bridge
On July 23, Bosnia-Herzegovina has celebrated the reopening of the Old Bridge in the city of Mostar. Stari Most (Old Bridge), crossing the Neretva River, is a UNESCO protected cultural monument, built in 1566 during the Ottoman Empire. The Old Bridge was destroyed in 1993 by a Bosnian Croat tank fire during the fighting between Croats and Muslims in the 1992-1995 war. The ceremonies dedicated to the reopening of the bridge were attended by presidents and prime ministers from the Balkans, Britain's Prince Charles, EU, and UN officials. Rebuilt with help from UNESCO, the World Bank, local officials and donor countries, the Old Bridge of Mostar becomes a symbol of reconciliation and human solidarity.
Sources: Radio Free Europe and UNESCO.

Romania: Establishment of the National Centre for Dance
A recent governmental ordinance has established the National Centre for Dance, organised under the subordination of the Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs. Among the objectives of the centre are the support of the contemporary dance, a better promotion of this art field in Romania and abroad, and the setting up of international choreographic projects in partnership with similar institutions and organisations from abroad. The initiative of creating this centre belongs to the Ministry of Culture, following the failure of the project "Contemporary Independent Dance Season - Dance_Apetit", initiated by the independent dance scene and coordinated by Project DCM Foundation (see e-bulletin 2 for details). The recently established Centre for Dance will become operational during the autumn 2004.

 Projects and Initiatives

Policy Recommendations following the 'Sharing Cultures' Conference
The European Cultural Foundation conference 'Sharing Cultures: A Contribution to cultural policies for Europe' took place from 11 to 13 July 2004 in Rotterdam, gathering almost 200 individuals from 30 countries, active in the fields of cultural policy making, art, and journalism, and offering the cultural field an open platform on the subject of European cultural policy issues. The conference aimed to present a series of cultural policy recommendations and action proposals in several areas identified as relevant to European cultural policymaking and European integration. These have been concretised in an appeal and a paper with Policy recommendations addressed to the European Ministers of Culture at their informal meeting in Rotterdam. The recommendations propose several action points, which refer, among other, to the participation of civil society in planning, implementing and evaluating cultural policies, the mobility in the cultural sector, and the cultural cooperation in a wider European space and across the Mediterranean.
For more information and the Policy recommendations visit the European Cultural Foundation website.

The Informal Meeting of the EU Ministers of Culture and Education in Rotterdam:
"A strong role for culture in Europe"
Following the beginning of the EU Dutch presidency, a first informal meeting of the EU ministers of culture and education took place in Rotterdam, on 13-14 July, focusing on a new action plan for culture, to be implemented under the authority of four EU presidencies. The discussions dealt with issues such as mobility, exchange and citizenship in Europe. The ministers underlined the opportunities for stimulating the mobility of museum collections, artists and thematic networks. A broad support to put the relationship between culture and economy on the agenda was another focus point, starting from the idea to make use of creativity as a motor of economic growth. The ministers further emphasized that the role of culture cannot be strengthened without a strong connection to initiatives in the field. These intersecting themes, including the investment in cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue, will be further developed.
Source: EU Dutch Presidency press release.

The Cultural Policy Award decided its winner
In the framework of the Cultural Policy Development action-line, the European Cultural Foundation announced the winner of the 1st Cultural Policy Research Award (CPR Award) during the "Sharing cultures" conference in Rotterdam. The award was granted to Nina Obuljen, Research Fellow at the Institute for International Relations in Zagreb, for her research into European enlargement and cultural integration. 'Cultural implications of enlargement' was the overall theme proposed by the first call of CPR Award. The next call - for the 2005 Award - will be launched in autumn 2004.
For more information visit www.cpraward.org or write to Svetlana Jovicic at svetlana@cpraward.org.

 Upcoming Events

Reminder: August 25-28: The Third International Conference on Cultural Policy Research (Montreal, Canada)
The third International Conference on Cultural Policy Research is organized by François Colbert and the Carmelle and Remi Marcoux Chair in Arts Management, HEC Montreal, in cooperation with the International Journal of Cultural Policy. ICCPR'04 aims to provide an outlet for the interdisciplinary and international exploration of the concept, role and impact of cultural policies. It is intended to reflect a broad perspective on cultural policy, encompassing culture both as a "way of life" and in the narrower sense of the arts and cultural industries. The conference is concerned with institutional policies as well as with the wider discourses relating to the general conditions of culture.
For more information write to the Carmelle and Remi Marcoux Chair in Arts Management at iccpr@hec.ca or visit http://www.hec.ca/iccpr/.

October 7-8: Artists on the Move (Rotterdam, the Netherlands)
During the EU Presidency of the Netherlands, in the second half of 2004, the Service Centre for International Cultural Activities (SICA) will be organizing a practical conference on personal mobility of those working in the cultural sector within the EU. This conference will carry on from the conclusions drawn at conferences on mobility earlier in 2004, among others by the Arts Council Ireland and the European Cultural Foundation. Participants from the European cultural sector will discuss the barriers in the field of mobility with policy-makers, managers and enforcers from other sectors (Customs & Excise, Inland Revenue, Chamber of Commerce and other relevant organisations in the field of residence and work permits). The solutions proposed by the cultural sector are in this way tested against their practical findings. The outcome of the SICA conference will be presented to the Dutch Secretary of State for Cultural Affairs, Medy van der Laan. She chose the theme of mobility as a spearhead for her policies during the Dutch chairmanship of the European Union. The conference will be combined with an informal meeting of the European Cultural Contact Points (CCPs).
For more information please contact Hester Swaving, Conference Coordinator, at h.swaving@sicasica.nl or visit www.sicasica.nl.

October 28-31: General Assembly of EFAH (Lille, France)
The 12th Annual General Assembly and Conference of the European Forum for the Arts and Heritage will address cultural networks, regional cultural policymakers, and will be concerned with questions such as: What is the place of culture in an expanding Europe of regions? How can regions provide a stable, open platform for cross-border cultural co-operation? What contribution can regional cultural policy make to cultural development, and to overall regional development? The participants will be from many different backgrounds, countries and cultures, and with widely differing views and approaches with these questions. The conference is conceived so that balances platform speakers, workshop sessions and debates, as well as the usual opportunities for social and cultural interaction.
For more information please contact Sara Pavanello, Conference Coordinator, at lille04@efah.org, or visit http://www.efah.org/.

 Opportunities

The 2005 Call for Proposals for CULTURE 2000
Application deadlines: 15 October 2004 (annual and translation projects);
29 October 2004 (multi-annual projects).
The official criteria are available on the official website of the European Commission. The announcement includes the 2005 call (in all 20 of the EU official languages), the specifications (technical explanations) for the year 2005, application forms and other useful information.
Visit the website of the European Commission or contact the Cultural Contact Points in your country for additional information.

Call for Entries for the "Union Prize for Cultural Heritage/ Europa Nostra Awards 2004"
Application deadline: September 15.
Outstanding heritage achievements will be rewarded by six money prizes of 10,000 Euro each, in addition to medals and diplomas in the following categories: 1. An outstanding restoration project in the field of A) Architectural heritage; B) Cultural landscapes; C) Collections of works of art; D) Archaeological sites; 2. An outstanding study in the field of cultural heritage; 3. Dedicated service to heritage conservation by individuals or groups.
For more information contact the Heritage Awards Coordinator at ao@europanostra.org or visit the Europa Nostra website.

International Policy Fellowship 2005. General Framework "New Frontiers of Democratic Politics"
Application deadline: September 15.
The Central European University Center for Policy Studies (CPS) is calling for proposals for its year 2005-2006 International Policy Fellowships (IPF) programme, which is affiliated with the CPS and the Open Society Institute-Budapest. The fellowships are intended to support the analytical policy research of open society leaders and connect these fellows with professional policy networks and opportunities. The recently launched call does not include a special section dedicated to cultural policies, as in previous years, but research proposals on relevant cultural policy topics can be submitted within the announced general framework.
For more information and the application form contact IPF at fellows@osi.hu or visit www.osi.hu/ipf.

 Publications & Information Resources

Discussion Paper on Cultural Indicators released by IFACCA
July 2004. As a contribution to the global effort to develop more robust statistical indicators for arts policy monitoring and evaluation, IFACCA - International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies - released a discussion paper on the subject. With so many cultural policy researchers and policy makers around the world wrestling to meet the accountability demands of governments and the scrutiny of the general public, IFACCAis keen to encourage greater information sharing about this important topic. "Statistical Indicators for Arts Policy: Discussion Paper" identifies current work and global resources on cultural indicators, explores a number of analytical and coordination issues and makes suggestions for future directions. It also summarises IFACCA's work on the issue to date and provides a brief overview of the cultural indicators literature. The discussion paper is available on the IFACCA website, and comments and feedback are expected at info@ifacca.org.

Business Attitudes on Arts Sponsorship. In Romania
July 2004. Report of a research made by add. business chance on art, non-profit organisation from Bucharest. The study is an innovative qualitative research that presents, through more than simple figures, the attitudes towards arts sponsorship of those responsible of creating the marketing/communication strategies of the most important companies in Romania, as well as the existing legal framework in the field of sponsorship and patronage in Romania. It also aims to be a tool for all cultural organisations seeking sponsorship in Romania, which can be of relevance throughout the region. The study was published both in Romanian and English.
For more details contact Dragos Olea, President add, at infoadd@rdslink.ro.