From the Focal Point

ECOSOC Discussion on the Role of Culture for Achieving the Millennium Development Goals, July 2013

During the July session of the ECOSOC (UN Economic and Social Council) Irina Bokova, Director General of UNESCO, participated in the High-level Segment under the title Science, Technology and Innovation, and the Potential of Culture for Promoting Sustainable Development and Achieving the Millennium Development Goals. The Director General also hosted a breakfast discussion on Culture and Innovation in the Post 2015 Development Agenda. Debating about the role of culture at the ECOSOC meeting was significant particularly in the context of the general concern that culture was not recognized in the current MDGs - neither as a means to achieve sustainable development, nor as an issue that should be considered in the evaluation of development programmes or as a goal in its own right. Therefore, the presence of UNESCO and the discussion on the role of culture during the ECOSOC assembly should be looked at as a follow-up of a series of debates and discussions that took place prior to the July meeting. Documents adopted at these meetings and published statements called for a more important role of culture as a vital element for achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

Nina Obuljen, researcher at IRMO and member of the Culturelink Team, participated at the ECOSOC breakfast discussion hosted by Irina Bokova. Following Culturelink's longterm commitment to research and reflection on culture and development, in her intervention Obuljen highlighted three important aspects of the potential of culture for promoting sustainable development, thus contributing to advocating for a more prominent role of culture in future strategic programmes for achieving the MDGs. >>>

1.   UTOPIAS AND DYSTOPIAS IN THE HISPANIC WORLD

This international conference, organized by the Centro de Ciencias Humanas y Sociales in Madrid, Spain, 20-22 March 2014, aims to open a dialogue between researchers of the different disciplines of the humanities and the social sciences in order to revise the resilient commonplace that holds that Hispanic nations showed little interest in utopian projects in their transition to modernity. The deadline for papers is 15 November 2013. >>>

2.   THE MARC DE MONTALEMBERT PRIZE FOR MEDITERRANEAN RESEARCH PROJECTS

The Marc de Montalembert Foundation and the French Institut national d'histoire de l'art (INHA) have formed a partnership to sponsor the Marc de Montalembert Prize of 8,000 euros. The grant will be awarded to support a research project whose outcome must constitute an original contribution to the knowledge of the arts of the Mediterranean world. The application deadline is 1 November 2013. >>>

3.   ACTORS OF URBAN CHANGE

Actors of Urban Change is a Europe-wide pilot programme by the Robert Bosch Stiftung in cooperation with MitOst e.V., Berlin, aiming to achieve sustainable and participatory urban development through cultural activities. The application deadline is 27 October 2013. >>>

4.   INDIA FOUNDATION FOR THE ARTS FELLOWSHIPS

India Foundation for the Arts (IFA) announces up to four fellowships, each for a duration of one year, to be awarded to artists and curators keen to enrich their practice through engaging in archival research and employing materials from the archive for the creation of artworks or exhibitions. The deadline for application is 15 October 2013. >>>

5.   VAN EYCK ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE PROGRAMME

The Van Eyck Institute, Maastricht, The Netherlands, is looking for artists, designers, writers, curators, and critics in the fields of fine art and design who want to engage in the activities on offer. You are invited to apply for a working period at Van Eyck Multiform Institute for Fine Art and Design. Deadline for applications: 10 October 2013 for a residency at the academy starting in March 2014. >>>

6.   MIT MASTER IN ART, CULTURE AND TECHNOLOGY

The Master of Science in Art, Culture, and Technology at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a rigorous two-year programme for artist-thinkers advancing their critical and production practices. Artists and cultural producers with diverse backgrounds and innovative transdisciplinary practices are encouraged to apply. Application deadline is 31 December 2013. >>>

7.   SIENA ART INSTITUTE STUDY-ABROAD AND RESIDENCY PROGRAMMES

The Siena Art Institute, based in the historic center of Siena, Italy, offers a semester-abroad programme with courses including Painting, Photography, Art History, Creative Writing, Digital Multimedia and Installation, Italian Language and more. Application deadline for the 2014 Spring Semester Programme is 1 November 2013, and for the 2014 Summer Residency Programme 15 January 2014. >>>

8.   IBERO-AMERICAN CULTURE CONGRESS: DIGITAL CULTURE, NETWORKED CULTURE

The 5th Ibero-American Culture Congress entitled Digital Culture, Networked Culture will be held in Zaragoza, Spain, on 20-22 November 2013. Arising out of the Ibero-American Cultural Charter, with the aim of driving the Action Plan derived from it, the congress will attempt to combine efforts to create an Ibero-American cultural space. >>>

9.   ENCATC ACADEMY 2013: CULTURAL RELATIONS AND DIPLOMACY

Reminder: The 2nd ENCATC Academy on Cultural Relations and Diplomacy will be held from 21-22 November 2013 in Brussels, offering an intensive 2-day learning programme with a special focus on the Middle East and North Africa. The aim is to deliver a unique learning opportunity to the participants to further develop their knowledge and expertise in this field. The deadline for registration is 4 November 2013. >>>

10.   WORLD FORUM FOR DEMOCRACY 2013: CONNECTING INSTITUTIONS AND CITIZENS IN THE DIGITAL AGE

The World Forum for Democracy 2013 Re-wiring Democracy: Connecting Institutions and Citizens in the Digital Age, to be held in Strasbourg, France, on 27-29 November 2013, is organised by the Council of Europe in partnership with the French government, the Alsace Region and the City of Strasbourg and a range of international organisations, think tanks, foundations, and other partners from the public and private sectors. The deadline for registration is 15 October 2013. >>>

11.   THE ASHGATE RESEARCH COMPANION TO PLANNING AND CULTURE

This Research Companion provides a comprehensive interdisciplinary and international overview and analysis of planning and culture, covering the global and historical dimensions of planning practice and the dynamics of planning and cultural theory. >>>

12.   GUIDE TO FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR CULTURAL JOURNALISTS IN EUROPE

This On the Move research dossier commissioned by the partners of the Unpack the Arts project has a double aim: to help cultural journalists identify creative ways to fund their mobility, and to advise policy-makers and founders on how to support cultural journalists' mobility as a concrete way of enhancing cultural diversity, cultural participation, the professionalisation of cultural workers, and the importance of the role of culture in Europe. >>>

13.   EUROPEAN CITIES AND CULTURAL MOBILITY: TRENDS AND SUPPORT ACTIONS

On the Move's newly published online study, European Cities and Cultural Mobility: Trends and Support Actions, analyses the policies and actions implemented by large European cities to support the mobility of artists and cultural professionals. This study is based on the results of a survey completed by 24 cities in 15 European countries. >>>

14.   AGIR DANS LE DOMAINE DES ARTS PLASTIQUES. DISPOSITIFS PUBLICS ET DYNAMIQUES LOCALES

In France, from the 1960s to the present day, public policies for the visual arts have steadily expanded, gaining in both consistency and complexity. They are now based on a combination of responsibilities shared between the different levels of intervention (state, regions, departments, cities), which conceived and implemented a wide range of instruments. This book analyses and offers a didactic view of the situation. >>>

15.   INFLUENCE AND ATTRACTION: CULTURE AND THE RACE FOR SOFT POWER IN THE 21ST CENTURY

The report stresses the importance of culture in modern diplomacy, but also discusses its changing nature. Cultural diplomacy is currently shifting from the old government-dominated system to a system where the leading roles are taken by NGO's, foundations and individual citizens. The report predicts that in the future the direct involvement of governments in cultural diplomacy will diminish and that the role of NGO's and peer-to-peer contact will increase. >>>

16.   THE INVISIBLE HAND: ART IN THE TRANSITION TO ANOTHER ECONOMY

The latest in IETM's series of Fresh Perspectives publications takes a look at the relationship between art and economy. The authors link the ongoing economic crisis and its social and financial consequences to changes in the ways art is created and presented. >>>

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