From the Focal Point

International Cultural Networks

IFACCA D'Art Report 49: International Culture Networks (2016, 101 pages), prepared by Annamari Laaksonen, was produced with the aim to identify existing skills and knowledge exchange possibilities, capacity building needs and challenges of leadership and advocacy in international cultural networks. The report is based on a survey which posed a series of questions about the various ways in which cultural networks operate, including their resources, membership and activities, their views of the purpose of cultural networks, challenges and potential solutions, and their visions for the future. The report includes responses from more than 50 cultural networks in 32 countries from across Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and the Pacific.

Today, the entire field of international relations involves the activities of transnational and transcultural networks. Cultures cannot develop 'next to each other', but rather through complex intercultural dialogues/interactions. What is essential for the promotion of intercultural dialogue is inherent to cultural networks, i.e., a democratic and non-discriminatory approach to culture and cultural diversity, openness towards other cultures, a widening space for cooperation. However, the uncertainties marking our times have made the formulation of strategic lines of development difficult. As Aleksandra Uzelac, member of the Culturelink Team, points out in the introductory chapter of the D'Art Report, cultural networks today face many challenges, and the one important question they continue to ask themselves is how they can be socially engaged and yet remain financially viable? Different issues are discussed, including governance issues (how to ensure the networks really represent their members' needs); business models (how to achieve sustainability of their activities, how to get policy-makers to understand the value and role of networks); communication models (mastering digital tools and understanding the logic of digital networks).

This report is especially valuable for discussions at future conferences and summits, such as at the 7th World Summit on Arts and Culture on Cultural Leadership in the 21st Century, to be held in Malta on 18 - 21 October 2016.

To obtain the D'Art Report 49, please visit: www.ifacca.org

Culturelink Team

1.   HERITAGES OF MIGRATION: MOVING STORIES, OBJECTS AND HOME

The conference Heritages of Migration: Moving Stories, Objects and Home to be held at the National Museum of Immigration, Buenos Aires, Argentina, from 6 to 10 April 2017, seeks to explore the layering of global cultures that has been produced by centuries of global migration, and its effect on memory, identity and belonging. The deadline for the submission of papers is 14 October 2016. >>>

2.   FRAMING ART AND CULTURAL MANAGEMENT

This call seeks papers from academic researchers and practitioners working in a diverse range of disciplines who wish to explore the relationship of globalisation, internationalisation and the global migration of people to the field of arts and cultural management, especially the areas of practice and education/training. The seminar Framing Art and Cultural Management: The Relationship of the Management of Arts and Cultural Objects to Globalisation, Internationalisation, and Migration will be held at the Heilbronn University, Germany, from 16 to 17 January 2017. The deadline for submissions is 16 October 2016. >>>

3.   AIMAC 2017 CALL FOR PAPERS

The conference of the International Association of Arts and Cultural Management (AIMAC) will be hosted in China, at the Peking University, on 25 - 28 June 2017. This will be the first time AIMAC is holding a conference in Asia and discovering what is going on in arts and cultural management research in this part of the world. Researchers are invited to submit proposals for paper presentations. The International Journal of Arts Management - the official Journal of AIMAC - will consider submissions made by conference participants in the Journal following the conference. The deadline for abstracts is 31 October 2016. >>>

4.   SIETAR EUROPA CONGRESS: 21st CENTURY WAVES OF CHANGE - CULTURAL DEXTERITY FOR TURBULENT TIMES

The SIETAR Europa Congress: 21st Century Waves of Change - Cultural Dexterity for Turbulent Times will take place in Dublin, Ireland on 22 - 27 May 2017. This congress welcomes all those whose life and work puts them at the interface of cultures. The deadline for submissions for pre-congress workshops, papers, academic submissions and films is 31 October 2016. >>>

5.   BRIDGE: THE HERITAGE OF CONNECTING PLACES AND CULTURES

The international conference Bridge: The Heritage of Connecting Places and Cultures, organized by Ironbridge International Institute for Cultural Heritage, University of Birmingham, UK, will take place on 6 - 10 July 2017.This conference seeks to explore the heritage of bridges - not only as remarkable physical structures connecting places and cultures but also as symbolic and metaphorical markers in the landscape. The deadline for the submission of papers is 1 November 2016. >>>

6.   HCA SPRING ACADEMY 2017

The fourteenth HCA Spring Academy on American History, Culture, and Politics will be held 20 - 24 March 2017 in Heidelberg, Germany. The Heidelberg Center for American Studies (HCA) invites applications for this annual one-week conference that provides twenty international PhD students with the opportunity to present and discuss their PhD projects. The deadline for presentations (abstracts) is 15 November 2016. >>>

7.   EADI NORDIC CONFERENCE 2017: GLOBALISATION AT THE CROSSROADS

The EADI NORDIC Conference 2017: Globalisation at the Crossroads - Rethinking Inequalities and Boundaries will take place 21 - 23 August 2017 in Bergen, Norway. The conference is a joint partnership between EADI (European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes), NFU (Norwegian Association of Development Research) and the University of Bergen (UIB). The EADI NORDIC Conference 2017 aims to address a series of challenges in development (policy, research, practices) in a multi-polar world. Deadline for panels is 17 October 2016. Deadline for papers (abstracts) is 16 January 2017. >>>

8.   CALL FOR FILM SUBMISSIONS FOR FESPACO 2017: THE BIGGEST FILM EVENT ON THE AFRICAN CONTINENT

Registration is open for the selection of films for the upcoming 25th edition of FESPACO, scheduled to take place in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, from 25 February - 4 March 2017. There are two main sections to the festival, the official competition section reserved for African filmmakers and filmmakers from the diaspora, and the non-competition section that is reserved for films from international filmmakers that have an Africa perspective. The deadline for submissions is 31 October 2016. >>>

9.   CALL FOR APPLICATIONS: ARTS AND SOCIETY

UNESCO-MOST, International Year for Global Understanding (IYGU), Conseil International de la Philosophie et des Sciences Humaines (CIPSH), World Humanities Conference (WHC) and Mémoire de l'Avenir launch a project and an open call designed to create a Global Movement of artists that can testify to the impact of the arts and artists in societies and the importance of local initiatives on a global scheme. The deadline for applications is 30 November 2016. >>>

10.   IPD INTERNATIONAL WINTER PROGRAMMES 2017

The Institute for Peace and Dialogue (IPD), Switzerland, is organizing its next International Winter Programmes and one-year Visitor Research Program (VRP), to be held in Baar, Switzerland. The Winter Programmes 2017 will cover peacebuilding, conflict resolution, mediation, security, intercultural dialogue & human rights topics. The deadlines for applications are 1 November 2016 for the Winter Academy and the CAS-Research Programme, and depending on the researcher's schedule for the Visitor Research Programme. >>>

11.   ENCOURAGING INNOVATION THROUGH THE ARTS AND CREATIVE ENTREPRENEURSHIP

The b.creative conference Encouraging Innovation Through the Arts and Creative Entrepreneurship, to be held in Namur, Belgium, on 2 - 3 November 2016, is the launch event of Creative Tracks, a EU project aimed at connecting young professionals worldwide to encourage cross-cultural collaborations and foster creative entrepreneurship. Registration is open. >>>

12.   RESEO CONFERENCE ON REFLECTIVE PRACTICE: EVALUATION IN ARTS EDUCATION

The Opéra national de Paris, a founding member and pillar of the European Network for Opera and Dance Education (RESEO), will be opening its doors to members for the conference Reflective Practice: Evaluation in Arts Education on 28 - 30 November 2016. Registration is open until 18 November 2016. >>>

13.   MEDRESET - A COMPREHENSIVE, INTEGRATED AND BOTTOM-UP APPROACH

MEDRESET - Resetting Mediterranean relations is a consortium of research and academic institutions focusing on different disciplines from the Mediterranean region to develop alternative visions for a new Mediterranean partnership and corresponding EU policies. MEDRESET is a project mainly funded under the European Commission's Horizon 2020 Programme for Research and Innovation. It will run for three years, as of April 2016. >>>

14.   CULTURE, CITIES AND IDENTITY IN EUROPE

Compiled by Culture Action Europe (CAE) and Agenda 21 for Culture - UCLG, and published by European Economic and Social Committee - EU, the study Culture, Cities and Identity in Europe aims to find structural responses to numerous open questions, developments and challenges on political, social and economic levels in today's European Union. >>>

15.   RE: THINKING EUROPE. THOUGHTS ON EUROPE: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

What is Europe? The current state of affairs sets the stage for this book. It brings together leading international thinkers and scholars of different generations in a feverish quest to better understand Europe's present state. >>>

16.   CITIES AND THE CULTURAL ECONOMY

The book Cities and the Cultural Economy by Thomas A. Hutton provides a critical integration of the burgeoning research and policy literatures in one of the most prominent sub-fields of contemporary urban studies - cultural economy. >>>

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