From the Focal Point

Perspectives of National Cultural Policies Development in the EU Context

The international conference Perspectives of National Cultural Policies Development in the EU Context: Critical Dialogues, organized by the Institute for Development and International Relations (IRMO), the focal point of the Culturelink Network, was held in Zagreb, Croatia on 17-19 May 2017. Organized as part of a two-year Jean Monnet project, entitled EU Competences and National Cultural Policies: Critical Dialogues (CULPOL) and co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme, the conference gathered renowned cultural policy researchers, cultural professionals, cultural civil society representatives, policy-makers and young professionals from Europe and Croatia.

The conference focused on the following themes: Cultural policies and the crisis in/of the European Union - how to achieve sustainable cultural development?; Strategies and tendencies of local cultural development in Europe: the role and impact of the European Capital of Culture project; What kind of European comparative cultural policy research is needed today?; and National cultural policies in need of vision, innovation and leadership.

"Culture is not simply a large and important sector of the economy, it is a 'social software' that is badly needed to manage the complexity of contemporary regional societies and economies in all of its manifold implications", said Professor Pier Luigi Sacco from the IULM University in Milan during his keynote lecture under the title Making Cultural Policy Matter in the EU Agenda: Key Topics and Perspectives. This interesting lecture on the changes culture is undergoing, in the context of convergence, from Culture 1.0 to Culture 3.0 kick started the main conference programme, set the tone for the next two days, and sparked interest for a lively discussion. In the course of the conference, the main speakers and participants reflected on how to make cultural policies matter on national or EU agendas, on the future of Europe and the place and role of culture in it, on prospects of achieving sustainable cultural development, etc.

By bringing past experiences into dialogue with present and future challenges, the conference discussions aimed to put the focus on relevant questions that cultural policies must address in order to ensure emancipatory and sustainable culture. A more detailed conference report and participants' reflections will be available at the CULPOL project website in the coming weeks.

For more information, please follow the project website at culpol.irmo.hr or contact us via e-mail at culpol@irmo.hr.

Culturelink Team

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