From the Focal Point

STRENGTHENING EUROPEAN IDENTITY THROUGH EDUCATION AND CULTURE

Strengthening European Identity through Education and Culture, the European Commission's contribution to the Leaders' meeting in Gothenburg, held on 17 November 2017, is devoted to the future role of education and culture in strengthening 'the sense of belonging together and being part of a cultural community'. The Communication outlines a number of key developments (continued digitisation, the future of work, the modernisation of European welfare states, the integration of culturally diverse migrant populations, new patterns in communication, etc.) and emphasizes that education and culture can and should be part of the solution to tackle many of these challenges. Special attention is given to mobility and cross-border cooperation, as well as to the learning of languages (almost half of the EU citizens only speak and understand their mother tongue). Chapter 4 (merely one page) of the Communication focuses on strengthening the sense of European identity and awareness of cultural heritage (European Capitals of Culture, European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018, Creative Europe programme).

The Communication stresses that education and culture have a pivotal role in promoting active citizenship and common values, but it is evident that the imbalance between education and culture should be corrected. Education occupies by far the largest part of the Communication and, once more, culture appears as the cousin pauvre of developmental policies and strategies. Thus, under the Conclusions and Outlook heading only one point - preserving cultural heritage and fostering a sense of a European identity and culture - concerns culture. And of the six key policy suggestions proposed by the European Commission, also only one is related to culture - the Creative and Cultural Sectors Guarantee Facility, which will allow banks and other financial institutions to increase financing of small and medium-sized companies in the cultural and creative sectors. Again an imbalance is evident - that towards the for-profit sector. If Europe's cultural diversity is 'a strength that fuels creativity and innovation', then why is culture reduced to banks and other financial institutions? Did we forget the 2005 UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, one of the objectives of which is 'to give recognition to the distinctive nature of cultural activities, goods and services as vehicles of identity, values and meaning' (Article 1 of the Convention)?

A vision for 2025? This calls for some hard work...

Biserka Cvjeticanin
Culturelink Network Director, IRMO

For more information, please visit https://ec.europa.eu/commission/sites/beta-political/files/communication-strengthening-european-identity-education-culture_en.pdf

1.   ELIA BIENNIAL 2018 CONFERENCE - RESILIENCE AND THE CITY: ART, EDUCATION, URBANISM

ELIA, the European League of Institutes of the Arts has announced the 15th edition of its Biennial Conference which will take place in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, from 21 to 24 November 2018. The theme of the conference hosted by Codarts University of the Arts and Willem de Kooning Academy is Resilience and the City: Art, Education, Urbanism. The deadline for submitting proposals is 18 December 2017. >>>

2.   INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON CULTURES OF PARTICIPATION - ARTS, DIGITAL MEDIA AND POLITICS

The international conference Cultures of Participation - Arts, Digital Media and Politics, organised by Take Part - Research Network on Cultural Participation of the Aarhus University, Denmark, will be held in Aarhus on 18 - 20 April 2018. The conference aims to discuss the potentials and problems of cultural participation by bringing these important, but often disconnected research fields into dialogue with each other. The deadline for the submission of paper abstracts is 5 January 2018. >>>

3.   EUROPEAN AGENDA FOR MUSIC - HAVE YOUR SAY IN THE OPEN ONLINE CONSULTATION!

The aim in developing a European Agenda for Music (EAM) is to bring together the diverse voices of the European music sector to determine a common vision and strategy for the future. The European Music Council (EMC) would like to get a large feedback to the draft of the European Agenda for Music. The Open Online Consultation will remain open until 5 January 2018. >>>

4.   FIRST WORKSHOP ON CULTURAL AND SPORT ECONOMICS

The first workshop on cultural and sport economics, organised by the Faculty of Economics, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia and to be held on 15 March 2018, aims to provide a platform for both young and experienced scholars in these fields. The main themes of the workshop are cultural economics, sociology of culture, sport economics and tourism economics, and papers may address any subject related to those areas, preferably with an interdisciplinary approach. The deadline for the submission of paper abstracts is 15 January 2018. >>>

5.   ICCPR 2018 CONFERENCE: THE CULTURAL GOVERNANCE OF GLOBAL FLOWS - PAST AND FUTURE

The 10th International Conference on Cultural Policy Research (ICCPR), organised by Tallinn University, will take place in Tallinn, Estonia, on 21 - 25 August 2018. The theme of ICCPR 2018 is The Cultural Governance of Global Flows: Past and Future. Proposals should be submitted no later than 22 January 2018. >>>

6.   INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE AFRICA-ASIA, A NEW AXIS OF KNOWLEDGE

The 2nd International Conference Africa-Asia, A New Axis of Knowledge, to be held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, from 20 to 22 September 2018, seeks to deepen the explorations of new realities and long histories connecting Africa and Asia. The conference is organised by the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM, Tanzania), the Association for Asian Studies in Africa (A-Asia, Accra, Ghana) and the International Convention of Asia Scholars (ICAS, Leiden, the Netherlands). Proposals should be submitted in English or French by 1 February 2018. >>>

7.   INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON SOCIAL NETWORKS, DIGITAL TRACES AND ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION

The Department of Information-Communication - IUT/University of Le Havre, France is organising its 5th international conference focusing on digital communication under the title Social Networks, Digital Traces and Electronic Communication, which will take place in Le Havre, France, on 6 - 8 June 2018. The deadline for the submission of paper abstracts is 2 February 2018. >>>

8.   PERFORMING THE WORLD 2018 CONFERENCE: LET'S DEVELOP!

The tenth Performing the World (PTW) Conference entitled Let's Develop! will be held in New York, USA, on 21 - 23 September 2018. The conference theme addresses the need to develop performance activism as an essential tool in developing the world. Let's develop, in both scale and depth, performance activism in community building, politics, institutional social change efforts, social justice and scholarship. The deadline for proposals is 15 February 2018. >>>

9.   THE AFRICA CENTRE: ARTISTS IN RESIDENCY APPLICATIONS

The Africa Centre was established in 2005 as an international centre for creativity, artistic excellence and intellectual engagement. Based in Cape Town, South Africa, the Africa Centre's social innovations extend across the African continent. The Centre is now accepting applications by high calibre African artists for its 2017 Artist in Residency (AIR) Programmes. Residencies are offered in Australia, Brazil, Spain and the United States. The deadline for applications is 16 December 2017. >>>

10.   THE MMIAM JOURNEY: INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES IN ARTS MANAGEMENT

The Master of Management in International Arts Management (MMIAM) programme, established in 2013 by HEC Montreal, Canada, has launched a new blog entitled The MMIAM Journey about the programme as well as about the challenges and trends in the field of arts management around the world today. >>>

11.   THEATRE BETWEEN TRADITION AND CONTEMPORANEITY

The annual multidisciplinary event entitled International Conference on Theatre between Tradition and Contemporaneity, organised by the IUGTE Association, will be held in Retzhof Castle, Austria, from 16 to 20 December 2017. The conference is highly recommended to performing arts practitioners and researchers from different countries interested in the traditional methods as applied to contemporary performing arts work, searching for international network opportunities and new collaboration partners - performing arts academics, arts educators and teachers, performers, theatre critics, arts journalists, etc. >>>

12.   ARTISTIC CULTURAL DIPLOMACY FORUM 2018: BUILDING CULTURAL BRIDGES THROUGH ART, FILM AND MUSIC

The Artistic Cultural Diplomacy Forum 2018: Building Cultural Bridges through Art, Film and Music is an international conference taking place in Berlin, Germany, on 21 - 23 February 2018 with the aim of exploring the potential for art and music to provide a neutral platform for cultural exchange. >>>

13.   CULTURE FOR CITIES AND REGIONS: RESHAPING CITIES AND REGIONS THROUGH SMART INVESTMENT IN CULTURE

EUROCITIES and KEA European Affairs, in partnership with ERRIN (European Regions Research and Innovation Network) managed Culture for Cities and Regions, a European Commission initiative funded by the Creative Europe programme to support cities and regions in making sound investments in culture. One of the key objectives of the project was to ensure the transferability of results and long term impacts in participating cities and regions. The project started in January 2015 and ran until September 2017. >>>

14.   THE CIVIC CITY IN A NOMADIC WORLD

The book The Civic City in a Nomadic World by Charles Landry, the inventor of the Creative City concept, helps us navigate the evolving urban landscape and its potential, finding a pathway through the major dilemmas and potentials of our time: inequality, environmental distress and urban vitality. >>>

15.   WILL THIS BE CANADA'S CENTURY?

In his new thought-provoking book entitled Will This Be Canada's Century?, D. Paul Schafer makes the case that Canada possesses the potential to play a crucial role in the world of the future. Drawing on the historical base for Canadian culture, Schafer emphasizes how two of Canada's greatest assets - creativity and diversity - are essential elements for a future liveable and sustainable world. >>>

16.   COMPOSING PROCESSES AND ARTISTIC AGENCY: TACIT KNOWLEDGE IN COMPOSING

The monograph entitled Composing Processes and Artistic Agency: Tacit Knowledge in Composing by Tasos Zembylas and Martin Niederauer carries out an in-depth investigation into compositional processes, shedding new light on the components and conditions that constitute artistic agency. The book develops an understanding of artistic agency and mastery as effects of shared practices and social participation. >>>

17.   CAPITALS OF CULTURE: AN INTRODUCTORY SURVEY OF A WORLDWIDE ACTIVITY

The paper Capitals of Culture: An Introductory Survey of a Worldwide Activity, written by Steve Green, a former chair of the selection panel for the European Capitals of Culture (including for Rijeka 2020), is an introduction to the Capitals and Cities of Culture programmes around the world. >>>

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