Friday, 13.11.09, 15:00 – 16:30

For more than 15 years civil society organizations such as Culture Action Europe have been committed to developing cultural polices at the EU level. For the first time there is a European Cultural Agenda that focuses on external relations. The question, therefore, is what comes next at this stage of development.

The ongoing process for a European culture strategy and policy shouldn’t be left in the hands of the EU administration and national governments exclusively. European cultural operators and artists, not only those coming from EU member states, but from across Europe, should take coordinated actions to make a strong voice for culture in the EU be heard. The most efficient way to achieve that is to get involved in the European advocacy networks. How can we effectively mobilize the cultural sector across Europe to make sure that gains made in recent years do not become documents lying in bureaucrats offices gathering dust? What is the role of civil society in policy development, and is joint advocacy possible?

Moderator: Daphne Tepper (Culture Action Europe, Policy Analyst / Brussels)

Speakers: Pascal Brunet (Relais Culture Europe, director / Paris), Sanjin Dragojević(Faculty of Political Science, Professor / Zagreb), Chris Torch (Intercult, Artistic Director / Stockholm), Tsveta Andreeva (European Cultural Foundation, Strategic Programmes & Cultural Policy Development Team / Amsterdam), Anja Jelavić(Croatian Ministry of Culture, Cultural Contact Point, Head od Office / Zagreb)