The European Agenda for Culture The OMC and the Structured dialogue with civil society

European Agenda for Culture May 2007: adoption and publication by the European Commission of a Communication on Culture (first long-term strategy for culture at European level) 26/27 September 2007: first European Cultural Forum followed by an Informal Council meeting (Lisbon, Portugal). December 2007: adoption by the European Council of Ministers of Culture of a European Agenda for Culture based on the proposals made by the EC in its Communication May 2008 : adoption of the Council work plan (including OMC working groups) June 2008: first meetings of the platforms for a structured dialogue with civil society

General objectives: 1.The promotion of cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue; 2.The promotion of culture as a catalyst for creativity in the framework of the Lisbon Strategy for growth and jobs; 3.The promotion of culture as a vital element in EU’s international relations. European Agenda for Culture

New instruments The Open Method of Coordination (OMC) flexible cooperation framework in which Member States engage on a voluntary basis used in policy fields where the EU has weak or complementary competence (youth, social affairs, education) based on soft law mechanisms such as guidelines and indicators, benchmarking and sharing of best practice; effectiveness relies on peer pressure

OMC working groups and methodology In its work plan, the Culture Council decided to set up OMC working groups on : ･ the mobility of artists and other professionals ･ the mobility of collections ･ stronger synergies between culture and education ･ EUROSTAT statistical working group on culture ･ cultural and creative industries Each working group will draft biennal reports to be presented to the Council. The EC will involve European stakeholders by organising a Cultural Forum in the year preceding the publication of the report. New instruments

Dialogue with the sector To involve the cultural sector in the development of the European Agenda for Culture, the EC decided to set up a framework of ‘structured dialogue’ with civil society organisations made of 3 thematic platforms: 1. Rainbow Platform for Intercultural Dialogue (since 2006) 2. Platform ‘Access to Culture’ 3. Platform ‘Cultural and Creative industries’

Platform for an Intercultural Europe The Rainbow Platform Culture Action Europe/European Cultural Foundation initiative launched end of 2006 Main objective: sharing practice, formulating common definitions and recommendations Now part of the ‘structured dialogue’ process Published for endorsement by civil society organisations: Rainbow Paper ‘Intercultural Dialogue: from practice to policy and back’ For more info:

The two new platforms Following a call for expressions of interest, the EC selected 39 and 33 organisations respectively to participate in the new platforms. Only non-governmental cultural organisations with a trans-national or European dimension qualified. Calendar: June 08 -January 09: working groups meetings 1st semester of 2009: second platforms plenary meetings Autumn 2009: 2nd Cultural Forum (first recommendations to be shared with the wider sector)

Thematic working groups Access to Culture Platform: ･ Creation/production ･ Participation/audience ･ Education/learning Cultural and Creative Industries Platform: ･ Regulatory environment ･ Support for Small Medium-sized Enterprises development ･ Exchange/export ･ Circulation of works and artists ･ The interface between artistic creation and the cultural industries

Challenges of the Structured dialogue process General: scarce resources, difficult financial and legal structures, no regular flow of information with the OMC working groups, all policy objectives have not been clearly identified yet Intercultural dialogue Platform: how to keep the 2008 EU Year momentum? How to translate political declarations in political and financial commitments? Access to Culture Platform: Except on education issues, no direct counterparts in the OMC process. Access to Culture is not an objective of the European Agenda for Culture. Long term advocacy actions to put Access to culture firmly on the European Agenda?

Consultation workshops at Culture Action Europe 2008 conference in Marseilles Four workshops were held (all 3 Access to Culture working groups + interface arts/industry working group). Successful exercise of information and consultation. Many members and participants asked to be further associated in the process. General comments: Importance of bottom up representation and demand to organise more local meetings on European issues Need to develop local and national advocacy actions Key that Platform’s work is based on existing knowledge and expertise

Consultation workshops at Culture Action Europe 2008 conference in Marseilles Main outcomes: 1. Creativity workshop: Access to skills, funding but also time and space to research, experiment and innovate (look into Research programme) - support to different ways of creating and producing art (digital wave) Funding for infrastructures with new governance models (independent sector, hybrid partnerships, etc.) Small grants for local actions with a European dimension More support for non-formal civil society gatherings

Consultation workshops at Culture Action Europe 2008 conference in Marseilles Main outcomes: 2. Education and learning workshop: The fundamental importance of arts education, neglected in current mainstream pedagogy, is to be reinstated and supported at European level Importance of the skills and competencies derived from arts and creativity for the framework of lifelong learning programmes The Open Method of Coordination should lead a best practice review of the arts and cultural education sectors in the Member States

Consultation workshops at Culture Action Europe 2008 conference in Marseilles Main outcomes: 3. Participation/audiences workshop: ‘Participation in the arts’ is a European topic because it serves a number of European values that the EU should promote (cultural diversity, active citizenship, interculturality, social inclusion, etc.) Participation should be supported at all level of arts production and within diverse cultural spaces A ‘promoting access to culture’ criteria in European funding programmes?

Consultation workshops at Culture Action Europe 2008 conference in Marseilles Main outcomes: 4. The Interface between Arts and the Creative industries Need for big industrial players to be more involved in seeing artists as part of their research and development process. They need to invest in the creativity behind the content, not just in the technology. Restrictive practices and national company structures are hindering artists in the single market, both in terms of distribution and access to retail sectors and broadcasters There is a continuing danger that artists will apply self censorship to suit industry requirements.