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Watch the European Cultural Challenge aftermovie on YouTube
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This May, the European Cultural Foundation organised the first European Cultural Challenge: an advocacy retreat that brought together about 100 participants including ECF Princess Margriet Award for Culture laureates, grantees, partners, researchers, foundations, media and policy makers. Taking part in one of the seven tables during the Challenge, the participants came together to pursue their research on topics related to systemic change, shrinking space for civil society, and diversity & equality in Europe. Through the Challenge, the foundation brings together our work and partners in order to facilitate new connections and develop concrete actions. We are proud to share with you how existing partnerships were inspired to continue their work, and the new initiatives that emerged.
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The 7 thematic tables and their progress
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Municipalism and Culture
Co-designed with the Charles Léopold Mayer Foundation
This table explored cultural opportunities and challenges of new municipalist movements and agendas across Europe. It aimed to co-create a set of practical and usable recommendations for cultural policies in this citizen-led new culture of politics. By the end of the year, the outcomes of the table will be released at different cultural and municipalist gatherings and platforms across Europe through a video, an article and exemplary cases of the role of culture in municipalism in collaboration with Commonspolis, Igor Stokfisiewski, Zemos98, Shelagh Wright and Peter Jenkinson.
On 21 November 2018, participants of this table will also take part in a panel discussion on economy, culture and city at the Open Eyes Summit in Krakow, Poland. The global EDGE Funders Alliance will incorporate the outcomes of the Challenge and ongoing debates on this topic in a special series of newsletters on municipalism and Cities of Change for the wider philanthropic community.
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Towards and Economy of Value
Co-designed with the Charles Léopold Mayer Foundation and the Open Eyes Economy Summit
This table explored ideas and ways of taking culture as a starting point for a systemic change to the prevailing socio-economic models of development in Europe. Participants of this table are involved in a variety of initiatives with the goal of propelling change in economic thinking: The Wellbeing Economy Alliance was officially launched on 1 September; the Rethinking Economics network organised its first international gathering in August; the third annual Open Eyes Economy Summit will take place on 20-21 November 2018. Through the project Bewitch Finance, the Loop-s theatre company is organising workshops and artistic interventions that focus on challenging how money is perceived.
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The Civic Role of Public Cultural Institutions
The group set out to define a number of strategies and tactics that can help strengthen the role of public cultural institutions in safeguarding public space. They explored how cultural organisations can better fulfill their civic role. Since the event, the discussion has been taken further: two participants – Powszechny Theatre (2018 Princess Margriet Award for Culture shortlisted candidate) and the Cultural Department of the Municipality of Warsaw – are teaming up to organise the second Forum on the Future of Culture on 8-9 December 2018 in Warsaw. They invite cultural institutions, universities, media and various social movements to build and strengthen a broad, cross-sectoral collaboration with a view to jointly shape the future of a democratic Polish culture. Our foundation’s own pilot programme, Culture for Solidarity, is also focusing on rethinking the role of cultural institutions and their relationship with existing and prospective audiences.
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The Democratic Deficit
Co-designed with the Commons Network
Bringing together advocates, community leaders, local policy makers, experts in EU policies and journalists, this table researched the “commons approach” as a potential source for democratic renewal in Europe. Through this topic, we wanted to explore ways to give voice to citizens and open up EU institutions for effective democratic engagement and participation. There is a clear sense that a strong vision and tools are available to address the challenges of European democracy. But there are still challenges related to scaling up smaller-scale local activities to the European level, as well as to connecting the many existing initiatives.
The Commons Network will launch a campaign Commons for Europe 2019 where democratic deficit will be one of the key elements. Together we will organise a workshop in November 2018 to work on the campaign’s messaging, communication and strategising.
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Inclusive Media = Better Media
Partners from the Displaced in Media project with ECF Princess Margriet Award for Culture laureate Forensic Architecture
The group discussed strategies to advocate for inclusive media, and disseminate the methodologies developed as part of Displaced in Media. In September 2018, the Displaced in Media Magazine and Recipe Book were published, the first presenting practices and learnings to media and policy makers, the second as a collection of methodologies. Following the Challenge, the European Cultural Foundation and Displaced in Media network joined forces with new partners to launch 'MediActivism: Courageous Young Citizens Test New Ways to Reclaim Their Cities'. The Displaced in Media team will also participate in a panel on ‘media pluralism’ during the Eurozine conference Mind the Gap in Vienna, Austria on 2-4 November 2018.
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Europes: Conversations about Perplexity
Contributors to three Dialogues on Europe and diversity, organised by the European Cultural Foundation and Castrum Peregrini in 2016 and 2017, met again to discuss a publication looking at diversity in the light of political and social fragmentation in Europe. Europes. Conversations about Perplexity (working title) will be published in early 2019.
The publication is created in the style of a travel magazine that will show the reader how to keep going in times of perplexity, fragmentation and division, under the creative directorship of scholar and artist Adeola Enigbokan. With contributions by Princess Margriet Award for Culture Laureate Krzysztof Czyzewski, Avrum Burg, Quinsy Gario, Osman Kavala, Charl Landvreugd, Kenan Malik, Wendelien van Oldenborgh, Diana Pinto, Fleur Ravensbergen, Mirjam Shatanawi and Gloria Wekker. The publication is dedicated to Osman Kavala, who has been in detention in Turkey since autumn 2017 and who is an inspiration for those who are fostering free and open conversations despite – or because of – difficult circumstances.
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