Cultuur moet in de toekomst voldoen aan sociale en economische uitdagingen EU (en)

On 1-2 October Lithuanian Presidency i of the EU Council is organising a conference „Ready for Tomorrow? Culture as an Agent for Social and Economic Transformation“. The conference will be attended by more than 200 delegates - representatives of EU Member States governmental institutions responsible for cultural policy, European Commission (DG CULT, REGIO, CONNECT) and the European Parliament, as well as cultural, educational, social, regional and financial policy experts. The conference participants will be welcomed by Šarūnas Birutis, Minister of Culture, Androulla Vassiliou i, European Commissioner for Culture and Education, Doris Pack i.

The cultural policy makers will discuss about cultural policy, aiming to discuss the role of culture in meeting current social and economic challenges, the need for policy change, the corresponding public investment and evidence both to support the case for culture and measure the effectiveness of policy in the European Union.

'We believe that it is high time to review the latest trends in cultural policy development, because culture is increasingly recognised as a significant component in various political sectors' says Minister Šarūnas Birutis.

According to the minister, the most important factor stimulating cultural policy changes is the new 2014-2020 EU financial support period and the on-going negotiations between the Member States and the European Commission over public investment ensuring EU structural changes and social cohesion but not always taking into account the role of culture and creative sector to the full extent.

Among the keynote speakers of the conference are Pier Luigi Sacco, a cultural economist and an expert in culture-led development, László Bruszt, a sociologist and a transnational structural investment analyst, and Andreas J. Wiesand, the coordinator of the Council of Europe Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends in Europe, who will review in his presentation the readiness of EU Member States to place the role of culture in their national development strategies by focussing not only on cultural and creative industries but also on broader aspects of culture-led development.