Voorzitter Barroso opent Europees Cultuurforum (en)

European Commission President José Manuel Barroso will open the 2013 European Culture Forum the Brussels Palais des Beaux Arts (Bozar) on 4 November. The event will gather 1 200 culture practitioners and policy-makers to discuss topical issues on the cultural agenda.

These include a new Eurobarometer survey on 'cultural access and participation' - the first since 2007 on this topic.. The survey provides an insight into people's attitudes about culture, their engagement in cultural activities as consumers or producers, and the use of the internet for cultural purposes. Nearly 27 000 people across the 28 Member States were interviewed for the survey. Among other things, it shows the impact of the crisis on cultural consumption and creation.

In addition to President Barroso, keynote speakers include Androulla Vassiliou, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, Doris Pack, Chair of the European Parliament's Committee on Culture and Education, Šarunas Birutis, the Lithuanian Minister of Culture, and Tomáš Sedlácek, author of Economics of Good and Evil.

On the same occasion, the winners of the European Union's first '@Diversity awards' will be honoured. The awards highlight the best examples of innovation in information technologies to promote cultural content. Twelve ideas from different sectors and countries have been selected by an independent panel. The winning ideas will be developed into business ventures through professional coaching and networking opportunities.

The @Diversity winners were selected from more than 250 ideas collected from across Europe. The competition seeks to identify future business models for the cultural and creative sectors based on innovative use of ICT.

The European Culture Forum is taking place on the eve of the adoption of Creative Europe, the new EU programme to support the cultural and creative sectors. As well as the new programme, the participants will also address issues including new funding models for culture and audience development strategies.

A press release, reports and executive summaries for the Eurobarometer will be available on the day. The media will have the opportunity to interview the key speakers and the @Diversity award winners on 4 November between 10:30 and 11:15 at the Brussels Palais des Beaux Arts (Bozar).

The sources

Information on the European Culture Forum

Information on the the "@diversity" European idea competition

Information on Creative Europe