Skip to content

CAE Hub Italy

Culture Action Europe’s Italian Hub brings together member organisations and professionals from Italy’s vibrant cultural sector. Established to strengthen connections between Italian cultural actors and the broader European network, the hub focuses on fostering collaboration, amplifying political advocacy, and enhancing Italy’s role in shaping pan-European cultural policies. The hub emerged from a collective vision to better integrate Italian members into Culture Action Europe’s activities, ensuring their voices and expertise contribute meaningfully to the network’s mission.

Our Goals

The Italian Hub is driven by a commitment to amplify culture’s transformative role in society, both locally and across Europe. Central to our mission is advancing cultural rights, particularly Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which guarantees the right to participate in cultural life, and integrating culture into global governance frameworks such as the UCLG Pact for the Future of Humanity. We strive to bridge Italy’s vibrant local cultural ecosystems with European policymaking by fostering partnerships with networks like Eurocities and the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR), ensuring Italian voices inform EU strategies. Equally vital is our push for transparency and democratic representation within CAE’s governance, including advocating for Italian membership on the CAE Board to address geographic and structural imbalances. We prioritize intersectoral collaboration, uniting education, youth, and social justice sectors to tackle challenges like precarious working conditions and exclusionary practices, while empowering our members through platforms that elevate their expertise and ensure their contributions shape CAE’s campaigns, from the 2% for Culture initiative to policy dialogues on the New European Bauhaus.

What We Do

Policy Advocacy & Campaigns

  • Italian members actively contribute to CAE’s pan-European campaign urging governments to allocate 2% of national recovery funds to culture. Learn more: 2% for Culture.

Collaborative Projects

  • UCLG Pact for the Future of Humanity: The hub collaborates with the United Cities and Local Governments network to integrate cultural rights into global governance, emphasizing Italy’s role in pilot projects.
  • Eurocities Culture Initiative: Italian members engage in EU-funded programs like Culture for Cities and Regions, sharing best practices on cultural sustainability and urban development.

Research & Recommendations

  • Italian Position Papers: The hub drafts policy recommendations for EU institutions, such as input on the New European Bauhaus and Creative Europe 2021–2027.
  • Cooperative Models Report: A 2023 working paper on cooperative practices in Italy’s cultural sector, highlighting solutions for precarious work conditions.