On 27 and 28 April 2021, the Porto Santo Conference, an initiative of the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the EU, officially launched the Porto Santo Charter. The hybrid event took place in Porto Santo island, on the Madeira Archipelago. For these two days, the remote island transformed into a centre for proposals on public cultural and educational policies.
The Charter is a guiding map of principles and recommendations for applying and developing a working paradigm for cultural democracy in Europe. More specifically, the aim of the Porto Santo Charter is to outline and promote the impact of the cultural sector in strengthening democracy and democratic culture, in accordance with the Action Plan for European Democracy (European Commission, 2020).
The Charter is divided into five chapters that navigate the topics of the health of democracy and the role of culture, the democratisation of culture and cultural democracy, cultural citizenship in relation with digital technologies and education. The Charter draws more than 40 recommendations addressed to European policy makers at all levels, to cultural and educational organisations, and to European citizens calling to take responsibility for the common cultural landscape.
Download the Charter in English and in Portuguese.
