European cultural community mobilises to bring underrepresented voices to the Conference on the Future of Europe
7 September 2021 marks the public launch of “Amplify: Make the Future of Europe Yours”, a public campaign led by Culture Action Europe together with its members in 12 European countries. The launch will begin with online press-conference scheduled at 10:30am (CEST) followed by social media action throughout the day.
Representatives of the cultural and creative communities from 12 European countries come together in a joint effort to bring voices less heard within mainstream discourse to the forefront of the Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE). Cultural organisations, artists, activists, social and educational projects working with less represented and under-privileged groups call for inclusive engagement of diverse communities in shaping the future of Europe.
The campaign listens to and amplifies voices, ideas, proposals and concerns of underrepresented communities across the continent on the vision of the future of Europe. The project relies on collaboration and energy at the community level: through a series of participatory sessions the campaign will elaborate a set of recommendations addressed to the EU decision-makers, thus contributing to the Conference on the Future of Europe. The Amplify campaign also aims at initiating an open public debate around inclusive, democratic processes in decision-making to better represent the diverse European population and diminish inequalities in Europe and beyond.
Simultaneously launched in Denmark, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden, the public actions of the campaign will be carried out until June 2022.
Soundbites
Sanne de Ryck, Press officer at the Spokesperson’s Unit of the European Parliament: “The Conference on the Future of Europe is a unique and timely opportunity for European citizens to debate on Europe’s challenges and priorities. No matter where you are from or what you do, this is the place to think about what future you want for the European Union.”
Maya Weisinger, Project Coordinator for Amplify: Make the Future of Europe Yours: “Amplify does not aim to create a monolithic voice for culture across 12 countries, but instead gather a spread of diverse ideas and approaches to change-making that serve as a basis to investigation and debate.”
Tere Badia, Secretary General of Culture Action Europe: “With the Amplify project we want to make sure that voices that are located on the fringes of the mainstream narratives are considered in the CoFoE process. The CoFoE should engage with diverse voices, ideas and dreams to come up with the vision of the Future of Europe that is inclusive and fair.”
Corinne Szteinsznaider, Coordinatrice, et Marie Hartmann, Chargée du Projet Amplify en France, Michael Culture Association: “Avec Amplify nous souhaitons renforcer la place de la Culture dans le débat européen ainsi que faire entendre et valoriser une pluralité de voix. Amplify intervient dans un contexte important en France de préparation de la Présidence française de l’Union Européenne (janvier-juin 2022) et des élections présidentielles, cette initiative rappelle l’importance du débat autour de la diversité et de l’inclusion, qui sont au cœur du processus démocratique.”
More voices
The Amplify hub in Denmark published the article about the project in their “Connecting Audiences” magazine, which focuses on audience engagement within the visual art, music, literature, performance, and theatre realm. The recently published issue can be found on Center for Kunst & Interkultur website. (The English version can be found here.) You can hear more about the work ongoing in the Denmark hub from Astrid Aspegren, the magazine editor and Amplify coordinator, during the press launch on Tuesday.
Join the Press Launch
7 September 2021 at 10.30am (CEST)
The press launch is held in English, with the possibility of interacting with the Hub representatives from 12 EU countries in local languages. The event will be live-streamed to the public on Culture Action Europe’s website, Facebook and Youtube pages.
