Handle with Care | Culture for Social Well-being Report
You can now read the full report of the 2023 Beyond the Obvious un|Conference, which, as the report offers, hosted 220 participants from across 17 countries. In addition to more fun stats about the gathering, the report also includes transcripts of many of the speches, including that of Vice-President of the European Commission Margaritis Schinas. The report also features the full descriptions of all 32 projects that participated in the Projects Agora, as well as the six pilot projects of the CultureForHealth project. Get your copy to discover thoughts and different takes on care as well as more mysteries. Download the full report here.
Elefsinian Mystery: a podcast
Culture Action Europe’s podcast Frequencies and Michael Culture Association’s Eucropolis present a special podcast episode, “Elefsinian Mystery: Handle with Care,” which reflects on the 2023 Beyond the Obvious conference. This episode focuses on the significance of care as an ethical and political obligation for our societies and the role culture and cultural professionals can play in this. How can culture and participation in the cultural life of communities nourish the sense of social and individual well-being? We hear from Join Maya Weisinger (Culture Action Europe) and Marco Fiore (Michael Culture Association) for a calming reflection on the thoughts, conversations and inspirations that came from the gathering in Elefsina in June 2023.
Envisioning a Culture of Care
The #BtO2023 gathering held participatory discussions – circles of care – addressing topics of Care and Mental Health, Care and Youth, Communities of Care, Curating Care, Care for Culture (and cultural workers), Care for Climate, Care for Commons and Care and Borders. The outcomes of these circles resulted in a co-written document: the “Elefsina Manifesto | Handle with Care: Envisioning a Future of Care.” which was read out during the closing of the conference and formalised in a public document published earlier this summer. The manifesto serves as a rallying call to artists, cultural organisations and professionals to embrace a politics and ethics of care as a fundamental element of our collective work. You can read the manifesto here.
See you in…Malmö
The final moments of the program provided an exciting hand-off from 2023 ECOC Artistic Director, Michail Marmarinos to Pernilla Conde Hellman, the Culture Director of Malmö City Council, who will co-host Culture Action Europe’s 2024 Beyond the Obvious conference in Malmö, Sweden from 29 May – 1 June 2024.
