Secure a future for cultural life in Europe
Following the open letter published by 110+ pan-European networks on 30 October 2020 “Make culture central in the EU recovery”, the group comes together again to reiterate their call to the national governments and the European Commission. In the second open letter published today by the group, coordinated by Culture Action Europe, the European cultural community call on the Member States and the European Commission to secure a future for culture and cultural life in Europe.
Culture must be included in each and every National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) that EU countries should present to the European Commission before the 30 April deadline. The representatives of the European cultural ecosystem urge governments to dedicate at least 2% of the Recovery Fund to culture and put culture as a priority sector when using funds from Next Generation EU. In addition, 110+ cultural networks call on the Member States to engage with the representatives of their cultural communities and civil society organisations in the design and implementation of the NRRPs. “Long-term structural support to rebuild the European cultural ecosystem needs to be co-developed, involving all relevant stakeholders, both public and private”, – reads the letter.
Tere Badia, Secretary General of Culture Action Europe said: “It is crucial that culture is made central in national recovery plans, with a dedicated budget to reactivate the sector. Now is the time for implementing effective measures to avoid a post-pandemic desert in the cultural ecosystem and mainstream culture as a priority dimension in the EU policy thinking and funds-allocation.”
Ensuring that culture is explicitly included in the NRRPs will help secure both the future of the sector and its important contribution to Europe’s future. Reinvigorating the cultural ecosystem not only offers hope to millions of workers who saw their jobs endangered by the pandemic, it can also create new meaning and purpose to all Europeans and the European project.
Make culture central in the EU Recovery | Open letter
In the open letter, published on October 30, 2020, Culture Action Europe, along with other 109 pan-European cultural networks and associations calls the European Union (EU) and EU member states to protect culture as part of the coronavirus recovery plans and dedicate at the very least 2% of national Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) budget to culture and creative sectors.
As societies are going through unprecedented turmoil, the efforts calls on the EU and its Member States to place culture at the core of each and every recovery plan, which aims at a sustainable, inclusive and future-looking revival of our social and economic life.
Cultural and creative sectors (CCSs) themselves are among the most seriously damaged by the pandemic. Cultural activities are being halted, millions of jobs are frozen or wiped out, micro and small businesses are on the brink of bankruptcy and many talents are forced to leave the sector altogether.
The pan-European community of 110 networks and associations, urges that CCSs are consulted in the design of and integration in the national recovery and resilience plan of their respective countries.
Namely, the signatories ask that at the very least 2% of the national RRF budget is allocated to the CCSs, as called for by the European Parliament in its recent Resolution on the “Cultural Recovery of Europe”, and that culture is an integral part of recovery and resilience plans, that could be also mainstreamed across the flagship initiatives identified by the Commission.
Signatories:
Amateo – Europe’s Network for Active Participation in Culture | Arty Farty | Association de producteurs de cinéma et de télévision (Eurocinema) | Association des Centres Culturels de Rencontre (ACCR) | Association Européenne des Conservatoires, Académies de Musique et Musikhochschulen (AEC) | Association of European Performers’ Organisations (AEPO-ARTIS) | Association of European Radios (AER) | b.creative network | Biennale des Jeunes Créateurs de l’Europe et de la Mediterranée (BJEM) | BOZAR – Centre for Fine Arts | Centre Européen de Musique (CEM) | Centre of the Picture Industry (CEPIC) | Circostrada – European Network for Circus and Street Arts | Coalitions Européennes pour la Diversité Culturelle (CEDC) | Confédération internationale des cinémas d’art et d’essai (CICAE) | Culture Action Europe (CAE) | De Concert! Fédération Internationale de Festivals | European Association of Archaeologists (EAA) | ELIA – globally connected European network of higher arts education | ESNS (Eurosonic Noorderslag) | EU National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC) | Europa Cinemas | Europa Distribution – The European Network of Independent Film Publishers and Distributors | Europa Nostra | Europavox | Europe Jazz Network (EJN) | European and International Booksellers Federation (EIBF) | European Arenas Association (EAA) | European Association for Music in Schools (EAS) | European Association of Independent Music Companies (IMPALA) | European Audiovisual Production (CEPI) | European Children’s Film Association (ECFA) | European Choral Association – Europa Cantat (ECA-EC) | European Composer & Songwriter Alliance (ECSA) | European Concert Hall Organisation (ECHO) | European Council of Associations of Literary Translators (CEATL) | European Creative Business Network (ECBN) | European Creative Hubs Network (ECHN) | European Cultural Foundation | European Dancehouse Network (EDN) | European Fashion Heritage Association (EFHA) | European Federation of Fortified Sites (EFFORTS) | European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) | European Federation of National Youth Orchestras (EFNYO) | European Festivals Association (EFA) | European Games Developer Federation (EGDF) | European Grouping of Societies of Authors and Composers (GESAC) | European Historic Thermal Towns Association (EHTTA) | European Music Council (EMC) | European Music Exporters Exchange (EMEE) | European Music School Union (EMU) | European network for live music associations (Live DMA) | European Network for Opera and Dance Education (RESEO) | European Network of Cultural Centres (ENCC) | European Network on Cultural Management and Policy (ENCATC) | European Publishers Council (EPC) | European Route of Industrial Heritage (ERIH) | European Theatre Convention (ETC) | European Union of Music Competitions for Youth (EMCY) | Europeana Foundation | Europeana Network Association | Eurozine | Fédération européenne des écoles de cirque professionnelles (FEDEC) | Federation of European Publishers (FEP) | Federation of European Screen Directors (FERA) | Federation of Screenwriters in Europe | Future for Religious Heritage (FRH) | ICMP – The global voice of music publishing | IFPI – representing the recording industry worldwide | IN SITU, European platform for artistic creation in public space | Independent Music Publishers International Forum (IMPF) | Innovation Network of European Showcases (INES) | Interactive Software Federation of Europe (ISFE) | International Artist Organisation of Music (IAO) | International Association of Art (IAA) Europe | International Association of Music Information Centres (IAMIC) | International Association of Music Libraries, Archives and Documentation Centres (IAML) | International Federation of Actors (FIA) | International Federation of Film Distributors’ Associations (FIAD) | International Federation of Film Producers Association (FIAPF) | International Federation of Musicians (FIM) | International Music+Media Centre (IMZ) | International Network for Contemporary Performing Arts (IETM) | International Video Federation (IVF) | Jeunesses Musicales International (JMI) | Kids REGIO | Literature Across Frontiers (LAF) | Liveurope – the live music platform for new European talent | Michael Culture Association (MCA) | National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) | Network of European Museum Organisations (NEMO) | News Media Europe | Northern Dimension Partnership on Culture (NDCP) | On the Move | Opera Europa | Pearle* – Live Performance Europe | REMA – European Early Music Network | Res Artis – Worldwide Network of Arts Residencies | SHAPE platform | Sistema Europe | Société des Auteurs et Compositeurs Dramatiques (SACD) | South East European (SEE) Heritage Network | The European Network for Professional Chamber Choirs (Tenso) | The International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organisations (IFRRO) | The Society of Audiovisual Authors (SAA) | Trans Europe Halles (TEH) | UNI Global Union – media, entertainment & arts (UNI MEI) | Union Internationale de Cinémas (UNIC) | We are Europe | Yourope – The European Festival Association
#CulturalDealEU is jointly developed by Culture Action Europe, European Cultural Foundation, and Europa Nostra (representing the European Heritage Alliance).
