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Circus Arts and Occupational Cultures at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. 

On 19 February, a meeting - organized by the DG Culture of the European Commission - took place at which stakeholders of the cultural sector were invited to give their views on the EU culture policy agenda. The initial policy paper dates back to 2007. Now, ten years later, the Commission wishes to update its policy objectives to align with the reality of today and take into consideration the societal and technological changes to draw up a New Agenda.

Stakeholders were invited to give their views and input on:

• The policy framework (the three objectives: cultural diversity, culture as catalyst of creativity, culture as vital element of external relations).
• European added value
• Working methods
• Key actors
• Strengthening policy-program links
• Sector-specific work/themes

At the end of the meeting Commissioner Navracsics presented his views:

• It is now the moment to ensure that the interest for culture remains high on the political agenda, after the declaration by Heads of State last November in Gothenburg.
• The main line of argumentation is: culture is as important as social policy when considering the contribution of culture to the European societies
• The strategy to argue for culture is two-fold:
  • The role of culture in the future cohesion of society (the role of culture to contribute to well-being, international relations, living in peace)
  • The contribution of culture to the future competitiveness of the European economy
• Budget-wise his aim is to bring together culture, media and the digital to re-instate the natural unity of culture. Synergies would also be made with education, sports and youth. Besides ‘youth’ another cross-sectoral element mentioned, concerns mobility and cross-border cooperation.