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Page 7 of 7
The Role of Ministerial Conferences
Minister
Carmen Calvo has indicated the intention to organise the next Conference of
European Ministers of Culture in Spain in next spring. This will be
the fourth edition of the series started in Berlin (A Soul for
Europe, Berlin, 26-27 November 2004).
Besides
common features, each conference follows peculiar objectives, too. The Paris
Conference (Rencontres pour l'Europe de
la
Culture, Paris, Comédie Française, 2-3 May 2005) set the
goal of initiating practical co-operation between interested EU member states.
With the involvement of expert groups, the following eight themes had been
elaborated and presented at the conference.
- Promotion
of European films in the Europa Cinemas network. This project, the main element
of which would be the organisation of Weeks of European Film, would complement
the actions of MEDIA.
- Establishment
of a network of bookshops that bear the title of European Bookshop (upon the analogy of
Europa Cinemas), and which pledge to keep a previously agreed stock of European
works in translation and/or in the original language.
- Creation
of the title of European Heritage, an
initiative inspired by the World Heritage Programme of UNESCO, and by the
Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe.
- Support
given to subtitling in performing
arts (opera, theatre etc.), by setting up a fund and establishing a committee of
experts who would elaborate principles and criteria and would manage the
fund.
- Compilation
of a document that contains information on performing arts in the member states,
data on venues, festivals, artists, regulation, resources etc, a European Atlas of the Performing Arts,
aiming at the harmonisation of conditions also.
- Annual
publication of a European Album of Young
Architects and a European Album of
Young Landscape Architects, upon the example of the French national
equivalent, based on open calls for application.
- Establishment
of a joint European promotion platform of European music in the Far East, with the main aim of strengthening the
European position on the Japanese and Chinese music markets.
- Creation
of a long-term lending scheme of contemporary works of art, in order
to enhance the mobility and visibility of works of European visual arts in our
days.
Some of
the suggested items received especially positive feedback in Paris. Nevertheless, the
turbulent period that characterised the time that has passed on the European
arena since May, has not favoured the practical follow-up of these initiatives.
When the major open issues (such as the 2007-2013 budget, and the future
cultural activity of the Union) are settled,
these and similar suggestions may again enjoy the necessary attention and
support.
During
the preparations for Inclusive Europe? Horizon 2020, at least two more themes emerged, that lend themselves to
joint execution:
- Exploration
of the advantages and adaptability of the intellectual property solutions offered
by the Adelphi Charter, the Creative Commons, and the related IP
initiatives.
- Promotion
of arts for young children, and their
parents, with or without specific aims at social and cultural
inclusion.
If in the
areas where the EU has a mandate, the institution of enhanced co-operation, as specified in
the Treaty of Nice, continues to gain recognition, a looser version of voluntary
co-operation may find justification in domains that are national competence, as
an appropriate way of realising joint actions. Similarly to other cultural
actions of the Union, the involvement of future
members can also be conceived. It is to be decided whether the Conferences of
European Ministers of Culture are instrumental in such a
co-operation.
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