European Approaches to Cultural Diversity

In preparation for the 2008 UNESCO World Report on Cultural Diversity, the ERICarts Institute assembled information and data on how cultural diversity is interpreted in national cultural policy frameworks and structures in Europe. Country specific information can be found online through the Council of Europe/ERICarts: Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends in Europe, 8th edition, 2007.

More information on the goals, the proposed conceptual framework and the main activities leading to the realisation of the 2008 UNESCO World Report is available from the UNESCO website. It provides a list of the members of the advisory committee of experts and board of governors responsible for the report.

MEAC Pilot Project:

Dynamics, Causes and Consequences of Transborder Mobility in the European Arts and Culture

The ERICarts Institute has finalised a pilot project on the dynamics, causes and consequences of the mobility of persons, goods and services in European arts and culture. The project was undertaken for the LabforCulture and includes a list of areas requiring more extensive comparative research.

The conceptual analyses of the pilot project focused mainly on clarifying the phenomena of brain drain, brain gain and brain circulation and classifying their potential causes. Comparative statistics and case studies were used to map the current European policy problems and to develop typologies of the motives, strategies and consequences of artists' mobility and entry restrictions and career restraints of mobile artists in their receiving countries.  They also indicated that there is a need to assess these drains, gains and circulations not only in economic terms (like wins and losses in educational costs), but also in two further respects: first, in terms of their impacts on creativity and the accumulation of intangible assets; and, secondly, in terms of the competitive edge of European culture industries in the global trade arena.

The MEAC pilot project was steered by a scientific committee and its results are reported on by Ilkka Heiskanen, Andreas Wiesand and Danielle Cliche; making up the core responsible team within the ERICarts Institute.  Members of the MEAC scientific committee were Lluís Bonet (Barcelona), Ritva Mitchell (Helsinki), Luca dal Pozzolo (Turin) and Veronika Ratzenböck (Vienna).    

Download:
MEAC Pilot Project Paper
MEAC Case Studies

The Status of Artists in Europe

In 2006, the ERICarts Institute has produced a comparative study for the European Parliament on the economic and social frameworks for artists in Europe, with particular emphasis placed on mobility issues.  The study identified common challenges facing artists with regard to labour, tax and social security legislation and innovative measures which countries have adopted to help artists overcome these challenges.  Members of the research team were:  Suzanne Capiau, Danielle Cliche, Vesna Čopič, Ritva Mitchell and Andreas Wiesand. 

The study is available for download in English and in French. An additional paper was prepared by team member Suzanne Capiau on "Mobilité des artistes et securité sociale".

In 2007/2008, the study has fuelled debates and proposals on the situation of artists and the mobility of cultural professionals in the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission. 

A Model for European Cultural Co-operation: The G2CC Project

The ERICarts Institute is a research partner in the EU funded "Gateway to Cultural Co-operation Project (G2CC)". It is one of four co-organising partners together with the European Cultural Foundation/LABFondazionne Fitzcarraldo (FF), and On the Move Association (OTM). The G2CC project aims at analysing and disseminating information and knowledge on cross-border and transnational cultural cooperation in Europe. More information available from the Projects Section.

previous Page | 1 | 2