Creatives Unite – Information on response to Covid-19

The Creatives Unite platform is operated by the European Creative Hubs Network and the Goethe-Institut as part of the Creative FLIP project.

The site went online in May and has been designed as the the platform for the cultural sector to share information and good practices. Creatives Unite aims to gather all information and initiatives of the CCI sector in the EU that arose in response to the COVID-19 crisis as well as to offers the opportunity to co-create and share solutions.

On June 26 the platform invites for an online dialoge of representatives from the Cultural and Creative Sectors with Commissioner Gabriel, the European Parliament and the Council: United for a New Future 

Culture Action Europe General Assembly

On 12.06.2020, more than 90 members of Culture Action Europe (CAE) met for a digital General Assembly, for board elections and for agreements on further joint initiatives and priorities in 2020.

The Board reported on activities in 2019 and 2o2o along Culture Action Europe’s strategic goals:

– Advocacy for the culture sector against the background of negotiations of the new EU Multiannual Financial Framework 2021-2027 (MFF) and in particular for an appropriate recognition of culture in the new “Next Generation EU” instrument and as part of the “REACT-EU” initiative

– Working conditions in the cultural sector in Europe, with particular attention to income conditions and social security for artists

– Freedom of expression and cultural rights, with the aim of drawing up the necessary legal frameworks for this at EU level and in the member states

– Artistic and cultural research, especially the so-called STEAM practices: Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics

The role of culture for sustainable living as well as the digital paradigm shift in the cultural sector – also accelerated by COVID19 – emerged as possible new and accompanying focal points in the discussions following the Board’s report.

In view of the COVID19 crisis, Culture Action Europe, together with the European Cultural Foundation, has been mapping measures and emergency initiatives across Europe (compensations, dedicated funding, combined efforts or public and private actors, information sharing etc.) to tackle the effects of the crisis on the arts, culture, creative sectors and cultural heritage.

CAE and its members have addressed political actors at EU and member states level with several letters, on the one hand to clarify how beneficiaries of the Creative Europe programme should currently deal with the challenges posed by COVID19, but also to continue to advocate doubling the budget for Creative Europe in the new MFF.

What this means in figures: Of the 2021-2027 budget for Creative Europe proposed by the EU Commission some time ago, only a smaller amount of 1.5 billion is now included in the current MFF proposal. If this amount were actually doubled, the total budget for Creative Europe 2021-2027 would still not even correspond to 0.4% of the new “Next Generation EU” development instrument!

Simona Neumann (Managing Director of Timisoara 2021 – European Capital of Culture) was re-elected to the Board of Culture Action Europe. Further candidates were Celia Grau (Opera Europa Advocacy Coordinator) and Teemu Mäki (IAA Europe).

More information, the agenda and further summaries of the assembly can soon be found on the  website of Culture Action Europe.

Uphold culture in the EU budget

A call for a central place for culture in the EU long-term recovery budget

Despite its historic relevance, the revised Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF)  proposal presented by the European Commission on 27 May is unambitious for culture. Member States now have the opportunity to show that a forward-looking strategy for the Europe of tomorrow does not leave culture and its ecosystem behind. 

Ahead of the European Council meeting on 19 June, Culture Action Europe and the members of the European Secretariat of German Culture NGOs call on the EU Member States to:

  1. Double the budget of Creative Europe to 2,6 billion euros, as the core programme for reinforcing European cultural cooperation.
  2. Make sure that the additional funds stemming from the Next Generation EU initiative, such as REACT-EU, reach cultural operators.

There will be no real recovery for Europe if culture is left behind.

Read the whole statement here and join with your signature.

Open Letter for Proportionate Approach to Reopening Venues

PEARLE* Performance Europe, has pointed out in an open letter on the occasion of the meeting of the Ministers of Culture with Commissioner Gabriel that in the course of the reopening of venues not only the upper limit for spectators but also the size of the venues must be included in the regulations. The ministers called for coordinated regulations for clear communication with the audience and consideration of the expected loss of revenue due to reduced seating capacity.

Ministers of Culture Decleration on Culture in Times of COVID – 19 Crisis

On May 1st, the Croatian EU Presidency has presented a joint declaration on “Culture in times of the Covid 19 crisis”.

The declaration, initiated by Monika Grütters, German state minister for culture, and supported by all EU Member States except Hungary, thus explicitly recognises the importance of artists, creative people and journalists. The ministers urged that the aid from the funds and programmes planned at EU level must also reach culture and the media. The “Creative Europe” funding programme, which is important for culture, should be designed as flexibly as possible.

A first set of national and European measures have been put together as a basis for further action to support the recovery of the sectors. 

First ietm Report on Arts in Time of Pandemic

At the dawn of lockdown measures taken by governments across the globe, ietm has circulated a survey among its members to get a grip on how the new reality has affected them so far. Based on the key findings of the survey, this report, published on March 28, outlines the situation on an international scale, identifies the most burning needs of the sector in times of the pandemic and presents an overview of governments’ responses to the COVID-19 crisis. The report concludes with policy recommendations intended for EU, national and local authorities.

Elena Polivtseva: PERFORMING ARTS IN TIMES OF THE PANDEMIC. Status quo and the way forward. download (PDF)