Work Plan for Culture 2008-2010

This is the first triennial Work Plan adopted under the European Agenda for Culture. The Work Plan defines the initiatives to be carried out in the culture field at national and Community level for the period 2008-2010. The focus is on mobility of artists, access to culture, development of cultural statistics, promotion of cultural and creative industries, and implementation of the Unesco Convention on Cultural Expressions. These are the priority areas for action defined as suitable for the open method of coordination in line with the objectives of the European Agenda for Culture.

ACT

Conclusions of the Council and of the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States, meeting within the Council, on the Work Plan for Culture 2008-2010 [Official Journal C 143 of 10.6.2008].

SUMMARY

The Work Plan for Culture 2008-2010 sets out the activities to be pursued under five priority areas of action defined in the Council Resolution of 16 November 2007 on a European Agenda for Culture. The implementation of the Work Plan is based on the open method of coordination, the new working method among Member States in the field of culture. To this end, working groups consisting of national experts will be created for considering, reporting and making recommendations under some of the priority areas.

Priority 1: Improving the conditions for the mobility of artists and other professionals in the culture field

A working group is set up by the Member States, with the mandate to:

• map current national practices in view of proposing improvements to the regulatory and administrative framework for mobility;
• propose means to include mobility in the professional training curricula at national and Community levels;
• ensure the collection of and access to information on the provisions for mobility in Europe;
• strengthen support mechanisms for mobility at regional, national and Community levels.

In parallel, the Commission will carry out a study on the mobility of cultural workers in Europe. Providing a typology of existing mobility schemes, this study will make recommendations for strengthening mobility support mechanisms at EU level, as appropriate. In addition, the Commission will carry out a feasibility study for the creation of a comprehensive European level system of information on mobility in the cultural field.

Priority 2: Promoting access to culture, in particular through the promotion of cultural heritage, multilingualism, digitisation, cultural tourism, synergies with education, especially art education, and greater mobility of collections

Two working groups are set up by Member States under this priority. A working group on mobility of collections and activities of museums will be tasked to:

• propose incentive mechanisms for the mobility of collections;
• research ways in which persisting barriers to the mobility of collections could be abolished;
• compare national legislations relating to museums in view of enhancing access to culture;
• exchange best practices with regard to protecting collections against criminal acts (i.e. theft, illicit trafficking) and promoting access to museums.

A working group on promoting synergies between culture and education is set up. Its focus will be on policy work, in particular concerning the implementation of the key competence ‘cultural awareness and expression’ and the exchange of best practices with regard to the promotion of arts and cultural education (formal, non-formal or informal).

Ongoing work will continue on digitisation, online accessibility of cultural material and digital preservation. The objective is to set up a European digital library , which would provide a single, multilingual point of access to the collections of Member States’ libraries, archives and museums.

On multilingualism, the initiatives include a Communication on a European strategy for multilingualism and a study on the contribution multilingualism may make to creativity, which will provide input to the debate on the European Year of Creativity 2009.

With regard to intercultural dialogue, the objective is to continue with the implementation of the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue 2008 and a follow-up to the Year as part of a sustainable strategy to intercultural dialogue, including the development of a cross-sectoral approach to intercultural competences.

In the framework of sustainable and competitive European tourism, the Member States are to realise multilateral projects in the field of cultural tourism to promote cultural heritage.

The Commission will conduct a study on young people’s access to culture with the aim of determining obstacles and identifying best practices for facilitating access of youth to culture.

Priority 3: Developing data, statistics and methodologies in the cultural sector and improving their comparability

Eurostat will re-launch the activities of the statistical working group on culture.

Priority 4: Maximising the potential of cultural and creative industries, in particular that of SMEs

A working group is set up by the Member States, with the mandate to:

• identify national strategies and measures used to create a favourable environment for creative and cultural industries;

• address training needs of cultural professionals;
• study the impact of cultural and creative industries on local and regional development;
• study the impact of measures and instruments used for capacity building and entrepreneurship;
• suggest Community-level means for the furthering of the sector.

In parallel, the Commission will conduct studies on: (i) the effect of culture on creativity and innovation, (ii) the entrepreneurial dimension of cultural and creative industries, in particular SMEs, and (iii) the socio-economic impact of culture on the local and regional level. In addition, the Commission will produce a Green Paper on cultural and creative industries to spur debate on the potential and future of the sector.

Priority 5: Promoting and implementing the Unesco Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expression

Implementation of the Unesco Convention will continue through coordinated EU positions and mainstreaming of the objectives of the Convention in policies at national and Community level (inter-service group on culture). Member States and the Commission will also continue to systematically promote the ratification of the Convention and its objectives in their relations with third countries. In addition, an exchange of views on experiences with cultural cooperation with third countries will be pursued through meetings of senior government officials in the field of culture.

RELATED ACTS

Resolution of the Council of 16 November 2007 on a European Agenda for Culture [Official Journal C 287 of 29.11.2007].

Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions of 10 May 2007 on a European agenda for culture in a globalizing world [COM(2007) 242 final – Not published in the Official Journal].

Last updated: 25.07.2008