30/03/2010

The dichotomy between culture and economics is now behind us. This appears to be the message of the European Forum on Cultural Industries, which kicked off yesterday at the Palacio Llotja de Mar, in Barcelona. The aim of this two-day event is to reflect on the current state and challenges of the cultural and creative industries in Europe, bringing together workers in the sector, experts and political entities ahead of the informal meeting between Culture Ministers of the EU Member States, to be held on Wednesday, March 31.

Spanish Minister of Culture Ángeles González-Sinde emphasised the economic potential of culture, which generates prosperity and growth. “This is the hour of culture”, said the Minister, for whom “talent, creativity and culture are limitless wellsprings” which generate long-term results, well beyond the death of the creators. She added: “Gaudí generated and will continue to generate jobs in Barcelona”.

However, the minister believes that today’s main challenge lies not so much in cultural heritage, as in the case of Gaudí’s work, but in the transition from analogue to digital, which, according to González-Sinde, affects “all areas of our lives” and calls for reflection on the “right to create and access to culture”.

On the first day of the forum, the outlines were also presented for the Green Paper on Cultural Industries, to be published by the European Commission (EC) at the end of April. The presentation was led by Odile Quentin, EC Director General for Education and Culture, although a preliminary version of the document was not provided for participants.

Considered to be a driving force for development, now and in post-crisis societies, the cultural industry has created “five million jobs and represents 2.6% of GDP in the European Union”. According to Quentin, the Green Paper indicates some essential points still to be developed: the professionalization of the sector, territorial development, the need for a regulatory framework for intellectual property and rights management, as well as the importance of digitisation and access to financing for the industry network.

Meanwhile, MEP and President of the European Parliament’s Culture Commission Doris Pack defended a VAT reduction on cultural goods and the removal of existing internal market barriers that impact the free circulation of creations and creators. Pack also raised the sore issue of there still being no reference to cultural matters in the Europe 2020 strategy.

The strategic objectives for 2020 were discussed at the Council of Ministers meeting in Brussels last week and will replace the Lisbon Strategy (which set down the European Union’s objectives until 2010). The aims for 2020 will also be under discussion at upcoming meetings and it is hoped that a new version of those objectives will recognise the added value of the cultural industries in building a Europe with more and better jobs.

The forum continues today with three plenary sessions at which government strategies and good practices for supporting the cultural industry, among other topics, will be discussed.