Saturday, June 14, 2008

EU Culture Ministers Pledge To Boost Artists' Mobility

The mobility of artists and other cultural workers within Europe featured prominently among policy priorities for the next two years adopted by European Union culture ministers. The proposal forms part of a wider set of recommendations for a 'Work Plan for Culture 2008-2010'.

The ministers agreed to set up a working group comprised of national experts to develop ways to improve the mobility of artists and "other professionals in the cultural field". The experts will explore ways of boosting cooperation between Brussels and national capitals, primarily by studying existing national practices to suggest "ways of improving the regulatory conditions and related administrative processes for mobility".

What's more, the working group will "suggest solutions at the national and Community levels" to explore ways in which national and EU-level initiatives could "include mobility in the professional training curricula of artists and culture professionals. Other priorities identified include boosting access to culture by promoting cultural heritage, multilingualism, digitization and cultural tourism.

Ministers asked the Commission to carry out a study on the mobility of cultural workers in Europe by October 2008 and publish recommendations on the feasibility of developing a "comprehensive EU-wide system of information on mobility in the cultural sector" by the end of the year. The Council working groups will meet three times a year between now and the end of 2010, and are expected to submit their mid-term reports by July 2009.

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