SUCCESSFUL ECA CONFERENCE AND CONGRESS IN BERLIN -
WORK CONTINUES DESPITE FINANCIAL CRISIS
The annual ECA Congress in Berlin last November supported the Executive Committee’s proposal to continue work on a limited scale despite the fact that ECA was not funded by the European Commission in 2006. Due to the commitment of various members and the efforts of the office in Copenhagen the ECA succeeded in presenting a minimal budget to the General Assembly at the congress that will enable the organization to survive until its next annual Congress and Conference in Sibiu (Romania) in September 2007. The members expressed their satisfaction with the internal restructuring process (updated statutes, more transparency and team work, ECA NEWSLETTER etc) as well as with the political work of the Executive Committee reflected in President Ludwig Laher’s report and were able to choose from a variety of excellent candidates for the new EC. The two new members are the Irish sculptor Michael Burke and the Danish painter Torben Heron (for a full list of the EC see below). Pia Raug agreed to continue work for ECA on a voluntary basis, whenever time permits her to do so, but the office will have to cope with the fact that ECA cannot afford a General Secretary as long as the funding situation is critical.
The ECA conference hosted by our German member IGBK dealt with the process of implementation of the new UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. The various speeches and discussions by MEPs, researchers, artists and cultural managers will soon be published in an informative conference report (cf. below)
ECA SUPPORTS SLOVENIAN CONTEMPORARY ARTS SCENE
In a letter to various politicians, political institutions and other organizations in Slovenia the ECA expressed its concern about the recent developments in the country that clearly contradict the intentions of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions to which the country is a signatory party:
The European Council of Artists (ECA) representing professional artists’ associations in 25 European countries including Slovenia, is very concerned by the recent decision of the Slovenian government to dramatically reduce state cultural funding and by the parallel decision in the municipality of Ljubljana to remove its support for the independent arts sector, which has had disastrous results for the contemporary arts scene nationally and in particular in the capital city.
Over the past years the Slovenian contemporary arts scene has proven to be an important part of your country’s impressive contribution to the cultural life in the European Union. Slovenia did not only join and enrich the EU, but is also a signatory to the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, which will come into effect in March this year. The provisions of the convention include articles (7, 10, 11 etc) that call upon signatories “to create in their territory, an environment which encourages individuals and social groups to create, produce, disseminate, and have access to their own cultural expressions”, “to recognize the important contribution of artists, others involved in the creative process, cultural communities, and organizations that support their work, and their central role in nurturing the diversity of cultural expressions.”
ECA is the umbrella organization of artists’ organizations all over Europe and has contributed to the development and implementation of this important convention. The impressive contemporary arts scene in Ljubljana is an excellent example for a flourishing cultural diversity. With regard to the provisions of the UNESCO convention we support the struggle of our Slovenian colleagues who have been confronted with the devastating effects of budgetary rearrangements.
THE UNESCO CONVENTION EFFECTIVE FROM 18 MARCH 2007
Three months after the ratification by the 30th country (there are 47 in total by the end of February) the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions will come into force on 18th March 2007. The ECA urges its members and cultural NGO partners to take the provisions of the convention into account whenever needed to defend and strengthen cultural rights, international cooperation and lobbying both on national, European and global levels.
The INCD will focus on the following
- A meaningful role for civil groups in the processes. INCD is seeking an invitation to attend the Conference of Parties (scheduled for 9th May) and a formal place at the Intergovernmental Committee.
- State Parties to make a substantial commitment to the Fund for Cultural Diversity.
- UNESCO to provide an appropriate framework and begin to collect the important cultural diversity data.
- Appropriate procedures to encourage countries to work together to monitor developments in other forums (particularly the trade negotiations) and to collaborate to achieve the objectives of the Convention.
- Mechanisms to guarantee the implementation of the commitments to promote sustainable cultural development.
EUROBSERVER.COM: MEPS TO CRITIZE ‘BIG-BANG’ POLICY ON MUSIC RIGHTS
Good news concerning a central ECA topic 2006 (cf. ECA NEWSLETTER 3/2006): ”MEPs are set to adopt a report on collective cross-border management of copyright on Tuesday shooting down a European Commission proposal and saying a 'big-bang' style introduction of competition into the collective management of authors' rights could damage cultural diversity in Europe.” (euobserver.com – 26. Feb. 07 – 5.40 p.m.)
It is important to note that the EP makes use of the idea and language of the UNESCO convention as a decisive argument to reject the Commission’s plans. This is in line with the intense CIAM and ECA lobbying on the issue.
EC TO MEET IN MALTA IN MARCH
The next meeting of the Executive Committee will take place in Malta 16th – 18th March 2007. Among the issues to be discussed are questions of financing ECA (the decision of the Commission will not be announced until summer), threats to higher arts’ education by the European trend towards “academicisation” (ECA members from Spain to Denmark are deeply worried), Digital Rights Management (DRM) and related dangers (e.g. national copyright laws are jeopardized, where the remuneration for private copying is an important source of income for artists), the implementation of the plan of action for 2007, the congress and conference in Sibiu (Romania).
ECA KEEPS NETWORKING BOTH ON EUROPEAN AND NATIONAL LEVELS DESPITE FINANCIAL PROBLEMS
The ECA notes various manifestations of support from its members that have so far enabled the Office, the President and the EC to continue working on various levels. To give but a few examples: Narcy Calamatta represented ECA in a public hearing in Brussels on the role of culture in Europe, based on the Commission questionnaire (cf. ECA NEWSLETTER 5/2006); Pia Raug and Ludwig Laher gave speeches on the occasion of the EU XXL Dialogue in Krems (Austria); Elisabet Diedrichs will participate in an NGO platform meeting for intercultural dialogue in Brussels in March; Ludwig Laher will attend the INCD-Europe meeting in Brussel in March; on the occasion of the EC meeting in Malta there will be two events with artists of ECA Malta; Michael Burke and Visual Artists Ireland have prepared the founding meeting of an Irish umbrella organization that will take place in April (Ludwig Laher will be present between readings from his literary work in Ireland); In June he is also scheduled to speak about ECA in Berlin (congress “kultur.macht. europa. - europa.macht.kultur.”).
NEXT ECA CONGRESS AND CONFERENCE 2007 IN SIBIU
27 – 30 SEPTEMBER 2007
Due to the extraordinary efforts of our member ANUC the Romanian government will finance the congress and conference in Sibiu, this year’s cultural capital of Europe, to a large extent. The preliminary title of the conference is “The status of the artists at the beginning of the 21st century”.
The provisional version of a new study ”The Status of Artists in Europe”, requested by the European Parliament’s Committee on Culture and Education, was published in November 2006.
BERLIN CONFERENCE REPORT TO BE DISTRIBUTED IN MARCH
The ECA conference report 2006 “Rights and Wrongs? The UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions - one year after” has been published and will be distributed within the next few weeks.
The volume of 56 pages contains contributions by Christine M. Merkel (German UNESCO-Commission), MEPs Erna Hennicot-Schoepges and Christa Prets, visual artist and professor Joachim Kettel, writer and editor Kornelijus Platelis, Zeyneb Ferhat from the Tunisian Coalition for Cultural Diversity, ECA President Ludwig Laher and General Secretary Pia Raug. The report has been edited by ECA Executive Committee members Simon Pellar and Renate Christin together with the office of IGBK and will be forwarded to ECA members, cooperation partners and conference participants. Copies can be ordered from the ECA Office for 12 Euro each including postal charges.
ECA APPEALS FOR DONATIONS FROM MEMBERS AND SYMPATHISERS
Please help us overcome the dire financial straits
in which ECA finds itself due to no faults on its part
BANK ACCOUNT: Handelsbanken, Solbjergvej 10, DK-2000 Frederiksberg.
IBAN: DK79 7630 000 3000 244, Swift: HANDDKKK
The ECA Executive Committee
Ludwig Laher, writer, Austria, President
Narcy Calamatta, actor, Malta, Vice-President
Simon Pellar, translator, Czech Republic, Vice-President
Michael Burke, visual artist, Ireland
Renate Christin, visual artist, Germany
Torben Heron, visual artist, Denmark
Tomo Vran, visual artist, Slovenia
European Council of Artists, Borgergade 111, DK-1300 Copenhagen K, Denmark
phone: +45-35384401, fax: +45-35384417, email: eca@eca.dk, web: www.eca.dk