| Last site update: |
| 15/04/2008 |
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Welcome
Cultural Information and Research Centres Liaison in Europe is an independent think-tank dedicated to developing cultural policy models for Europe.
CIRCLE is a network of people concerned with cultural policy including researchers from many disciplines, scholars, documentalists, cultural practitioners, policy-makers and politicians. CIRCLE is also a forum for institutions such as university departments, arts institutions, research organisations, national ministries, arts councils, documentation centres and networks. In bringing together these different entities CIRCLE acts as an intermediary, putting particular emphasis on ensuring that conclusions from its debates are disseminated to those in a position to benefit from them. CIRCLE identifies new issues and maps out what currently exists in terms of research and information and, is able to make this information available through on-line resources and databases.
CIRCLE's work crosses the whole of Europe (more than 35 countries), a variety of disciplines and a myriad of interested parties. For more than two decades, CIRCLE has maintained its reputation for being at the forefront of cultural policy debate and influencing current and future policy actions. CIRCLE is a European network, established formally in 1984 and, registered as a Dutch association since 1997. The network has a board that directs the activities of the network.
CIRCLE evolved with help provided principally by the Culture Committee of the Council of Europe and this agency presently continues to be a prime mover in the work of CIRCLE. Recently, CIRCLE has been in receipt of a number of grants from the European Commission for specific areas of its research work. Additional co-operation and/or co-funding for CIRCLE's activities has been provided by numerous institutions, for example:
Arts Council (Dublin), Arts Council of Finland, Arts Council of England, Associazionne per l'Economia della Cultura, Boekmanstichting, the Budapest Observatory, Cini Foundation, Culturelink, Department of Canadian Heritage, EFAH (European Forum for Arts and Heritage), EricArts, European Cultural Foundation, Fundació Interarts, German Federal Ministry of Education, Information and Publications Office of the Italian Government, International Intelligence on Culture, Ministère de la culture et de la communication (France), Norwegian Council of Cultural Affairs, Österreichische Kulturdokumentation, Polish Ministry of Culture and Art, Pro Cultura Foundation, Zentrum für Kulturforschung.....
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Current events and news
"FESTIVAL JUNGLE, POLICY DESERT? FESTIVAL POLICIES OF PUBLIC AUTHORITIES IN EUROPE"
The project has been finalised. To see the final outcome - the comparative report - click here
Farewell from CIRCLE President
Dearest Circle Members,
As you know my mandate as CIRCLE president has finished. Due to proposed changes during the 2007 AGM in Barcelona, there is now a CIRCLE steering committee that will decide during the next three months on the future of CIRCLE and will help to initiate the new CIRCLE co-ordination in Interarts in Barcelona... read more
CIRCLE's 2007 round table - "FESTIVAL JUNGLE - POLICY DESERT? THE FESTIVAL POLICY OF PUBLIC AUTHORITIES" 19 - 20 October Barcelona To see conference reader click here
To see the preliminary programme click here To see AGM programme click here Further information is available at www.interarts.net
Dear participants of Circle Round Table EUROPEAN ART AND CULTURE BETWEEN FREE TRADE AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY. A DELICATE DIALOGUE? 15 -16 December 2006 in Helsinki.
Further comments and recommendations are welcome!
Festival Policies of Public Authorities in Europe
CIRCLE together with European Festival Research Project and Interarts have launched a new research project. The consortium wants to follow a course of action that will enable an analysis and evaluation of public festival policy based on a thorough Europe-wide comparative research... read more CIRCLE's 2006 round table - "EUROPEAN ART AND CULTURE BETWEEN FREE TRADE AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY. A DELICATE DIALOGUE?"
The round table was held in Helsinki on the 15th - 16th December.
The conference brought together experts and practitioners in international cultural cooperation and world trade to investigate, analyse and assess the responses and stands taken by governmental, trans-governmental and corporate actors in relation to international conventions and treaties defining the status of the arts and culture in the evolving global economy. The purpose was to re-define the "cultural exception" in the processes of trade liberalisation in a manner that will provide common ground for achieving:
· a better balanced cultural exchange of ideas,
· improved protection of intellectual property rights, and
· a stronger guarantee for maintaining and increasing cultural diversity both at national and international level.
The perspective of the conference was global, but the special focus was on the reactions and stands of the EU both in respect to its own internal free markets, and its responses to the world free trade agreements and conventions.
The event was organised on CIRCLE's behalf by CUPORE and the Boekmanstichting.
To see the programme pleas click here
To see the Minutes from AGM meeting, which took place during the conference, click here
To see photos from the conference click here
To see conference reader click here
European Commission's exhibition and conference on Intercultural Dialogue, 21-24 November, Brussels The Directorate-General for Education and Culture of the EC organised a conference-exhibition Intercultural Dialogue conference and exhibition-Best practices at Community level.
The CIRCLE project "Metropolis of Europe. Urban cultural life and inter-city cultural interactions for cultural diversity" was chosen by a panel of 11 independent experts from over 100 projects proposed from different programmes of DG EAC and other DGs. Therefore the project was presented in Brussels as one of the 29 models of best practice. To see the pdf. presentation entitled "Intercultural dialogue. Best practices at Community level"- click here.
For more information on the event please click here
CIRCLE's new secretariat
CIRCLE has now a new secretariat, based in the Pro Cultura Foundation office in Warsaw, Poland.
This was possible thanks to the fact that CIRCLE received the 2006 operating grant from the European Commission.
For the past two years CIRCLE’s situation was rather critical. Now things have finally changed or rather are slowly coming to their normal way. This means that CIRCLE cannot only organise the annual Round Table but also once again reinstall a regular secretariat. Upon the Board’s decision, Magdalena Kulikowska has been nominated for CIRCLE coordinator. From now on please feel free to contact her on any issues.
We hope that this dramatic situation and its consequences have not drawn you too far away from CIRCLE. We are hoping for your understanding...
CIRCLE president at the Eurocities Culture Forum
Warsaw authorities hosted the event on the 12-15th October. The conference was devoted to a large extent to intercultural dialogue. CIRCLE President Dorota Ilczuk was invited to provide a thorough presentation of the project „Metropolis of Europe. Urban cultural life and inter-city cultural interactions for cultural diversity”. Members of the Forum became lively interested in the research. This, as well as well as a visible book promotion, resulted in a high interest in the CIRCLE publication „Metropolises of Europe. Diversity in Urban Cultural Life.”
The second keynote speaker of the same panel - John Holden presented his report entitled: „Cultural Value and the Crisis of Legitimacy. Why Culture needs a democratic mandate”.
Presentation of the latest CIRCLE project at the EUCLID conference on "Cultural diversity: the European experience"
At the conference, which took place on 14th March 2006 in Birmingham, one of the panels was entirely devoted to the project “Metropolis of Europe - Urban cultural life and inter-city cultural interactions for ‘cultural diversity’ in Europe". Magdalena Kulikowska presented the general overview of the research. Then, two of the city reports prepared for the purpose of the research were presented: the Rome report by Simona Bodo and the Budapest report by Janos Szabo Zoltan.
On 12th January 2006, CIRCLE President, Dorota Ilczuk, along with 17 other leading figures from the cultural field met with leading officials from the European Commission to discuss ways to promote European culture and identity. For more information click here.
 Metropolis of Europe: Diversity in urban cultural lifeEdited by Dorota Ilczuk and Yudhishthir Raj Isar.
The book entitled Metropolises of Europe – Diversity in Urban Cultural Life published by Pro Cultura Publishing, Warsaw is the outcome of CIRCLE’s most recent endeavour, and emerged from the need to map the rapidly changing landscape of cultural diversity in Europe’s cities. Contemporary migratory flows and diasporas are generating challenging new variants and mixes of cultural difference. Europe has a long tradition of cultural plurality, to be sure, but today’s developments are novel, and our societies have no alternative but to address unprecedented patterns of interaction with newcomers and their offspring that did not have to be faced by any earlier society. Cultural diversity, whether it is new or of the traditional variety, is now lived in contexts and situations that call for new concepts or radical redefinitions of old ones – not least of which is the place of cultural belonging and cultural difference in human, social and political life in general. While many of the issues can be posed at nation-state level, they are lived out most acutely in our metropolitan cities, which have become veritable ‘laboratories’ for new multi- and inter-cultural processes; it is here that the challenges are the greatest to policy-makers, individuals and communities alike. The book emerged from a year long research project. Both the book and the research project were supported financially by the Directorate-General for Education and Culture of the European Commission. For more information about this project and the round table in Warsaw please click here.
For more information about the book click here
CIRCLE Annual General Meeting
The 2005 CIRCLE annual general meeting took place in Warsaw on the 23rd - 25th September. CIRCLE welcomed three new institutional members, CETAC.COM represented by Helena Maria Santos,Hellenic Culture Organisation S.A. represented by Georgia Iliopoulou and the Pro Cultura Foundation represented by Dorota Ilczuk. Circle also welcomed three new individual members including Nina Obuljen,Mónica Parera and Jorge Cerveira Pinto. The CIRCLE board was re-elected. Jordi Balta was welcomed (as the new representative for Interarts on the board) and Simona Bodo was welcomed as a new member. To read the minutes of the meeting  Whose Culture is it? Trans-generational approaches to Culture On the 17th - 18th December 2004 CIRCLE held a round table meeting of expert's on the subject of trans-generational approaches to Culture. For more information click here . A selection of papers from the round table and conclusions have been collated in a publication which is now available from the CIRCLE secretariat.
 Gambling on Culture: State lotteries as a source of funding for Culture – the Arts and HeritageEdited by Carla Bodo, Christopher Gordon and Dorota Ilczuk, in co-operation with Diane Dodd and Cristina da Milano.
We are pleased to announce the publication of
Is it possible at all to develop a sensible cultural policy on the basis of lottery funds? Can new cultural structures be sustained in the long term? Without intending to give unequivocal answers to these questions, Gambling on Culture offers many angles with which to view the current situation and source material for establishing one’s own position: as a government, a lottery company or, as a cultural organisation. Thus, the book is not only unique, but also highly relevant for all participants in the cultural field.
Fully paid up members of CIRCLE will receive a free copy of this book through the post! Additional copies of the book can be bought from the Boekmanstichting at a retail price of €21,50 (excl. postage & handling)
 Publication: eCultureEdited by Sanjin Dragojevic, Diane Dodd, Biserka Cvjeticanin, Cas Smithuijsen.
We are pleased announce the publication of the post conference report from CIRCLE's Zagreb round table on the subject of eCulture. The editing committee includes Biserka Cvjetičanin, Diane Dodd, Sanjin Dragojević and Cas Smithuijsen. A number of CIRCLE members and experts have submitted papers for the book. For more information contact Culturelink
MEMBER'S NOTICE BOARD
Membership renewal
If you haven’t done so already, members please, this is a gentle reminder, to renew your membership fee for this year. Remember that you need to make a bank transfer to: Name of the Bank: Budapest Bank
Address of the Bank: Bathori 1, H-1054 Budapest,
Hungary Account holder: Budapest Cultural Observatory Account number: 10103173-36068300-01000304 IBAN CODE: HU-15 SWIFT CODE: BUDAHUHB Individual 100 € (C&E 20€) Institutional 250€ (C&E 50€)
CIRCLE is more and more dependent on receiving membership fees for its continued work. Any additional donations would not be refused!
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CIRCLE president at EU meeting