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| NEWSLETTER No. 18 / April 2011 |
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Dear Compendium friends and users,Welcome to the just released 12th edition of Compendium, your information and monitoring system providing key facts about Cultural Policies and Trends in Europe. Whether you're a first time user or a long term supporter, we are sure that the online Compendium will prove to be an essential research and information tool for you. This newsletter highlights some of the latest additions and features that have been developed. Find more under http://www.culturalpolicies.net With best wishes from the Compendium
Team! |
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Intercultural Cities Index The ICC Index - with a focus on the intercultural integration of migrants and minorities - attempts to assess and compare the current status and performance of 16 cities (with more to come in the near future). The ICC Index aims to start essential debates by highlighting a few facts and processes which suggest the level of interculturality of a city. Compare different cities and indicators at ICC Charts For more information on individual city results see City Profiles.
The Compendium is growing In Spring 2011 Cyprus and Bosnia and Herzegovina will deliver their first national cultural policy profiles. In 2011 the preparations for the first ever cultural policy profiles will start in Andorra and Belarus. The total number of country profiles will then grow to 46 countries. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shopping in
Europe?
The CUPIX experiment provides prices for selected popular cultural goods and services in Europe. Compare 2010 prices between different countries on the
Trend data is also available from 2005-2009. While not a cultural price index in the strict sense, the CUPIX data does help to illustrate the result of policy measures such as the fixed book price or differences between the prices of publicly funded services versus private sector culture industries.
Download Multilingual Country Profiles 10 country profiles are available for download in their original language! New: Russian Federation (in Russian), Czech Republic (in Czech) and Spain (in Spanish). They complement the profiles of Bulgaria (in Bulgarian), France and Monaco (in French), Holy See (in Italian), Liechtenstein (in German), Moldova (in Romanian) and Ukraine (in Ukrainian). All original language profiles can be accessed in the Compendium download section. Additionally, the Compendium structure is now available in 26 languages!. |
New Members of the Community
Find a list of all Compendium experts, their contact
details and CVs under Compendium Experts Monitoring The Compendium Community is engaged in a number of exercises to monitor the implementation of standard setting instruments in the cultural sector like the newly developed: Monitoring Table on the 2001 European Convention for the Protection of the Audiovisual Heritage.
Compendium Hits Last Month (Jan. 15 to Feb. 14), the Compendium received 17,671 visits, 65% from first time visitors. On average, 4.5 pages were accessed. Here is an overview of the most popular Compendium pages (number of visits):
1. Country profiles (5,178) SUB-CATEGORIES (without countries): 1. Themes - Intercultural Dialogue (761) COUNTRY PROFILES: 1. Greece (666, and 609 for sub-chapter 1)
Such figures deserve interpretation: First of all, most of the visitors (about 58%) arrive at the Compendium content not via its structured homepage but rather through more specified inquiries made via search engines (over 95% in Google), which explains the rather low figures for the entry pages of main categories and the relatively high ones for sub-categories and country profiles. However: the unexpected ranking results among country profiles is a clear indicator for the fact that Compendium information from smaller or lesser known countries is often unrivalled in the whole Internet and can, therefore, stand a good chance to be consulted at certain times. |
33 Cultural Policy Profiles have recently been updated! Selected highlights | |
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- Arts and culture suffered in clashes between central and local government over funding and planning. - A new Law on Arts and Culture (Nov 2010) will increase centralisation and will impact on other art forms also. - The Law on Higher Education (2010) was implemented to clarify the education system in accordance with the Bologna agreement. - A programme for training professionals in the art and culture spheres was developed in 2010. - A special grant programme of the Armenian Ministry of Culture was created for individual artists, institutions and artists’ unions. - A new Cultural Promotion Act was agreed in Tyrol in May 2010. - From Jan 2011 self-employed artists may be able to claim benefit when not working and service centres for artists will be set up. - Controversy over National Library agreement for Google to digitalise the copyright-free library holdings from the 16th to the 19th century. - The first report on integration and diversity monitoring in Vienna was presented in April 2010. - Free admission to museums and the National Library for children and youth has increased visitors by 1/3 since Jan 2010. - The government has initiated procedures to join the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. - A Baku World Forum on Intercultural Dialogue will be held every two years starting in April 2011. - Expenditure for culture, arts, culture and tourism education and mass media increased by 433% over the last 5 years. - Local authorities are increasingly independent and are drawing up their own cultural policies, as well as taking decisions on their co-financing and development. - The Mobility travel grant system was broadened to include all non-professional artforms. - A study was published in 2010 on the Effectiveness of Public Expenditures for Culture in the period 1989-2009. - A Draft Proposal of the Performing Arts Law was presented in Oct 2010. - The National Culture Fund has doubled its budget. - A fund to support the creative industries is one of the casualties of the recession in 2010. - The switch to digital broadcasting has been implemented in 2010 - Independent cultural organisations in Zagreb suffered major cuts to funding in 2010. Czech Republic - Profile Updates - A study on the socio-economic potential of cultural or creative industries in the CR will be completed in 2011. - The government adopted the Concept of Romany Integration 2010-2013 to improve equality of opportunities. - In June 2010 a report was launched on promoting Danish arts and culture internationally. - The recession and the working programme of the new government (Feb 2010) imply severe cuts in municipal cultural budgets. - A campaign to increase enjoyment of the Danish language was
launched in September 2010. - The new Media Agreement for 2011-2014 focuses on quality and diversity, with more focus on Danish art and culture. - 240 libraries have closed in the period Jan 2007-March 2010 due to the Local Government Reform. - Priorities (2011-14) are arts education, promoting Georgia abroad, heritage and museums and artforms. - The Ministry of Culture, Monument Protection was separated from sports in Oct. 2010, which should benefit culture. - On 15 October 2010, the new Constitution of Georgia was adopted and clarifies cultural issues. - In 2011, the financing of culture will be decreased by 10% in contrast to the increase in recent years. - Ruhr.2010 initiated an exemplary transformation: "to a new type of polycentric cultural metropolis" - In October 2010 a national strategy on civic commitment and action programme on corporate social responsibility was adopted. - Public culture institutions are struggling financially at local authority level but also on the state level. - In 2010, public debate about a restructuring of the Copyright Law intensified not only due to the new possibilities of digital production and reproduction; a "cultural flat rate" was discussed but not adopted. - The budget for culture at the federal level is due to rise by 2.4% in 2011, although local budgets are struggling. - EU Structural Funds will provide much needed investment to the cultural sector between 2007-2013. - Changes to state film financing expected in 2011 are due to large scale overspending. - The Constitution will be re-written by spring 2011 following a government change in 2010. - Prospects for the 2011 cultural budget are dismal, both at national and local (municipal) levels. - A new touring policy for 2010 to 2016 has been published by the Arts Council. - Commission on Taxation suggests abolition of tax exemption for creative artists. - Funding review recommends discontinuation of the Dept. of Arts, Sport and Tourism and closure of Culture Ireland. - Arts Council funding has now returned to 2005 levels. - Since 2011, the Ministry of Culture is responsible for integration. - 2011 changes in VAT will impact negatively on the cultural sector. - From 2010 income tax on authors' royalties was increased from 15% to 25%. - A new Law on Archives came into force in 2011 followed by major reforms. - The Culture Capital Foundation budget in 2010 was 72% less than in 2008 and the Min. of Culture 43% less. Liechtenstein - Profile Updates - In 2010, the government approved a concept for the country's future cultural foreign policy. - In 2010 the government reduced the length of time grant support is provided for artists. FYR of Macedonia - Profile Updates - A new Law on Realization of Culture will establish long-term objectives and priorities for culture. - Salaries of actors and directors in professional theatres raised by 60%, but other salaries by only 20% despite protests. - Figures released in 2010 show that the average salary for cultural workers is still lower than the national average. - Attendances at art exhibitions increased by 22.2% and the number of participating artists increased by 28%. - A new national cultural policy will be implemented in Malta in 2011 following extensive review work undertaken in 2010. - Following a number of censorship issues, a thorough review of the present classification system was made in 2010. - In September 2010, the Romanian Cultural Institute was opened in Chisinau. - In Oct 2010 a resolution was drawn up to strengthen the relationship with the Moldovan diaspora, supported by grants. - The Law on Archaeological Heritage was adopted in Sept 2010. - The state budgets allocated to culture are still growing despite the financial crisis. - From January 2011, the Norwegian Archive, Library and Museum Authority will be phased out and the tasks will be split up. - National surveys show that the share of the total household spending allocated to cultural activities and goods is increasing. - A new programme to promote Polish culture abroad is linked to the EU presidency in 2011. - The needs and development of the creative industries are addressed in a new report. - The VAT rate on books and special periodicals will rise from 0 to 5% in 2011. - The Fund to Support Artistic Creation was expanded to provide social assistance. - In 2010 a Strategic Plan for State Museums was launched. - The percentage of the central budget for culture averaged 0.5% over a period of thirteen years to 2010, compared to 1.1% for local government. - A new public-private partnership will see 1% of project costs donated to conserve cultural buildings. - 2010 saw the establishment of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, separating the two sectors from religious affairs. - In May 2010 a new interministerial committee on urban planning, architecture and construction was established. - A number of new capacity building projects to develop technical skills in the cultural sector are being organised in 2010-2011. Russian Federation - Profile Updates - The budget of the Culture Ministry will be 30% less in 2012 than in 2009. However, a higher percentage will be allocated to cultural activities. - VAT was extended to periodicals and other taxes increased retail prices by 25-30%. - In 2010, the Law on Support of Socially Oriented Non-Commercial Organisations will benefit cultural organisations. - A Nov 2010 law on the transfer of heritage to religious organisations raised concerns by culture professionals. - A new law from Jan 2011 will offer more independence to public institutions in management and sourcing funding. - In 2010, The Cultural Contact Point was integrated within the Ministry. - Belgrade City Council is competing for the title of European Cultural Capital 2020. - The internal structure of the Ministry of Culture was re-organised to reflect new priorities due to the financial crisis. - The new Law on Culture is in force since March 2010 but some issues are yet to be resolved. - In 2010, the Ministry of Culture's share of the national budget was almost the lowest in 10 years. - Protests by artists, authors and publishers have led to a new interministerial committee to fight piracy on the internet. - A new report analyses the impact of e-books. - The 2010 Act on Audiovisual Communication aims to prevent and eliminate gender discrimination in the sector. - The General Act on Audiovisual Communication guarantees freedom, transparency and pluralism. - Some believe that new cultural diversity guidelines from 2012 may have negative consequences for film production. - The Ministry of Culture faces a 12% reduction in the budget for 2011. - A new Cultural Policy Bill was passed by parliament setting new objectives for Swedish cultural policy. - A new model for agreements on support of regional cultural policy will be implemented in 2011. - Changes in the unemployment insurance rules have been feared to harm artist groups on short-term employment contracts, although the impact on the cultural sector is not yet clear. - From January 2011 a new agency will be charged with providing analyses of cultural activities. - A new culture fund is being created, to be supported by government and private donors. - The Museum Law which came into force on 1 January 2010 provides Switzerland with a national museum policy for the first time. - A new higher education act currently under debate is not expected before 2015. - The Law on the Promotion of Culture has been passed and strategic aims will be defined for the first time for the period 2012-2016. - Changes in tax and administration systems from Jan 2011 will impact on the cultural sector. - The Ministry of Culture is changing its structure, commitments and functions and reducing its staff. - A new Law on Culture was signed on 6 January 2011. - A draft law On Concept of the Public Ethno-National Policy of Ukraine was published in Sept 2010. - In 2010, a priority is to develop support measures for national minorities that do not have a homeland, such as Roma, Assyrians, Karaites.
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Upcoming Compendium Conference in Ghent, June 2011 | |
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SAVE THE DATE: At the invitation of the Forum voor Amateurkunsten and with the support of the Culture Department of the Flemish Government, the annual Meeting of Compendium Experts will be held on June 8 - 10, 2011 at the arts centre "Vooruit" in Ghent (Belgium). In partnership with the AMATEO Network, and a number of scientific institutions, the meeting will be combined with an Open Forum and Research Workshop on problems of Active Cultural Participation in Europe. The latter will include a number of Compendium-related themes, inter alia:
The Conference is open to the public; contributions are invited. Please consult the draft agenda here! |
Answering Your Questions | |
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Contact the Compendium Editors for overall questions and comments: Kathrin Merkle,
Council of Europe Contact the Coordinators for specific editorial questions
and comments: Copyright (C) 2010 Compendium. All rights reserved. To unsubscribe, please send an email to unsubscribe(insert @ sign)culturalpolicies.net |