Austria/ 3.4 International cultural co-operation  

3.4.6 Other relevant issues

In the framework of the EU's regional development policy, Austria has developed extensive support programmes in all its provinces with the objective of "regional competition and employment", in particular involving arts and cultural projects and their contribution to regional development. Commissioned by the bmu:kk, in 2010-2011, the österreichische kulturdokumentation prepared the study "The Creative Motor for Regional Development: Arts and Culture Projects and the EU Structural Funding in Austria". It includes a survey and analysis of arts, culture and creative-industries projects that have been co-funded by the EU in the framework of the programmes of the EU Structural Funds. Austria is thereby one of the first EU member states to show the volumes and extent of the co-funding of culture by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the European Social Fund (ESF) and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD): between 2007 and 2010, 534 – mostly cross-border – projects were EU-co-funded in Austria with EUR 78.8 million.

In 2009, the city of Linz was European Capital of Culture (together with Vilnius). "Linz 2009 European Cultural Capital" regarded itself as part of a development process of the city, from a trading settlement on the Danube to an industrial location of an economically successful, modern living space today.

Around 3.4 million people visited more than 7 700 events of the 2009 Linz Cultural Capital of Europe. In the Cultural Capital year alone, there were 2.8 million visitors. 600 000 visitors were recorded in the supporting programme between 2006 and 2008. The targets here were by far exceeded. A packed programme with wide diversity and convincing artistic quality was on offer. Around 5 000 artists from 66 countries took part in the 220 projects.

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