The Effects of the Financial Crisis: Grim but not hopeless?

A New Compendium Monitoring Tool

(AJW) Societal and budgetary challenges triggered by the current economic crisis are bound to affect not only arts and heritage infrastructures or initiatives, but also political efforts to widen access to culture and to increase the participation of all citizens in a multifaceted cultural life. The important role arts, media and heritage activities can play for the social, educational and economic development of our societies may already be at risk, according to some observers. However, previous assessments did not show uniform trends: Until now it has been difficult to determine, at least in more exact – and comparable! – figures, whether and to what extent public cultural financing in Europe has really suffered from the crisis.

In order to better reflect and monitor these (potential) effects, the new comparative table E.2 on public funding of culture has been developed in the ERICarts Institute. The table will be constantly updated, based on more recent figures in national profiles.

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Cultural Access & Participation

Introducing the new THEMES! section, December 2012

Since the start of the Compendium project nearly 15 years ago, cultural access and participation were seen as important issues to be dealt with on this information and monitoring platform. Until now, related information and data could be found in various sub-sections of individual Compendium country profiles as well as in a number of comparative / statistical tables that address e.g.: active cultural participation in Europe; participation in selected cultural activities; Internet penetration rates and Facebook users; trends in visits of libraries and in reading; number of screens and cinema admissions per capita; etc.
However, since  equitable cultural access and participation have long been considered to be an important human right and since related issues recently gained momentum in the European political discourse where broad civil society participation is now seen as an essential factor of democratic governance, including in social inclusion policies and as a means to foster intercultural dialogue, the Compendium Editors decided to further underline its transversal character in a special THEMES! section.
Together with important background documents and links to research, the information provided in the new section can assist governments and NGOs in their efforts to start monitoring and comparing policies and related measures that aim at enhancing cultural participation or improving access to arts, media and heritage activities for different groups of the population.

More empirical evidence is to follow, including in the context of the Cultural Participation Research Process that was initiated at the 2012 Compendium Assembly and the connected CultureWatchEurope conference in Helsinki. A Council of Europe Ministerial Conference to be held 2013 in Moscow could turn out to be the next important step on that road towards more evidence-based policymaking.

Check the 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 now 51 cities (with more to come in the near future).

Cities of Copenhagen and Oslo were reindexed in 2012 and the cities of Beja, Bilbao, Constanta, Dortmund, Jerez de Frontera, Neukölln, Pécs, Rotterdam and Tenerife were recently added to the ICC Index!

The ICC Index aims to start needed 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

42 Countries

• Quick Facts
• Cultural Policy Profiles, Updates, Key Documents, Downloads
• Compendium Grid in your own language (26 languages)
• Profiles of National Experts

The German cultural policy profile is now also accessible in German language!
The Czech Republic has recently joined the Compendium and Cyprus as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina plan to deliver their first national cultural policy profiles soon. Preparations for new profiles are to start this year in  Belarus and Luxembourg.
The number of country profiles will then grow  to 46!

Transversal Themes

Presents integrated information on cross-cutting, transversal issues of priority to cultural policy makers and analysts:

• Since end 2012: Section on cultural access & participation
• Since 2011: Section on cultural rights and ethics
  
• Cultural diversity
• Intercultural dialogue (including the Interncultural Cities Index)
• Status of artists
• International cultural co-operation and mobility

Cultural Statistics in Europe

Updated comparative tables and graphs on population, participation, markets, employment, public funding

NEW! Facebook users in Europe and CUPIX 2012 (Cultural Price Index on Goods and Services)

Comparative Overviews

Updated comparative tables on cultural policy governance and other issues.

Compilation of articles on comparative methodologies and the links between research and policy development

Publish your work in this space by submitting your articles for review!

Monitoring Standards, Developments and Trends in Cultural Policy

The Compendium Community is engaged in a number of exercises to monitor the implementation of:

• Standard Setting Instruments in the Cultural Sector  
  (Since 2011: Monitoring Table on the Audiovisual Heritage Convention)
• Developments in National Laws and Policies
• Key recommendations made within the Council of Europe National Cultural Policy Review Programme (in development)

The Compendium is  recognised as a key instrument of the Council of Europe's CultureWatchEurope governance initiative.