International cooperation in the cultural field has gained importance in recent years.
In February 2007, the German Bundestag adopted the UNESCO Convention for the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions and, at the same time, the UNESCO Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (UNESCO Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property) (see also Chapter 4.2.2). In December 2012, the Federal Cabinet decided on Germany’s accession to the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Europe-wide cooperation in the field of culture has developed since 1992 on the basis of Article°151°ECT of the Treaty establishing the European Community, continued in Article°128° of the Maastricht Treaties and finally in Article° 167° of the Lisbon Treaty. Member States work together to adopt a common legal framework, such as Directive 96/100/EC on the return of cultural objects unlawfully removed from the territory of a Member State and through specific programmes such as Creative Europe (“Creative Europe”, current funding period 2021- 2027). The “Creative Europe” programme is divided into the sub- programmes CULTURE and MEDIA, and there is also the overarching funding area CROSS SECTOR, which supports cooperation between the member states as well as with third countries.
“The primary objectives of Creative Europe are: To give projects a European added value in order to increase their international success, to promote the professionalisation of actors on international terrain and to develop new audiences.” With a budget of €2.44 billion for the current period 2021-2027, the budget has been significantly increased by almost €1 billion (previous period 2014-2020: €1.46 billion). The Culture sub-programme will receive 804 million euros (33% of the total budget). The respective national contact points (Creative Europe Desks) provide information on EU funding. The CED CULTURE, based in Bonn, provides information on the CULTURE sub-programme. Four regional desks (Potsdam / Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hamburg and Munich) provide advice on MEDIA. The CULTURE programme comprises the main funding areas European Cooperation Projects, European Platforms, European Networks and Literary Translations. In addition, there are specific measures to reward and promote excellence and creativity, such as the “European Capitals of Culture” action and the European Heritage Label.
A review of the past funding period (2014-2020) is provided in the online brochure “Creative Europe CULTURE. An evaluation of the EU cultural funding programme 2014-2020” (https://kultur.creative- europe-desk.de/fileadmin/2_Publications/CED-Culture_Online-Broschuere_inkl_Bundeslandlisten.pdf).
According to this, 199 German organisations participated in 225 projects funded by the programme between 2014-2020. This means that the German cultural and creative sector benefited from a total of 32.3 million euros during the seven-year programme period.
In addition to “CREATIVE EUROPE”, there are other EU programmes from which cultural operators can apply for funding. Information is available on the website www.europa-foerdert- kultur.info. The 13 programmes include, for example, the programme “Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values”, whose German contact point, based in Bonn, advises applicants on the programme of the same name. Likewise, the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation “Horizon” contains several areas in which culture is included as a European cross-cutting theme.
The Institute for Foreign Cultural Relations (ifa) has set up its own research programme “Culture and Foreign Policy”, in which experts conduct research on questions of foreign cultural and educational policy (ACP), especially in the thematic focus areas: Europe, controversial concepts of the ACBP, civil society as a space for action, international cultural education and art and cultural exchange (see: www.ifa.de/forschung/forschungsprogramm-kultur-und-aussenpolitik/).[1]
[1] Current publications are e.g.: Weigel, Sigrid (2019): Transnationale Auswärtige Kulturpolitik – Jenseits der Nationalkultur; Blumenreich, Ulrike / Löding, Ole (2017): Synergien auswärtiger Kulturpolitik im Inland am Beispiel von Kommunen.
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