CULTMED project collaborator, Dr. Dea Vidović, took part on 6 June 2025 in the 50th edition of the “ENCATC Talks” programme, held under the title “Towards A New Culture Compass For Europe: The Vision of the Cultural Management and Policy Community.” The online event featured the public presentation of the draft “Position Paper on the Culture Compass for Europe”, which the ENCATC network submitted to the European Commission on 13 May 2025. With this initiative, ENCATC opened a space for dialogue and reflection among its members on the European Commission’s strategic initiative “Culture Compass for Europe.”
During the session, Susanne Hollmann and Oscar Seguro Apostolo from the Cultural Policy Unit of the DC EAC of the European Commission presented the structure, strategic objectives, and key components of the “Culture Compass for Europe” initiative. This new policy tool, under development by the EU, is designed to bring greater coherence, impact, and long-term vision to Europe’s cultural policies. It aims to guide the EU’s actions in the cultural field across policy areas, foster stronger cross-sectoral coordination, and support Member States in designing more aligned cultural strategies.
As the leading European network in cultural management and policy, ENCATC is actively contributing to this process and has developed a draft Position Paper that articulates the network’s vision, concerns, and recommendations. The document draws on over three decades of advocacy, expertise, and academic engagement in the cultural field. The ENCATC Position Paper was presented by prominent experts and members of the network: Lluís Bonet (University of Barcelona), Milena Dragićević-Šešić (University of Arts in Belgrade), Rod Fisher (Goldsmiths, University of London), Gerald Lidstone (President of ENCATC), and Dea Vidović. The session was moderated by Carla Figueira, ENCATC’s Strategic Policy Advisor.
The discussion explored the potential of this strategic EU initiative to shape the cultural sector in the years ahead, highlighting ENCATC’s core contributions. Emphasis was placed on recognizing culture as a public and common good, as well as on the need for a paradigmatic shift in cultural policy, from a competitiveness-driven model to one based on care, solidarity, and social well-being.
The presentation, held via Zoom, gathered around 80 participants, including researchers and cultural policy professionals from across Europe and beyond.
