Presidencia UE 2010

European Forum for Cultural Industries

Practical information:

Venue:
Casa Llotja de Mar
Passeig Isabel II, 1
08003 Barcelona

Dates:
March 29th and 30th

Nº of persons attending:
600

The Spanish Ministry of Culture and the European Commission, in collaboration with the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce, will organise the European Forum for Cultural Industries, the main meeting on culture planned by the Spanish Presidency of the EU. The Forum will precede the informal council of EU ministers for culture to be held on the following day, 31 March in Barcelona.

Spain is holding the presidency of the European Union over the first half of 2010, the first presidency to be held in the new three country rotating presidency system. Among the objectives established by the Ministry of Culture is to foster and support cultural industries as drivers of economic and social development, as well as meeting the objectives of the Lisbon strategy to make the 2010 EU "the most dynamic and competitive knowledge-based economy in the world capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion, and respect for the environment by 2010". Within this context, the European Commission is drafting a green book on cultural and creative industries, and will present the main lines at this meeting. The Barcelona Chamber of Commerce, as part of its work in protecting business fabric and aware of the importance of culture as a strategic factor for the future, will also collaborate in this initiative.

The European Forum for Cultural Industries aims to continue on from the International Conference on Economy and Culture held in Barcelona in 2009 and organised by the Barcelona Chamber of Commerce and the Ministry of Culture. The Conference was a first step towards to setting a European agenda on competitiveness and creativity, to boost culture professionals and companies as catalysts of wealth, and to strengthen public perception on the role of creativity and cultural producers and heritage as drivers of modern society.

The Forum will be structured around five main axes:

• The funding of cultural industries (financial intervention measures, small and medium company sustainability).
• Cultural industry professionals (new responsibilities derived from digital conversion, training challenges, talent mobility).
• Internationalisation (local production in global markets, cooperation and internationalisation strategies).
• Intellectual property and copyright management.
• Territorial development (culture and territorial development, local and regional European development programmes).