Interarts will lead the new European Expert Network on Culture – EENC

Interarts is pleased to announce that it will coordinate the European Expert Network on Culture on behalf of DG Education and Culture of the European Commission for an initial two years, from November 2020 to November 2022.

The EENC is expected to contribute to the improvement of policy development in the field of culture in Europe through the provision of advice and to support the Commission in the analysis of cultural and cultural heritage policies, as well as of policies pertaining to the cultural and creative sectors (CCS) and the mainstreaming of culture in relevant EU policies, such as climate change and sustainable development.

The EENC will cover the different dimensions of the cultural sector, considering the transversal, cross-sectoral and mainstreaming value of culture, as defined in the 2018 New Agenda for Culture: 1) Social dimension – Harnessing the power of culture and cultural diversity for social cohesion and well-being; 2) Economic dimension – Supporting culture-based creativity in education and innovation, and for jobs and growth; 3) External dimension – Strengthening international cultural relations. The Work Plan for Culture 2019-2022 will also be the backbone for the EENC work. It considers three main elements: 1) the intrinsic value of culture and its contribution to the socio-economic development; 2) cultural diversity which, including linguistic diversity, is a key asset of the EU; and, 3) the need to mainstream culture, that requires a “holistic and horizontal approach as regards legislation, financing and cross-sectoral cooperation”. Within the Work Plan for Culture 2019-2022 eight Open Method of Coordination (OMC) working groups have been set up to cover different fields. Emphasis will most surely be on the relation between the issues outlined above and the EU’s and international policy context, in particular as regards cultural heritage, sustainable development and climate change.

The EENC will provide guidance and advice to the European Commission through policy briefings, analytical reports and studies; it will also support the Open Method of Coordination – OMC process through mappings and reports. For the dissemination of the outputs, a dedicated EENC website will be launched in May 2021.

The EENC is currently made up of a core group of 15 renowned European experts in the fields of cultural policies; other experts will be co-opted on the basis of the on-going assignments. The scientific coordination is ensured by Dr. Cornelia Dümcke, Culture Concepts.

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In case you have any questions or comments on EENC or its work, please feel free to send us an email at info@eenc.eu

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