Newsletter 03/2019

Dear colleagues, partners and friends of EDUCULT,

Effective research requires strong connections, both here in Europe and across the globe. Importantly, these connections can also be of direct benefit to civil society, especially if the field of culture and education aims to improve upon itself and stay relevant. Moreover, it is a chance to bring up pressing topics and to build networks which can strategically support the field. That is one of many reasons why EDUCULT was present at the International Children’s Culture Forum in Tampere, Finland this month. In co-operation with the Finnish Children’s Cultural Centers and the European Network of Observatories in the Field of Cultural and Arts Education (ENO), the Tampere Paper was developed as a thematic conclusion to the conference. Based on the Children’s Cultural Rights stated in the 1989 UN Convention, it reminds us of what should have already become reality: Securing every child’s right to participation, advancing multi-professional cooperation and partnerships, understanding diversity and the advancement of well-being, encouraging critical thinking and self-expression, building and supporting sustainable communities, arts education and finally, the need for cultural education to be founded on current and professional research.

To make this happen, we also need to think within cross-disciplinary connections – arts, culture, education, policies as well as social, economic and environmental questions are always intertwined. Different stakeholders should be involved, co-creation between public actors and the civil society brings more attention, and international cooperation in the field of culture and education should be strengthened. We try to do that in our projects here at EDUCULT. These goals may be somewhat broad, but we see research as a holistic approach to understanding our world and societies – and how to further develop them.

So, let’s keep this topic going and do our best to join together! We wish you an inspiring read!

Your EDUCULT team

EDUCULT IN ACTION provides current information on our projects.

EDUCULT TALKS introduces people with diverse backgrounds.

EDUCULT IN EXCHANGE informs about international exchange and co-operations.

EDUCULT INFORMS about international affairs, projects and meetings.

Wimmer’s Quarterly

Art and Conflict – Artists in the Wake of Illiberal Cultural Policy

Künstlerhaus Graz recently held an exhibition by the young Hungarian artist Ákos Ezer.  Under the title “Art and Conflict”, I was invited to deal with the socio-political and cultural-political context that is currently affecting contemporary Hungarian art, even though Ezer and many of his colleagues consider their artistic works to be non-political. As an Austrian, I saw it as my task not only to reflect on the current political developments in Hungary and their effects on cultural policy, but also to incorporate the current political changes that are becoming increasingly apparent in Hungary’s neighbouring countries and thus also in Austria. [read more]

EDUCULT in Action

First Time

The aim of the ERASMUS+ project is to strengthen international cooperation between civil society organisations in the field of lifelong learning. Project managers who (for the first time) work or want to work in an international environment shall be supported. As part of this project, we have published two research reports with our partners from Denmark, Italy, Poland and Hungary. The first study analyses the achievements and challenges faced by project managers in international civil society cooperation projects. The second study focuses on competences that are helpful and important for the successful implementation of these projects. The data sets  are based on surveys and interviews with project managers in the partner countries. The research forms the basis for developing a support portal for the first-time managers of international projects. [read more]

Goethe Institute Cairo

EDUCULT was commissioned by the Goethe-Institute Cairo to conduct a training seminar for the Egyptian Ministry of Education. In mid-July, a four-day workshop on evaluation techniques, survey methods and evaluation will take place on location. Together with an Egyptian colleague, the workshop concept and the materials will be developed in advance. Following the course, the Goethe-Institute will receive a report on the results of the seminar. [read more]

Multilingual Rhetoric Contest “SAG’S MULTI!” 2019/20

This project took place for the first time in 2009/10. Every year upwards of 500 pupils with and without migration backgrounds craft speeches in German and a second language of their choice. The contestants must impress a professional jury not only with their language skills, but also with the content of their speeches. The competition was initiated by Verein “Wirtschaft für Integration” and organised together with EDUCULT’s help. [read more]

Summer Academy – Kobe University, Japan

From the 12th to 22nd September 2019, thirteen students from the Kobe University/Faculty of Global Human Sciences came to Vienna on a ten-day study trip focused on the topic of “New cultures – new politics. Challenges for cultural management and cultural policy in demographically and politically changing environments”. EDUCULT was commissioned with the programming and organisation of the Summer Academy and offered the prospective cultural managers practical content with a diverse selection of speakers and in-depth visits to cultural institutions. The Kobe University Summer Academy Retrospective is now live. [read more]

EDUCULT in Exchange

International Children’s Cultural Forum

Is culture and art education inclusive? How do we implement children’s cultural rights in different countries? What does the future of children’s culture and arts education look like? The first International Children’s Cultural Forum in Finland took place from the 30^th of September – 2^nd  of October 2019 in the city of Tampere. The forum’s aims were to widen international co-operation and to deepen the shared understanding of the value base of children’s rights and their role in a well-functioning society. The livestream of the Forum can be viewed online, including Aron Weigl’s lecture on the 30^th of September entitled “Worldwide cultural rights for children: arts education as a challenge of transcultural relations”. During the forum, the “Tampere Paper” was developed, which is to be understood as a recommendation for the EU and its member states on how culture for children should be supported. [read more]

The 11^th International Conference on Cultural Policy Research: Call for Papers

The 11th International Conference on Cultural Policy Research (ICCPR 2020) will be held in the historic city of Kyoto, Japan. The conference is hosted by Doshisha University in association with the Japan Association for Cultural Policy Research. ICCPR 2020’s theme is the Resilience of Cultural Policy. In the rapid globalization and digital transformation of recent years, one major challenge for cultural policy seems to be how best to maintain or strengthen regional, local or various representations of communities’ own culture. Cultural policies of many nations, in the meantime, are increasingly expected to work with (or for) other policy areas such as economic development, social inclusion and urban planning. Is such an approach to cultural policy crossing many policy areas negatively affecting ‘cultural policy proper’ concerns? Was there any time in history when cultural policy was independent, autonomous and detached from socio-economic aims of government? To what extent is cultural policy of today ‘resilient’, or should it be so? These are some of the issues this conference would like to address with invited guests and participants from all over the world. The submission of proposals is now open and EDUCULT, as part of the conference’s Scientific Committee, is excited for your submittals.

Deadline for submission of proposals: December 13th, 2019 [read more]

EDUCULT Informs

Cultural Crops: Cultural Practices in Non-Urban Territories

Beyond the Obvious (BtO) 2019 Conference – Culture Crops -, Culture Action Europe’s Annual General Assembly (AGA) and Members Forum will take place though the 23^rd -26^th of October 2019 in Konstanz-Kreuzlingen. This conference will address issues like urban-rural discrepancies, participation & representation, democracy, identities, displacement, population among other topics. The conference proposes exciting conceptual threads to stimulate discussions that go beyond the obvious. The conference aims to jointly develop CAE advocacy approach to the culture and the arts in rural and peripheral areas to be further applied in our policy actions. It wants to spark the debate on peripheral territories. Where does their territory begin and where it does it end? How do they see themselves and how are they seen by others? What are they and how do they work? [read more]

Creative Synergies – Expert Talk

“Creative Synergies” is a series of events organised by the Creative Europe Desks of Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary and Austria. Workshop 2019 in Austria will take place on 3 October 2019 as part of the Styrian Autumn in Graz. The focus will be on projects and initiatives from the Alps-Adriatic region in the area of tension between contemporary art and cultural heritage. A presentation on funding opportunities of the Alps-Adriatic Alliance outlines further funding opportunities for this region. The event is part of the Year of Neighbourhood Dialogue with Slovenia. [read more]

Question Me and Answers (QM&A): Group Exhibition & Launch Fest

The Initiative: QM&A aims to support artists who have only recently moved to Vienna to resume their artistic activities. The background to this is the problem that it is difficult for artists of all kinds to find a connection to the art market or the artists’ community in Vienna. But it is even more difficult for people who come to Vienna as migrants or refugees. They often have no network at all in the European art business and are not in a secure working relationship that would allow them to build up a network in their free time. It wants to shorten the process of networking and actively improve the networking among artists who have been living in Austria for a long time and newcomers. The basis of this project is thus active networking. [read more]

Fellowship Weltmuseum

The Weltmuseum Wien deals with the vast cultural variety of people all around the world and through its global collection documents Austria’s rich history in regard to its relationship with the world. This institution announced a call for a six month fellowship at the Weltmuseum Wien, beginning from November 2019 onwards. The fellowship is endowed with 1300 euros gross per month, over a timespan of six months. The call is intended for artists as well as educators, and for people who see their work as an interface between the two, and in accordance to the intentions of kültür gemma! define themselves as migrants. Experience in participative processes is expected. [read more]

Away – A Project Around Residencies

AWAY – a project around residencies has an open format. AWAY has developed a service tool for artists so that they can keep a good overview of this wealth of opportunities and find out which place and programme is the right one for their own way of working or their personal situation. On principle, the programmes listed on their webpage (link below) are addressing Austrian artists or artists working in Austria that are active in the disciplines of visual art, photography, performance, digital art, theory/curating, art criticism or art education. The selection primarily includes grants offered by public institutions in the Austrian provinces and, additionally, a few private initiatives based on positive experiences reported by artists. In addition to these focus disciplines; there is also a selection of programmes for the following practices: architecture, literature, music/composition, design, film, fashion and the performing arts. [read more]