Sessions summaries Workshop on Cultural Policies: From Rights to Indicators?
Reference Dialogue: Cultural rights and human development. New multicultural spaces

Democratic values are the key defining element of cultural policies. “A values-based policy must rely on the capacities of the people and the community,” stated Patrice Meyer-Bisch, coordinator of the Interdisciplinary Ethics and Human Rights Institute (IEDH) of Switzerland. Cultural policies must be regulated by rights and by cross-cutting cultural approaches that encompass all the fields in order for these policies to be put in place in a consistent way.

It is necessary to count on a European cultural policy based on values. “To date this idea has not backed by a much needed firm political will to implement it because many states are reluctant to delegate powers on a supranational body,” stressed Raymond Weber, director of the development and cooperation agency of Luxembourg, Lux-Development. Cultural policy must be placed at the same level of other policies.

It is also necessary to change the European economic and commercial priorities that relegate culture to a marginal place. “The European Union needs to have a cultural policy in the context of globalization, without overlooking the importance of the cultural context and the values that should expand beyond the political and economic spheres,” pointed out Weber.

Political democracy must ensure compliance with cultural policies. An interplay between the law, diversity and cultural security must exist so as to guarantee a democratic system. “Cultural rights entail equal access to culture and participation in the cultural life of a community. We cannot speak of full political participation if the right to expression and participation in political life is not exercised,” assured Meyer-Bisch. In fact, the speaker stated that cultural rights are the most spiritual rights as they enable us to construct liberty.

Cultural security guarantees equal access to cultural life for all, thereby preventing exclusion and attacks on individual or collective cultural dignity by recognizing the individual right to heritage. Thus, it is important to ensure the right to basic literacy, among others, as culture is at the core of development and it reinforces our freedom of choice both as individuals and as a community.

In order to implement a European cultural policy that reformulates the policies based on the current paradigm of the nation-state it is necessary to count on the involvement and determination of all players ranging from the private to the public sector, along with civil society. “It is necessary to develop participatory cultural policies within the current knowledge society that counts on all of its members acting in full awareness of their role as individuals and also as a community,” pointed Corina Suteu, Chair of ECUMEST. The idea is that cultural policies amount to quality of life and are also a development policy. Institutions also have something to learn from citizens.

Suteu based her arguments on her experience with the Policies for Culture Program implemented in post communist countries with cultural institutions that are strongly influenced by ideology. The chair of ECUMEST advocates for the implementation of sensible cultural policies that involve citizens and their environment in projects that ensure durability. She highlighted the importance of sharing experiences and lessons learned on websites such the one that exists for the Policies for Culture.

For Meyer-Bisch, cultural indicators should not be solely based on figures such as the number of copies of a book sold, or of university graduates. They must also include indicators on the efficiency of cultural rights that enable wide participation. Corina Suteu believes that it is necessary to establish cultural policy research methods with a comprehensive consideration of the democratic value of policies whose measures should be widely assessed. “Cultural policies allow for an enhanced social cohesion while providing best practices in conflict management,” pointed Suteu. Raymond Weber defended the creation of a European Cultural Forum, an observatory that would help preserve values in an experimental environment that could be a platform of exchange for the most diverse cultural projects.