The 26th ENCATC Congress on Cultural Management and Policy on “Beyond EYCH2018. What is the cultural horizon? Opening up perspectives to face ongoing transformations” concluded recently in Bucharest, Romania and looked to cultural priorities in Europe beyond EYCH or the European Year of Cultural Heritage in 2018. ENCATC is the European network on cultural management and policy. Maria Sharon Mapa Arriola tells us what happened there and reflects on the connections with south-east Asia.
Reflections and Learnings
The EYCH or the European Year of Cultural Heritage was at the center of discussions, particularly on the cultural developments brought about by the advent of digitalisation in arts and culture. How are values, content, and meanings produced and transmitted, and how our understanding of cultures, people and identity shaped by digital media platforms?
With an intention to critically analyse and contextualise these developments within the purview of education and research, difficult questions were raised by the participants who represented various sectors and institutions specifically in the fields of education, research, cultural organisations, and policy making bodies.
The activities designed for the programme aimed to present the current cultural horizon in Europe, trends in the practice of cultural management, issues and perspectives on sustainability and maintaining cultural continuity amidst the rapidly changing cultural landscape. The three major activities that were provided to the participants in order to have an engaging and meaningful experience in the Congress were the following: firstly, ENCATC members were given a platform for exchange and dialogues during the general meetings and fora. Secondly, the young and emerging scholars were given an opportunity to present their current researches. Research trends, methodologies, various frameworks and perspectives, funding and publishing opportunities, possible linkages and tie-ups for collaborative researches were some of the highlights of this session. And lastly, the tours of selected cultural institutions such as The International Center for Research and Education in Innovative Creative Technologies – CINETic, The National Museum of Contemporary Arts, and Nod Makerspace. The visits to these institutions allowed the participants to take a peek at the current interests and endeavors of cultural workers, practitioners, educators, researchers, and designers in Bucharest, Romania.
Read the complete article by Sharon Mapa Arriola on culture360.ASEF.org.
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