ENCATC, the European network on cultural management and policy, AAAE, the Association of Arts Administration Educators, and TACPS, the Taiwan Association of Cultural Policy Studies release today the Brussels Manifesto on Arts Management, Cultural Management and Policy Education. This document is the first of its kind to present the current needs and future visions of educators, researchers, cultural operators and public authorities to make significant advancements in the field of cultural management and cultural policy. It is meant to raise issues to develop dialogue, and to offer an opportunity for discussion among our respective members and between our (and other) networks.
The Brussels Manifesto is the culmination of a series of dialogues between the three networks and other representatives from the international community, having taken place on 30 May 2017 in Edinburgh, UK and again in Brussels on a format of a global conversation open to major institutional stakeholders on 28 September 2017. It also incorporates input from the members of ENCATC, AAAE and TACPS collected via a wide social media campaign. Today’s reveal follows eleven months of intense discussions, contributions from invited experts, and crucial input from the networks’ members to reflect on the role and position as networks in Arts Management, Cultural Management and Cultural Policy education and research in a globalizing world.
This document is intended to be a tool to reflect the shared values of three major networks: ENCATC, AAAE and TACPS who represent a collective of arts and cultural management educational networks from Europe, North America and Asia. Furthermore, it aims to advocate on behalf of the work of their institutions, and articulate what is possible with a progressive and innovative approach to arts management, cultural management and policy education.
Seven key statements are expressed in the Manifesto:
- the need for sound management, policy and research approaches;
- the respect and value of diversity in our interconnected world;
- the support of local, regional and national needs in a context of globalization;
- the creation of a space for peer-learning;
- the role as an incubator for innovative methodologies and investment in the cultural sector;
- the need for comparative, interdisciplinary and practice-based research;
- the exploration of different organizational forms and collaboration models of arts and culture that can transform society, education, and business.
In its final version, the Manifesto has been written in the framework of the new Global Conversation project developed by ENCATC and AAAE and to which TACPS later joined. Key leaders on the initiative include Sherburne Laughlin (American University, USA), Alan Salzenstein (DePaul University, USA), and Annick Schramme (University of Antwerp/Antwerp Management School, BE).
“This year, as we celebrate 25 years of ENCATC’s valuable contributions to cultural management and policy education, training, and research, we have been reflecting on the network’s future. We offer this Manifesto as an important step in extending our work through an international comparative perspective and developing strong international links. We hope it will have a lasting impact on the sustainability and competitive strength of the cultural sector as we work to balance local needs with global challenges concerning our field,” said ENCATC President, Annick Schramme at the occasion of the first public announcement of this significant document last 28 September in Brussels.
“We are proud to stand with our partners at ENCATC and TACPS in support of these international principles for arts and cultural management education and research,” said Sherburne Laughlin, president of AAAE. “The Brussels Manifesto is the culmination of many hours of exchange, reflection, and collaboration and we are pleased to announce its publication. We hope it brings a thoughtful and forward-thinking perspective to the international conversation.”
“This project is one of the major 2017 outcomes resulting from the two Memorandums of Understanding that were signed by ENCATC with AAAE and with TACPS in 2016 and 2017 respectively. These agreements represent the formalization of a collaboration that has been growing over the past 22 years with AAAE and the last 5 years with TACPS with the overall aim of formalizing our respective commitments to promote increased collaboration for mutual benefit. The document is also a clear proof of the wish of our three networks to start playing an active role in the global societal change instead of reacting to a pre-defined context for arts and culture management education,” said ENCATC Secretary General, GiannaLia Cogliandro Beyens.
Katy Coy, executive director of AAAE said, “Through the drafting of this Manifesto, we and our partners had an important opportunity to identify and articulate common values in arts and cultural management education. Now, as we engage our students–the rising leaders of this field–we are able to provide context for international collaborations and shared values. This document fulfills an important purpose and will be a meaningful and dynamic addition to our dialogues moving forward.”
Speaking on behalf of TACPS, its President Jerry C Y Liu said: “It is significant that TACPS, as a cultural organization in the East Asia, has taken part in the joint Manifesto. I always believe that although intercontinental differences do generate barriers, they also bring about sympathetic understanding and self-reflexive action. Hopefully, through interdisciplinary and inter-sectorial cultural networking, and the professionalization of entrepreneurial skills/techniques, we can transcend the political, economic, ethnic barriers of international Arts Management, Cultural Management and Cultural Policy networking and tackle practical cultural problems collaboratively.”
After the Manifesto’s launch, ENCATC, AAAE and TACPS will build upon it to create a network of networks as a platform for innovation and exchange. With combined membership of more than 280 higher education and cultural institutions across 40 countries worldwide, this document and the corresponding initiative will result in more enhanced international exchanges, cross-cultural collaborations, and a strong unified voice for arts management, cultural management and cultural policy education and research.
DOWNLOAD THE BRUSSELS MANIFESTO here
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For more information about the three networks behind the Brussels Manifesto:
ENCATC is the leading European network on cultural management and cultural policy education. It is an independent membership organisation gathering over 100 higher education institutions and cultural organisations in over 38 countries. ENCATC was founded in 1992 to represent, advocate and promote cultural management and cultural policy education, professionalise the cultural sector to make it sustainable, and create a platform for discussion and exchange at the European and international level. ENCATC is co-funded by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union. www.encatc.org
AAAE, the Association of Arts Administration Educators consists of more than 150 member programs, all training and equipping students in arts leadership, management, entrepreneurship, cultural policy, and more. Our network of faculty and their alumni are the cornerstones of local arts communities across the globe. AAAE serves as a convener, a resource, and an advocate for formal arts administration education. www.artsadministration.org
TACPS, the Taiwan Association of Cultural Policy Studies, is an autonomous and not-for-profit legal organisation. Members of TACPS come across a wide range of disciplines – from cultural policy, arts management, cultural heritage, performing arts, visual arts, art critics, community regeneration, cultural and creative industries, arts market, cultural economy, film and media studies, popular music, to international cultural relations. Founded in 2015, the mission of TACPS is to create an open and accessible knowledge sharing platform, and to develop a public sphere that would facilitate cultural collaborations, dialogues, engagements and rational debates among different agents include academia, NPSs, cultural enterprises, creative industries and governmental cultural institutions in Taiwan and abroad. http://tacps.tw/
Press contact: Elizabeth Darley | Publications and Communications Manager | ENCATC | Avenue Maurice 1, 1050 Brussels, Belgium | e.darley@encatc.org | +32.2.201.29.12