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Policy|Belgium|EU level

Council conclusions: Cultural and creative crossovers to other sectors

Project title

Council conclusions: Cultural and creative crossovers to other sectors

Description of initiative

The Council of the EU agreed on this strategic policy document în 2015, acknowledging, among other points, that the cultural and creative sectors are a source of both cultural and economic value, but that their broader contribution had not yet been fully recognised, notably in terms of the potential of culture and artistic creativity to trigger innovation in other sectors of the economy, in society as a whole, and for the well-being of individuals. The Conclusions also recognised that the crossovers between the cultural and creative sectors and other sectors (e.g. technology, science and business) can be understood as a process of combining knowledge and skills specific to the cultural and creative sectors together with those of other sectors in order to generate innovative and intelligent solutions for today’s societal challenges.
The policy paper underlined that cultural and creative crossovers to other sectors can result in a wide range of benefits, including: increasing pupils’ attendance and achievements, fostering creative learning and pupils’ well-being, and improving parent engagement by involving artists and creative professionals in school activities; reducing medical expenditure and rates of hospitalisation by improving the prevention of illness and the rehabilitation process of patients through artistic and creative practices; regenerating industrial areas and urban spaces; improving social inclusion and community life through cultural and creative activities and by integrating contemporary architecture, arts and design in public spaces and buildings of cultural and historical value. As a consequence, the Council invited the EU Member States and the Commission to take several measures to address the situation, such as: to encourage widespread dissemination of information about good practices, results, and lessons learnt in cross-sectoral collaboration or to overcome silo thinking in traditional policy areas by better integrating culture and artistic creativity in strategies for economic growth, social policies, urban and regional development, and sustainable development.

Further information on the initiative

Themes: Culture and...

Individual well-being
Community well-being
Mental health
Physical health
Quality of spaces and built environments
Quality of social relations
Quality of services for specific groups
Work and workplace well-being

Keywords

EU Council, policy document, cultural and creative crossovers, culture and other sectors

Target group

Adults | Children | Older people | Youth

Cultural field

Architecture | Crafts | Dance | Design | Film, video | Heritage | Literature | Multimedia, new media, digital | Museums | Music | Other | Theatre, opera | Visual arts | Writing

Timeframe

2015 - 2018

Sources of funding

-

Results, benefits, impact and lessons learnt

According to the text of the document, the EU Council decided to take stock of these conclusions in 2018. The aim of the stocktaking exercise was to evaluate the progress made by the Member States and the Commission in the follow up to the conclusions. The exercise eventually took place in January 2020 in the framework of ”CCS Ecosystems: Flipping the Odds”, a 2-day stakeholder event co-organised by the European Commission (DG Education and Culture) and the Creative FLIP project.
Day 2 of the event was organised by DG EAC In the context of the Council Work Plan for Culture 2019-2022, Priority Area C: “An ecosystem supporting artists, cultural and creative professionals and European content” Topic C6: Financing and Innovation. The evaluation pointed out that most recommendations outlined in the Conclusions are still relevant, but that they still need a lot of work at EU and national levels. There is still too much focus on economic success alone. In cross-sectoral cooperation, the public space, social well-being, health and community well-being need to be central. More networking between European networks is needed to facilitate crossovers of cultural and creative sectors with other sectors in order to overcome fragmentation. See details on pages 23-26 of the Creative FLIP report.

Organizer(s)

Council of the European Union
Belgium
Public / State | Other