In the beginning of 2011, Culture Action Europe contacted all its members to support the setting up of national campaign coordination groups. Apart from translating the campaign message to national political contexts and advocating for the campaign objectives on regional and national level, the national coordination groups are organizing public events to invite individuals and organisations beyond the Culture Action Europe membership to join the campaign. For a full list of Culture Action Europe’s members, please visit this page.

The ideas for campaign activities as well as the structure of the national co-ordination groups (formal/informal) vary greatly between the countries and regions. Please feel free to contact the groups below to get involved! If your country/region is not yet on the list, please feel free to set up a group in your own country/region/between your own networks!

Belgium – the national coordination group in Belgium consists of a broad variety of organisations active on local, regional and national level in Belgium from within the Culture Action Europe membership and beyond. In April 2012, the group sent a statement on the next EU Culture Programme ‘Creative Europe’ to the Belgian Ministers of Culture and Belgian MEPs. The group is currently also discussing other joint activities over the year. For more information about the work of this group and to get involved, please contact Leen de Spiegelaere from Brussels Kunstenoverleg.

Denmark – In Denmark, the work on the campaign is led by DSI Swinging Europe in partnership with Center for Kunst & Interkultur.  DSI Swinging Europe has been awarded a grant to organize a high-level conference on culture in the next Multiannual Financial Framework. The conference, called Next Step, is an official part of the Danish EU Presidency programme and take place in Herning, Denmark, the 7-8 of June. For more information about the work of this group and to get involved, please contact Per Bech Jensen from DSI Swinging Europe.

France – the French members of Culture Action Europe organized several working meetings and public debates in 2011, for instance in connection with the Festival d’Avignon. Activities in 2012 include a campaign debate in Lyon with the French Ministry of Culture organized by Banlieus d’Europe the 23rd of April. For more information about the work of this group and to get involved, please contact Isabelle Battioni from ACCR, Philippe Fanjas from Association Française des Orchestres and Ferdinand Richard from AMI. Isabelle Battioni, Philippe Fanjas and Ferdinand Richard are all members of the Executive Committee of Culture Action Europe.

Germany - the German members of Culture Action Europe have organized a series of working meetings to which they’ve invited organisations from within and beyond the membership. For more information about the work of this group and to get involved, please contact Simone Dudt from the European Music Council and Rolf Witte from the Bundesvereinigung Kulturelle Kinder- und Jugendbildung. Simone Dudt and Rolf Witte are both members of the Executive Committee of Culture Action Europe.

Italy – on the 20th of February, Arci hosted a meeting in Rome for campaign supporters from within the Culture Action Europe membership and beyond to make plans for activities over Spring 2012. On the 29th of March, the group also organized a public debate about the campaign and the future of EU funding for culture in Rome. For more information about the work of this group and to get involved, please contact Carlo Testini from Arci.

Netherlands – in the Netherlands, the work on the campaign is coordinated by our strategic partner the European Cultural Foundation (ECF). In January 2012, the ECF  organized a panel debate about the campaign at the Eurosonic festival in Groningen and on the 25th of April a stakeholders’ meeting on ‘Creative Europe’ in The Hague. The ECF has also produced an action plan and  communications strategy in collaboration with Dutch organisations from the sector. For more information about the work of this group and to get involved, please contact Marjolein Cremer from the ECF.

Poland - the coordination group in Poland consists of Fabryka Sztuki/Art Factory Lódź, the Baltic Sea Cultural Centre in Gdańsk, the Arteria Foundation in Zabrze, the MCK International Cultural Centre in Kraków and the National Culture Centre. In 2012, the group is planning to conduct a series of arts advocacy workshops on how to lobby for culture. The group has previously helped to translate the campaign Message book to Polish and has also produced a Polish promotion video for the campaign. For more information about the work of this group and to get involved, please contact Agata Etmanowicz from Fabryka Sztuki/Art Factory Lódź.

Sweden – the work on the campaign in Sweden is coordinated by Intercult. In December 2011, Intercult, Riksteatern and the European Commission representation in Sweden organized a high-level public debate on the next EU culture programme ‘Creative Europe’ and the EU 2020 strategy. In Spring 2012, the work of the group will focus on the implementation of the capacity building project ‘we are more – gathering Nordic cultural operators to joint advocacy actions’. The project gathers all Nordic members of Culture Action Europe as well as external partners for joint advocacy actions, starting with a workshop in Stockholm the 26th-27th of January 2012, and continuing with a series of campaign activities during the Danish EU Presidency in Spring 2012. For more information about the work of this group and to get involved, please contact Ida Burén at Intercult.

United Kingdom – Concerning potential campaign actions in 2012, the UK group is looking at possibilities to connect the campaign with the Olympics in London in June 2012, that has a strong and politically funded cultural programme. For more information about the work of this group and to get involved, please contact Clymene Christofourou at ISIS Arts and Paul Collard at Creativity Culture & Education. Clymene Christofourou and Paul Collard are both members of the Executive Committee of Culture Action Europe.