The declaration in other languages:
Arts Festivals' Declaration on Intercultural Dialogue
In this increasingly globalised and multicultural society, facing cultural
diversity has become a major challenge. Migratory flows and the successive
enlargements of the European Union have brought the European peoples and
cultures into continuous contact and exchange, so that living in a multicultural
community has become the norm for millions of people.
The significance and the role of culture in the process of European integration
are aspects which can no longer be ignored. In this new social context, the different
facets of the cultural identity of the individual and of the local communities
are constantly subject to a process of renewal and revision. Festivals have been
playing a key role in this process, as they represent an ideal location where, in
a festive atmosphere, the different cultural streams and phenomena closely linked
to immigration and multicultural communities find an ideal place for free and
peaceful expression.
They have always been powerful promoters of the protection of the fundamental
right of freedom of expression and their programmes helped to boost the circulation
of ideas and people, the creation of a more peaceful coexistence and the promotion
of an active European citizenship.
European arts festivals initiated a vital process of circulating and giving
visibility to the different cultural streams of European arts and cultures, which
represented a significant step toward the development of intercultural competences.
Festivals, while respecting and promoting the regional and national diversity of the
local communities, cultures, values and traditions, have at the same time been
highlighting a common European heritage by promoting a culture of mutual exchange
and respect for cultural diversity. Disadvantaged people, youth and minorities living
in this more open and complex society must be given, like all other people who are
temporarily living in the EU, the possibility of accessing active citizenship.
Cultural diversity, intercultural dialogue and the economic impact of culture have
now gained a top position on the agenda of the EU. The decision of the European Union
to declare 2008 the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue is the latest step in a
long-term plan to create an ever closer union between the peoples of Europe as well
as providing all citizens with the opportunity of participating actively in intercultural
dialogue in order to strengthen the coexistence of different cultural identities and
beliefs, to highlight their common heritage, and at the same time to acknowledge and
look respectfully at the differences of individual and local experiences.
Festivals play a powerful role in turning a multicultural society into an intercultural
society, a strategic step in the process of integration:
- First of all, festivals reach broad audiences. The number of people attending
festivals keeps increasing, which in turn shows a growing interest in the events
organised in the frameworks of festivals. Reaching the largest number of people
for the promotion intercultural dialogue is an important goal, as there cannot be
any intercultural interaction if the people have no means to get in touch.
- Festivals give artists from all over the world the opportunity of increasing
and developing their artistic experience, thus initiating a process of mutual exchange
of artistic excellence among different countries. In particular, the
artists-in-residence programmes allow artists to live and work in new contexts and to
combine their own experience with the local one, creating a positive and illuminating
example of integration.
- Differently from other media, the audiences attending festival events are encouraged
to actively participate in them. Festivals, conceived as plural and open moments to be
shared and participated in by the largest number of people, enhance the concept of
participation and promote a sense of belonging, as they are expressions of a local
community, but at the same time address international and European topics.
- Festivals boost cultural tourism. Every year millions of visitors decide to
attend festivals in different regions or countries, coming into contact with new
and different cultures and learning about foreign traditions and history.
- Festivals are unique expressions of the local community, as they are firmly rooted in
the local environment, but they are also very often linked to national and international
contexts. They are challenges to local traditions - as they acknowledge cultural diversity -
but at the same time they also stimulate innovation and respect the common cultural heritage.
- Festivals play a unique role in the context of education by promoting a culture of peace and
shaping understanding and respect amongst groups of people. Fringe activities, extensive
use of new technologies, schemes and activities conceived especially for young people are
particularly useful tools to reach youths and communicate with them, sharing values such
as respect for other cultures, and launching education processes in the field of intercultural
exchange.
- Outreach and fringe activities provide easy and open access to the cultural activities of
festivals for all kind of audiences, attracting all kinds of people, thus enhancing the process
of social inclusion. More and more festivals' events take place in convivial atmospheres and in
open venues which can be accessed basically by all, including disadvantaged people and ethnic
or cultural minorities.
Festivals and other parties signing this Declaration are engaged:
- In building an effective intercultural dialogue, in the conviction that such a
dialogue represents an essential tool for peaceful interaction among different
cultures, ethnic groups, religions, languages, beliefs and social backgrounds.
Such interaction will in turn encourage a respectful and enriching exchange of
ideas and help identify the boundaries that define individuals and communities;
- In raising the awareness of artists, managers, collaborators, volunteers regarding
Intercultural Dialogue conceived as a respectful and free exchange among communities
and individuals and aimed at the promotion and maintenance of cultural diversity which
is indispensable for the protection of human rights and democracy;
- In opposing stereotyping, prejudice, discrimination and ignorance about different,
foreign or minority cultures and are committed to and engaged in promoting Intercultural
Dialogue in the framework of the European Year and for the years to come by mobilising their
collective creative resources and celebrating participation as a bond among people.
- In disseminating the European Year documents and its core ideas to the largest number of
people possible and ensuring visibility for the logo, brochures and all communication and
information materials referring to the European Year in order to promote its essence and
objectives.
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