6th ENCATC Academy on Culture in External Relations

Nicola Robinson is a policy officer in the EC’s Cultural Diversity and Innovation unit, where she leads on intercultural dialogue and social inclusion.  This includes two current Member States' expert groups under the Council Work Plan for Culture - on Intercultural dialogue in the context of the migratory and refugee crisis and Fostering the contribution of culture for social inclusion.  As part of the EC's structured dialogue with the cultural sector - Voices of Culture – Nicola has led on 2 relevant themes: The role of culture for the inclusion of refugees and migrants, and Promoting intercultural dialogue and bringing communities together through culture in shared public spaces.  While her current work has an intra-EU focus, she has also worked on culture in external relations, and leads EU implementation of the UNESCO 2005 Convention on the Diversity of Cultural Expressions.  Nicola grew up in Scotland, but has lived in Belgium and France for much of her life. She speaks fluent French, some Dutch and Italian.  She has been an EU civil servant for 14 years, after working for the UK government, and moved to culture policy in 2013 following a career break working for a UK NGO.  Outside work she enjoys sport and culture, particularly music – she is a keen amateur violinist.