ENCATC, AAAE and TACPS launch the Brussels Manifesto on Arts Management, Cultural Management and Policy Education
On 14 November the networks of ENCATC, AAAE, and TACPS launched the first-ever Brussels Manifesto on Arts Management, Cultural Management and Policy Education.
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.
Speaking the at first public announcement of this significant document last 28 September in Brussels during the 25th ENCATC Congress, ENCATC President Annick Schramme said: "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.
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. 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 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.
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.