Preparatory Action ‘Culture in EU External Relations’ Engaging the World: Towards Global Citizenship. This report presents how countries, civil society, and cultural professionals use culture in global engagement. The results are shown in the course of a sixteen month inquiry covering 54 countries which includes EU Member States, European Neighbourhood Policy countries, and Strategic Partners.
This book examines EU cultural politics from the 1980s onward, using the European Capital of Culture programme as its center. It shows that “Europe” in cultural policy is not just a Brussels project but a relational, multi-directional process shaped by transnational experts, local bureaucrats, cultural managers, residents and visitors. Source: book
This article deals with the relationship between the Council of Europe (which is a distinct international organization, not part of the European Union) and the European Union (EU) since 1950.
Building Europe – The Cultural Politics of European Integration (2000) Cris Shore uses anthropological methods and interviews with EU staff to show a systemic problem: a subculture of corruption rooted in how the EU is structured and run. He argues integration has mainly tightened ties among technical, political and financial elites, often at the expense of ordinary citizens.
Progress Europe – Culture Report (2007)
- “Progress Europe” – culture and cultural policy are significant for European unification
- It analyzes the perception of Europe, both internally and externally, seeking to find a true European identity.
- The report examines culture’s role in EU policy and foreign cultural relations, emphasizing partnership over promotion.
- It analyzes key cultural fields—media, film, education, language, music, literature, theatre, art, architecture, and fashion—as arenas where “Europe” is negotiated and represented.
Shaping Cultural Policies in Europe for Free and Democratic Societies (2025) (Policy Brief) –
- Culture can strengthen democratic values or it can deepen division of values.
- The cultural sector must be apolitical and promote the public good which means artistic freedom and long term financing that includes artists and civil society in decision making.
- Policies should reconcile European transnational goals with local stories and to treat cultural venues as safe spaces for dialogue and mutual exchange.
- Cultural education must be used to combat misinformation and to foster critical thinking.
- At the EU level, cooperation funds should support municipalities.
International Cultural Development – A program developed by the Netherlands in order to promote its cultural and artistic image outside its country, improving its image and economic status. This is done through: the ministry of foreign affairs who deploys different cultural attaches in embassies and abroad and the ministry of culture who provides funding to basic cultural infrastructure with foreign potential.
Office of public and cultural diplomacy – Description of the office for public diplomacy, its ways of working and the effect is has had worldwide.
The Cultural Diplomacy International Programme – Established in 2004 as a funding program to maintain New Zeeland’s in overseas region. The priorities of this programme are: 1. Raised visibility of the Aoteora arts and culture sector 2. Strengthened relationship with indigenous people internationally 3. Cultural activities that acknowledge New Zealand’s role as a Pacific Partner and 4. Increased international culture and artistic opportunities for Maori and Pasifiska artists and cultural practitioners.
Cultural and Sustainable Development – The integration of culture aims to to reduce poverty through jobs, skills and employment in the cultural sector to strengthening quality and education for all and social justice, to providing context-relevant responses to foster environmental sustainability. UNESCO wants to implement their public policies by developing mechanisms and tools to document and measure the impact of culture on sustainable development from an integrated and comprehensive perspective. They want culture to be considered a cross-cutting dimension that may foster a paradigm shift to renew policymaking towards and inclusive, people-centered and context-relevant approach.
Culture in Public Policy – This page is dedicated to culture in public policy. In a fragmented society, culture has the capability to provide boundless resources in responding and adapting to development challenges by playing a transversal and effective role in all areas of public policy. It presents key milestones such as policy making processes, including ministerial dialogues, examples of sustainable development strategies and plans at country level, and thematic strategies and policy mechanisms anchored in UNESCO’s cultural conventions.
Australian Cultural Diplomacy Grants – The ACDPG focus is on activities that develop Australia’s foreign and trade policies priorities, in different regions such as: Asia; South Pacific; Europe etc. An allocation of 6.75 million dollars is given to support professionals, community and institutional linkages between Australia and its partners in areas of shared interests such as arts, media, sports and education. These initiatives strengthen australia’s reputation as an innovative, creative nation and foster collaborative people-to-people links internationally.
National Cultural Institutes
Goethe Institut – Named after the German poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the Institutes main objective is promoting the German language through its cultural centers that are spread around the world. The institute was established in 1951, replacing the Deutsche Akademie. The first cultural center was established in Athens the following year. Later, the Institute would also include socio-political and avant-garde topics. Not only that, but Ralf Dahrendorf also declared that cultural work involving dialogue and partnership was declared ’’ the third pillar of German foreign policy ’’.
The fall of the Berlin Wall also marked a turning point for the Institutes activities as they focused more on the East European zone.
Cervantes Institute (Board of Trustees) – A worldwide nonprofit institution created by the Spanish Goverment in 1991. Named after Miguel De Cervantes, the author of Don Quixote, it is the largest organization in the world responsible for promoting the Spanish and Hispanic culture and language. As a government agency, its ultimate goals are to promote the education, study and use of Spanish as a second language, to support the methods and activities that would help the process of Spanish language education, and to promote Spanish and Hispanic culture to non-Spanish-speaking countries. The management of the Institute is divided into three parts:
- Patronato, the governing body which includes King Felipe VI as honorary president, the prime minister, representative world of culture and letters in Spain and in the Americas.
- The Consejo de Administración (Board of Directors), the management body that aproves the Institutes project.
- The Director which is appointed by the Council of Ministers, and is in charge of guiding the management of the institute and other pertinent executive and administrative tasks.
Some of the projects which the Institute has been a part of are:Plan de Digitalización del Instituto Cervantes, Canal del Instituto Cervantes en Apple Music, Cursos preparación al DELE etc.