Felix Meritis - Europees centrum voor kunst, cultuur en wetenschap

dinsdag 12 oktober 2010 / Internationalisering

A Soul for Europe: ISTANBUL FORUM

A Soul for Europe Istanbul Forum: Global Challenges, Cultural Visions initiated a laboratory to define and implement new forms of collaboration between political decision makers and civil society - including the business sector and the individual citizen - to develop Europe as a cultural project.

Download here the book A Soul for Europe Istanbul Forum: Global Challenges, Cultural Visions, published March 2011. The book reports of all sessions during the FORUM.

Among the speakers: Doris Pack (Member European Parliament, Chair European Parliament's Committee on Culture and Education), Şekib Avdagiç (President 2010 Istanbul European Capital of Culture 2010), Bahadır Kaleağası (International Coordinator TUSIAD - Turkish Industry & Business Association Representative EU and BUSINESSEUROPE Brussels), Beral Madra (Director of the Visula Arts department 2010 Istanbul European Capital of Culture) Paul Scheffer (Professor, University of Amsterdam), Pierluigi Sacco (University IUAV, Venice), Radovan Jelašić (former governor, central bank of Serbia), Ferenc Miszlivetz (Professor, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Director, ISES - Institute for Social and European Studies Foundation. Yolanda Onghena, Senior Researcher, CIDOB - Barcelona Centre for International Affairs, Nevzat Bayhan General Director, Istanbul Municipality Kültür A.Ş., Nele Hertling (Co-founder, A Soul for Europe Strategy Group Member) Dr. Korhan Gümüş, Architect, Founder, IYD - Human Settlements Association, Executive Board Member, Istanbul 2010 European Capital of Culture Agency, Memet Ali Alabora (Theatre Actor, Activist), Gülseren Onanç (President, KAGİDER - Woman Entrepreneurs Association of Turkey) as well as a large group of engaged young Europeans from many different countries, including the members of the Strategy Group: the new strategic heart of the initiative A Soul for Europe. 

The A Soul for Europe Istanbul Forum: Global Challenges, Cultural Visions has been a crucial step in laying the foundations of one of the newest projects of "A Soul for Europe": The European Culture and Economy Platform. Some leading representatives from both the business and culture sector strongly agreed about the need of such platform which is a long term project of the "A Soul for Europe" initiative and its partners in the culture and economic sectors. It is meant to be a European-wide platform of individuals from the culture and economic sectors with invited European politicians. It will function as a think-tank to develop common strategies, actions and policy proposals and recommendations to ensure the sustainable development of Europe, its regions, its cities and communities in a global contest. The platform is a pure civil society initiative and differs form other institutional platforms. It draws its inspiration from the "European agenda for culture in a globalizing world" COM(2007) 242 final and constitutes one of its concrete and far reaching implementation.

An other important result of the A Soul for Europe Istanbul Forum: Global Challenges, Cultural Visions has been achieved at the Istanbul metropolitan level. Various personalities involved with Istanbul European Capital of Culture 2010, artists and others civil society actors have expressed their serious commitment to create a multi-sector platform to deal with the results of the 2010 European Capital of culture project and its long term sustainable effect for the Istanbul metropolitan area after 2010.

Finally most of the participants recognised that a fundamental need to find common visions among all sector of society to find solutions for the sustainable development of Europe and the world.

 The results and consequences of the Istanbul Forum will be taken into the 4th Berlin Conference - A Soul for Europe scheduled on the 20th of November 2010. This will offer the chance of continuing the analysis and  a deeper analysis for Global Challenges - Cultural Visions.

"A Soul for Europe": founded in 2004 as a pure civil society initiative which started in Berlin and developed across Europe. Felix Meritis is one of the main structural partners. The goal of the initiative is to see Europe use its cultural map as a strategic factor in Europe's development. One of its initiatives are the Forums which have already taken place in several European cities like Lyon, Prague, Sofia, Skopje and Ravello.

Press coverage:

Istanbul cultural policies criticized at ‘Soul for Europe' forum Hurriyet Daily News & Economic Review

Will Turkey enter Europe with an open face? Ralitsa Kovacheva

Video Interviews to: Radovan Jelašić, Pierluigi Sacco, Levan Khetaguri, Ferenc Miszlivetz.

Inteview with Paul Scheffer: Resolving the immigration problem means to redefine what it is to be a citizen

Interview with Javor Gardev

Venue: Istanbul Forum: Tophane-i Amire Culture Center, Istanbul, Turkey

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