Culture

• Introduction
• The potential of cross-border cultural cooperation
• Numerous structural needs
• Financing cultural projects
• The diversity of cross-border cultural projects

Numerous structural needs

Very present in cross-border cooperation, cultural activities have often initiated new cross-border practices among both professionals and the public.

Culture integration from a cross-border point of view

This requires that cultural actors – both public institutions and professionals – change their thinking and their way of working, and define a common approach to cross-border cultural issues and cross-border cultural cooperation:

• Adopt a more cross-sectional approach to the link between culture and cross-border territories
  - A cross-sectional approach to culture, linked with economic development and social and environmental concerns for cross-border territories, focusing on the dimensions of knowledge, sustainable development and citizenship.
  - Encouraging the integration of all cultural sectors within this transversal approach (performing arts, cultural heritage, public reading, etc.).
  - Considering specificity when setting up cross-border cultural projects.

• Adopt a more strategic approach to cross-border cultural cooperation
  For local authorities, definition of a common strategy for economic and cultural development of cross-border territories, taking into account:
  - Issues specific to each cultural sector (heritage, performing arts, visual arts, public reading, etc..)
  - Issues specific to each cross-border area (overseas territories, mountainous areas, marine areas, etc..)
  - For operators, an integration of cross-border concerns in terms of their structure and the development of long-term strategy, in conjunction with the development of their territory.
  - With special attention at the European level to internal borders with new Member States as well as external borders, for the development of a zone of prosperity, stability and peace in neighbouring areas.

• Define structured, coordinated and interlinked cross-border cultural policies
  - Development of cross-border cultural policies based on strong political support from local authorities, a decompartmentalisation of actors, and a real appropriation of these issues by cultural operators.
  - Promoting the interlinking and coordination of the different levels of public authorities, policy frameworks and systems.

Informing actors and supporting cultural operators

The prerequisite for the success of a cross-border cultural project is the partners' will to cooperate. In order to achieve this, the need for networking between partners, as well as clear and transparent information on funding possibilities, is highlighted by cultural operators themselves.

Support for cultural operators also aims to:

• Encourage the empowerment of operators in their cooperation activities; (this notably includes promoting the professionalisation of these operators).
• Promote diversification and complementarity among stakeholders as well as cross-border cultural cooperation projects - in terms of sectors, issues and cross-border territories.
• Enable key stakeholders to consider themselves essential in the constitution and the development of shared cross-border spaces.
• Enable key stakeholders to acquire intercultural skills in project management.