R.A.O.U.L, Clubcircuit & Club Plasma present :

The EuroRegional Music Meeting

Nord-Pas de Calais – Wallonie – Vlaanderen
Lille, L’Aéronef, nov. 23rd- 24th 2009

« Modern Music and European construction : new stakes / new opportunities ? »

The seminar organised in november 2009 will deal with the theme “Modern music and european construction : new stakes / new opportunities ?”. The committee organising the meeting wanted to devote this seminar to an analysis of the activities of all those who are involved in modern music, whether they are artists, institutions, private or non profit organisations working on the euroregional territory, taking into account the new international situation from the institutional and economical points of view.

The European Union has undergone major changes over the past few years (new member countries, new strategies, new objectives, new programs…) which have altered the institutional and economical environment in which artists and cultural structures are working. Culture is now on the Agenda of the European Commission, approved by the Union Council in 2007. This Agenda has opened new possibilities for the cultural field as a whole and for modern music in particular. Major changes have also occurred regarding the modern music economic model. The purpose of this year’s seminar is to offer the professionals of the Euroregion the possibility to exchange on these subjects ; the idea is also to give input (tools and methodology) to those who would like to develop projects on a european scale.

THE EUROPEAN CULTURAL AGENDA

The European Cultural Agenda, published in november 2007 is a major issue for our professional field : for the first time, the Commission deals with the subject of culture, drawing guidelines for the 2007-2013 period.
The Agenda is based on three sets of objectives:
• cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue;
• culture as a catalyst for creativity ;
• culture as a key component in international relations of the EU.

The Agenda also underlines new methods of cooperation:
• Cooperation between the Commission and the member states goes one step further by using the open method of coordination
• The role of culture is strengthened in the policy and programs of the EU thanks to improved team work between the various services of the Commission and to a better organised dialogue with the cultural sector.

This dialogue has led to the creation of working groups (or discussion platforms). In 2008, the working groups “Access to culture” and “Creative and cultural industries” were set up and are now working with european-scale networks. Their work completes the “Platform for intercultural Europe” which was created for the european year of intercultural dialogue and issued the “Rainbow Paper”.

The professionals can use the platforms to make recommendations, which will be discussed during a forum organised in september 2009, thus contributing to the future development of the European Cultural Agenda.

The first part of this seminar will be devoted to the role modern music professionals can have in this process and to the way they can organise themselves in such a context, either locally, nationally or internationally.

TERRITORIAL COOPERATION : AN OPPORTUNITY?

The European Union has made territorial cooperation one of its objectives for the current program period. However, a large number of professionals are not yet involved in territorial cooperation, sometimes because they have no knowledge of the various processes and programs, or because of the apparent administrative complexity of such partnerships.

We will point out the way culture is regarded within the frame of territorial cooperation and how the various professionals involved in the development of musical projects can access useful information in this field, especially concerning the kind of projects that can be financed, the technical and financial rules, and the existing tools that can help them achieve success.

THE MUTATION OF THE ECONOMIC MODEL

The European Cultural Agenda establishes a link between Culture and Creativity as referred to in the “Lisbon strategy” defined in 2000 and focusing since 2005 on economic growth and labor market. Issues such as the collapsing of the record market, recent technological upheavals, globalisation and concentration (“360 model”), as well as developing professional mobility within the Union, protection of copyrights, have a direct influence on the music field. The jobs of all those involved in modern music have undergone significant evolutions which are also influenced by the European policies.

We will have the opportunity during this seminar to discuss these different issues and see whether the opportunities offered by the European Union can help us deal with these major economical and social evolutions.