Les Rencontres - Association of European cities and regions for culture - will celebrate together with Maastricht, the Province of Limburg in the Netherlands and the Euroregion Meuse-Rhine, the 20th anniversary of the Maastricht Treaty which introduced a legal basis for culture for the first time at the European level. At this occasion we organise La Rencontre de Maastricht - Which Europe of culture twenty years after the Maastricht Treaty ? 22-25 March 2012

During this meeting we will explore the stakes and challenges regarding the European construction in the field of culture, especially in these times of crisis. We will discuss the issues of the next Culture Programme (2014-2020) and work on concrete and precise proposals for the future of this programme after 2020. Furthermore we will talk about the changes in art practices and about the issues of « Interdisciplinary Arts ». We will also explore the stakes of cultural redevelopment and urban rehabilitation throughout Europe. Finally we will hold the annual Committee meeting of our network, in order to approve the 2011 moral and financial reports of the association, the programme and budget for 2012 and the perspectives for 2012.

Museum of London, 8 March 2012, 10.00am to 4.45pmSponsored by Target Live / Media partner ArtsProfessionalwww.a-m-a.co.uk/summit

The AMA press and PR summit will provide an opportunity to hear from visionary keynote speakers about likely future directions for press and media and how the arts could benefit from emerging opportunities, trends and predictions.

This years event will also provide a rare opportunity to meet in small groups to review how the changes identified by our keynote speakers could impact on the arts. Joining delegates in these group discussions will be journalists and other practitioners from across a range of media newspapers, radio, TV, online etc.

On Monday 9th of January ENCATC has officially launched the first issue of the ENCATC Online Journal of Cultural Management and Policy.

The objective of the ENCATC Journal of Cultural Management and Policy is to stimulate the debate on the topics of cultural management and cultural policy among scholars, educators, policy makers and cultural managers. The Journal is based on a multidisciplinary perspective and aims to connect theory and practice in the realm of the cultural sector. The submitted papers regard different fields: culture and creativity, cultural management, cultural policies, marketing, local development, entrepreneurship, and education applied to the cultural sector. This new publication also aims to be a platform for multidisciplinary debate and new perspectives among researchers.

The Culture Report, which doubles as the 2011 EUNIC yearbook, looks for the "glue" that holds European alliances together

Stuttgart, 04 January 2012 - How can Europe make clear what it stands for? How can Europe show that it goes beyond words and takes action? What are the advantages of a common European foreign cultural policy? And how can Europe benefit from its specific capabilities? Thirty authors from twenty countries answer these questions in the new edition of Culture Report. For Chinese author Yang Lian the old continent remains the centre of the universe, Reem Kassem puts big hope in the European cultural institutes in Egypt, and Horia-Roman Patapievici is won over by the joint concert of European cultures.

The Institute of Cultural Capital (ICC) is developing a programme of research linked to leadership in the UK's arts and cultural sector. As an initial starting point we are interested in gauging the opinions of workforce members in relation to the value of arts and culture in contemporary Britain, and subsequent leadership challenges and opportunities facing the sector. The study does not assume that leadership is the domain of a select number of practitioners with executive responsibilities in high profile institutions -- as such all people currently working across the breadth of arts and cultural organisations in the UK are invited to take part in the following online survey.

Framing a National Research Agenda for the Arts, Lifelong Learning, and Individual Well-Being

In March 2011, the National Endowment for the Arts and the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services hosted a first-of-its-kind event to showcase and discuss recent research on the arts and human development. The one-day forum examined the relationship between the arts and positive health and educational outcomes at various segments of the lifespan -- from early childhood, to youth and adolescence, to older adult populations. This white paper summarizes major themes from the forum, and highlights related studies. It also makes recommendations toward establishing a long-term federal partnership to promote research and evidence-sharing nationwide.

The Council of Europe Museum Prize 2012 goes to the Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum Kulturen der Welt (Cultures of the World) in Cologne, Germany.

The Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum is a century-old institution that has recently moved to a new building and developed a groundbreaking new exhibition on World Cultures. Looking for a new mode of presenting its rich collections, the museum has rejected the traditional geography-based scheme and opted for an issue-based presentation. As a result, new contents, interpretation and design solutions have been developed that open new possibilities and set a new paradigm for the museums of anthropology and ethnology worldwide.

With the support of the Ministry of Culture, Interarts has recently launched a new resource dedicated to cultural industries; the FOMECC Website is aimed at providing information and useful tools to people and entities interested in the sector, particularly from Spain, Latin America and Africa. Available in Spanish, English and French, this new resource is developed in the framework of the Promotion of Cultural and Creative Industries (FOMECC) program which the foundation carries out in diverse countries in collaboration with local counterparts and the support of AECID.

At this year's National Arts Marketing Project Conference, more than 520 arts marketers traveled to Louisville, KY to swap ideas, share success stories, and learn the best practices for engaging and WINNING AUDIENCES. With iPads, laptops, and smartphones in hands, 4,500 tweets captured the energy and enthusiasm that took place both inside and outside the conference headquarters.

The newest e-book, 50 WINNING TWEETS FROM THE 2011 NATIONAL ARTS MARKETING PROJECT CONFERENCE, illustrates the 50 most insightful, inspiring, and awesome takeaways straight from the #nampc tweet deck.

Launched in 2008, the DeVos Institute's Summer International Fellowship offers international not-for-profit arts managers an immersive program of study in arts management strategy. For four weeks each summer, for three consecutive years, international fellows participate in seminars, group projects, individual mentorships and practical rotations supervised by Institute faculty and Center senior staff. In their home countries, fellows are encouraged to teach and distribute fellowship resources. In this way, the Institute invests in critical arts ecologies worldwide, building strength and sustainability one manager at a time. The Kennedy Center has hosted 54 Fellows in four classes from 36 countries.

Are we meaning the same, when we say the same? -- This was the leading question at the start of the EUROPE-CHINA CULTURAL COMPASS project, an initiative by partners of EUNIC in China, the Goethe-Institut, the British Council, and The Danish Cultural Institute. After a year of research, including over a hundred interviews and discussions cultural practitioners on experience of collaboration between Europe an China, the result is a publication not only containing a glossary with selected intercultural key-vocabulary, but a broad range of knowledge relevant for cooperation: context knowledge on Europe and China (history, society, media, value systems, etc), information on how the cultural sectors work differently, case stories of cultural practitioners, a project cycle analysis crystallizing challenges, learning and practices, and an extensive resource-chapter.

The EUROPE-CHINA CULTURAL COMPASS project is part of an ongoing dialogue between Europe and China. It responds to the need to document this dialogue, to reflect on it, for a continuous improvement in the process.

First artistic programme dedicated to live online broadcast

Tate and BMW announced in October a major new international partnership, BMW Tate Live which will focus on performance, interdisciplinary art and curating digital space. The four-year programme will be launched with a series of artist performances created specifically to be broadcast live online. BMW Tate Live: Performance Room is the first artistic programme created purely for live web broadcast.

The BMW Tate Live: Performance Room series will include five commissions in 2012. The French choreographer, Jérôme Bel, will create the first commission which will take place in March 2012. The programme, which will include both emerging artists and more familiar figures from across the world ranging from visual artists to choreographers, will run on Tates online channel as BMW Tate Live: Performance Room.

Photo: Jérôme Bel © Feran Mc Rope

The Institute for Media Economics (IEM) of Fondazione Rosselli will be presenting, at the European Parliament in Brussels, 22nd November at 06:30 pm, room ASP 3G3, the study Public investment in culture and communications .

The Institutes mission is to promote efficient and sustainable policy measures in the fields of media, communication, culture and creativity.

In particular, the Institute regularly produces a Report on the Communications Industry in Italy, which examines the weight of single ICT markets (from TV to press and tlc), analysing resources penetration and users, as well as the most significant trends in sectors and across the board, paying special attention to the theme of innovation and Italian competitiveness. Each year the Report also contains an in depth analysis of a topic based on original data: this edition focuses on Public investment in culture and communications".

Science centres are all about participation and the joy of discovery. Science centre NEMO in Amsterdam is no exception. Even on a school-week Tuesday the building is buzzing with energy and the sounds of excitement bouncing against the roof. I was positively surprised, therefore, that I was asked by Diana of NEMO to host a creative workshop on specifically the topic of participation and innovative ways of engaging with audiences.

NEMO is looking for ways to have visitors participate and engage with their content in a more sustainable and relevant way. In my own words, they want to build enduring relationships with their audience that go beyond the one-off event a visit to their building nowadays is. The main focus of the workshop, therefore, was how to embed participation in a meaningful way in the activities of NEMO, so that it builds connections between the institution and people, and fosters enthusiasm.

The socio-political movement Anti-Consumerism attracts more and more followers. At its heart it is a movement against the equating of personal happiness with consumption and the purchase of material possessions. Fueled by the current economic situation, activists occupy Wall Street, a young casual trader is able to lure BBC into a fake interview where he states, I go to bed every night, I dream of another recession. Its an opportunity to make money. and forums for creative critiques on consumerism" gain followers rapidly. All this happens in a world where some artists are able to create artworks that are instantly sold for euro amounts up to 7 digits.

The tremendous construction boom in China led to an expansion of the cultural infrastructure: Hundreds of new theaters, museums and multiplex cultural centers have been built during the last ten years or are currently under construction or being planned. The result: A huge demand for staff.

After the great success of the advanced training and study program "Culture Management in China in 2009, this project continued with its second edition in 2010, with a wider range of fields involving cultural centers, performing arts institutions, film and theater festivals, music and cultural agencies, museums and media sector. The aim is to provide the participants with universally applicable management tools for cultural organizations as well as to enhance their understanding and capability for international exchange or coproduction projects.

One tool is audience development. In these days audience development is important not only in Germany, but also in China because it is necessary to initiate, to build and to court the mutual relation between arts and audience.

The UK-based Arts Marketing Association (AMA) will held the Digital Marketing Day on 10 November 2011 in London. This day conference is aimed at anyone responsible for the relationship audiences or visitors have with your company via digital technology e.g. marketers, digital specialists, and those working in audience development and public engagement. The delegates will learn more about new ideas, channels and content for reaching and engaging audiences in a digital, networked world.

Together AMA will unpick how opportunities such as social media, mobile, location-based marketing and apps, video and interactive TV could affect our marketing approach, the content we create and share, and the relationships we build with our audiences over the coming year.

Interviewed Seong Hee KIM, Director of Festival Bo:m, presenting mainly the contemporary and multi-disciplinary works. She talks about her idea on contemporary arts and her own artistic path.

The acoustic environment is paramount in any space that houses dramatic performance. Thornton Wilder said, the unencumbered stage encourages the truth operative in everyone. The less seen, the more heard. A new book published through the Acoustical Society of America takes an inside look at the acoustical design of 130 drama theatres from around the world.

Acoustical Design of Theatres for Drama Performance: 1985 2010, edited by Professors David T. Bradley, Erica E. Ryherd, and Michelle C. Vigeant, is a compilation of drama theatres that have been designed during this 25-year period. Top acoustical consulting firms from around the world contributed examples of their work, including images, acoustical data, and descriptions of the theatres.

The 2011 Performing Arts Market in Seoul (PAMS) takes place from Monday, October 10 to Friday, October 14 at the National Theater of Korea, National Drama Company, and other venues in the Seoul area. Annually organized by the Korea Arts Management Service, with support from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Republic of Korea, PAMS is a platform for encouraging active creation and production, distribution, and overseas activities in the performing arts.

A Platform for Creation and Distribution in the Performing Arts

Making its seventh edition this year, PAMS has been attracting ten thousand performing arts professionals from Korea and overseas, while around 400 performances of 104 PAMS Choice selections have been staged throughout the world in Asia, Europe, and the Americas.