Networks and open platforms for decision-making and discussion are highly important to build a (digital) community, especially in times of COVID-19. I became all the more aware of this because of the opportunity to volunteer as a co-organizer for the online Arts & Cultural Management Conference 2021 (ACMC) on the fitting topic "REvisiting Borders”.

As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to disrupt society, harnessing learning and creative problem-solving are integral to the survival of the cultural and creative sector. The 2021 gathering entitled ‘Cultural managers, their organisations, and their networks in times of crisis’ reflected the resilience of the sector to re-imagine ways of working and reaching current and post-pandemic audiences.

The cultural sector has so far been rather on the margins of the debates on CO2 emissions. But the reason is not that it does not contribute - because it does. And quite a few initiatives and projects worldwide are already successfully dedicated to climate-conscious and resource-saving arts and cultural management.

The pandemic has not only reaffirmed our ephemeral condition, teaching us to live in the moment. It has also underlined the importance of art and culture as a positive reinforcement in life and as a way to deal with its difficulties. And it has most of all emphasized the adaptability of artists.

In the face of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, artists and cultural organizations globally have been reinventing ways to present their offering on audience’s screens. But the streaming platform Twitch has so far been largely left out of the discussion among art professionals, even though it offers numerous potentials also for generating revenue for cultural offerings.

Cross-sector cooperation is becoming increasingly important for cultural professionals and creatives. Some Central and Northern European countries currently explore new ways to innovate society as well as their own work, and create new revenue streams.

When developing digital formats, it can be difficult for galleries, libraries, archives and museums (GLAM) to involve potential users and new groups instead of spinning in their own circles. In order to be successful, hackathons such as Retas Budaya ("Hack Your Culture”) are a great way to integrate new perspectives.

European cultural policy is a bricolage with an uncertain sense of scope, in a certain way directed towards European cohesion, but without focusing its own measures towards this goal and the particularities of the sector. The book "The Future of Cultural Policies” describes these contradictions and aims to identify possible solutions.

In recent months, most European countries have highlighted the value of art and culture and taken measures to reduce the impact of the pandemic on the sector, albeit to very different degrees.

On 11 November, Dr. Rocío Nogales Muriel was announced as the winner of the 7th ENCATC Research Award on Cultural Policy and Cultural Management for her PhD on "Social transformation and social innovation in the field of culture: The case of the SMart model and its adaptation across Europe" obtained from the Center for the Study of Culture, Politics and Society (CECUPS) at the University of Barcelona in Spain.

During the corona virus pandemic, the structures of the cultural sector we used to believe in seem to have fallen apart. So maybe it is time to take a deeper look at the more adaptable and flexible cultural management concepts from the Global South where institutions are more permeable to how they can serve their audiences, be flexible in terms of structures and accept that what really matters is always on the go.

Recently, India has been highly active in entering into various international partnerships and devising a set of new policies. However, the country still has no genuine and coherent arts and culture policy to adequately showcase the country’s cultural riches.

The United States of America has long been the land of opportunity for foreign artists of all levels and genres who could perform in all parts of the country, at venues, festivals, fairs, conferences and conventions. That opportunity has been cut off by the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and the borders of America are currently closed. Here are some information on what artists can do now.

Currently, the union of art and digital technologies is entering a new phase of relations. What opportunities does this open up for cultural organizations and projects? The Russian Fund of Cultural Projects "Thursday” shares its experience of creating the online exhibition ART-MEMORY - a socio-cultural project adapted for the Google Arts & Culture platform during the lockdown.

Many arts and cultural institutions are open again. But the visitors are still absent and also the employees are not necessarily comfortable. During our Arts Management Webinar on October 14th at 2 pm CEST Leah Hamilton will explain how to give them back the feeling of safety.

What do music professionals in Africa do to stay operational despite the pandemic? And what might the continent’s future music industry look like? These were central topics of a panel session during the "Global Toronto” conference 2020 in which international delegates congregated around current issues for the music sector.

Arts institutions across the globe have begun their re-opening process and it is apparent that just because officials announce it is safe to re-open, visitors and staff might not feel safe participating. How can we change that feeling?

At the beginning of 2020 and the end of the Solar Hijri year of 1398 for Iranians, three Iranian theatre groups decided to create the international online festival "Reconnect” from scratch. In doing so, they had to overcome numerous obstacles, which have a lot to do with Iran's international position.

The pandemic has influenced the cultural and creative industries of most African countries. A look at current studies on the situation of the continent shows the extent of the consequences.

For artist entrepreneurs, successful time management is successful self-management. And successful self-management requires planning and organization and discipline—the ability to respond and commit to your needs and wants first and foremost.