European inventory of
societal values of culture

Civil Society Platform on Access to Culture - Policy Guidelines

Civil Society Platform on Access to Culture. (2009). Policy Guidelines.

The present document strives to achieve the following aims:

• To set a general frame to improve access to culture and have the issue included as a fundamental theme in the next generation of the EU programmes (2014-2020), and in the Culture Programme in particular.
• To draw attention to the importance culture plays in the lives of the peoples in Europe and the urgency of taking affirmative policy and legal action to make culture accessible for everyone, based on Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which recognises taking part in cultural life as a fundamental right.
• To draw attention to the contribution that an active, vital, thriving cultural sector brings to the development of society as a whole. Participation in cultural life, exposure to artistic creation, access to artistic skills and knowledge enriches individuals and communities, and strengthens the civic and social nets that compose the fabric of our European societies.
• To highlight the importance of supporting all steps of the chain of processes related to creative expression, as well as their interaction. These include: education/training, creation, production, dissemination, documentation/ preservation and media/art criticism.
• To pay special attention to improving conditions for artistic creation and artists; to facilitating conditions for a continued capacity building process of cultural, educational and creative professionals; to addressing imbalances in their social statutes. This includes legal financial and social protection, adequate funding possibilities, professional development opportunities – such as mobility and access to information – for artists. It also includes identifying new communication processes with the public in order to understand their cultural participation needs.
• To draw attention to the need for more detailed, qualitative and impartial information on the different forms of access and participation in cultural life from education to creation, interpretation and enjoyment of culture.