Category / Articles
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7 years of culture Solutions’ analyses echoed in the Culture Compass
The Culture Compass for Europe, released last week by the European Commission, is a significant and welcomed milestone for EU international cultural relations. Over recent years, culture Solutions has analysed the growing importance of ICR for the EU’s external partnerships, as well as the need to address internal and external cultural challenges in a coordinated manner. Seeing these core arguments now embedded in the Culture Compass represents both a success and a meaningful step forward. In this article you will find the 10 key strategic directions mentioned in the Compass that reflect research produced by culture Solutions.
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Culture in the next MFF: What space for external cultural action in the next Global Europe financial instrument?
Building on the high-level roundtable “Culture in the Next EU Budget”, organised by the European Parliament, this second article highlights areas of external cultural action where the EU could benefit from a stronger and more coordinated presence.
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Culture in the next MFF: Internal and external cultural policies both at threat?
On 23 September 2025, the high-level roundtable “Culture in the Next EU Budget”, organised by the European Parliament as part of its long-term budget campaign “Invest in what matters.” In this first blog blog of the series, we analyse the prospects for the internal and external cultural policies in the 2028-2035 MFF.
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Forum on the Future of the Mediterranean – youth and women for intercultural dialogue, education and employment
Between 2 and 4 of April, the Forum on the Future of the Mediterranean took place in Granada, within the framework of the Spanish Presidency of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean (PA-UfM). Elise Cuny represented culture Solutions at the session “Youth employment and gender equality in the Mediterranean region”. Find here her intervention.
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Changemakers – EU commited to defending democracy and culture worldwide
Elise Cuny represented culture Solutions at the inauguration of the art exhibition “Changemakers – from committed art to democratic artivism” in the European Parliament in Strasbourg. Find here her interventions calling for support to women-led cultural heritage initiatives, as well as for bridging culture, democracy, skills and youth employment.
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Sustainable digital creative ecosystems in Africa-Europe relations: the role of universities
This article post is based on a presentation made by Elise Cuny during the UNIMED WEEK in Brussels from 18 to 20 February 2025, as part of the session “Leveraging Science, Education and Culture for a Transformative Africa-Europe Partnerships” moderated by the Africa-Europe Foundation, and draws from a research project conducted by culture Solutions and the South African Cultural Observatory.
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cS internal dialogue #1: Democracy, elections and international cultural relations after 2024
This blog post reflects a collective discussion among culture Solutions’ members on the topics of democracy, elections, and International Cultural Relations (ICR) in 2024, and examines how current political trends in the EU and the global geopolitical context are impacting culture and whether they can compromise its potential for promoting dialogue, understanding and democracy.
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What next for EU International Cultural Relations: Questions for the Commissioners-designate for Culture, International Partnerships and Foreign Affairs
This post poses key questions to the three Commissioners-designate directly related to International Cultural Relations: Glenn Micallef, Jozef Síkela and Kaja Kallas, as well as to other EU services, with a view of recognising the central role of culture in the European Union’s external relations.
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Rejuvenating EU-LAC cultural relations from the bottom-up
This second blog post uncovers the flourishing EU-LAC collaboration at the grass-roots level. Drawing from the key take-aways of the EU-LAC Forum, the analysis proposes a list of recommendations for strengthening bi-regional cultural relations in the areas of youth, inclusive and just transition.
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EU-LAC cultural diplomacy: from natural partners to partners of choice, via Madrid
After the EU-CELAC Summit in July 2023, this blog post focuses on the political context and the cultural cooperation at the official level. It examines the New Agenda for EU-LAC relations and the role of Spain, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU.
