Forum "Culture, economy, and media - Culture, a growth factor"

Source: Frans voorzitterschap Europese Unie 2e helft 2008 i, published on Sunday, November 16 2008.

The Avignon Forum will bring together 250 key players from the economic, cultural and media sectors, along with public authoritiy representatives of different countries. This initial meeting is intended to become an annual event.

Culture, in all its facets, is a growing economic sector, and one which is becoming increasingly globalised, under the impact of digitisation and the expansion of international exchange of goods, people and capital.

These key challenges for the future of the European economy will be the focus of debates at the first Avignon Forum, which will be held on 16, 17 and 18 November 2008 in Avignon at the Palais des Papes on the topic "Culture: a growth factor".

This forum will bring together 250 key players from the economic, cultural and media sectors, along with public authority representatives from various countries.

Two plenary sessions will be organised on the mornings of 17 and 18 November, along with four afternoon workshops on 17 November 2008.

The first plenary session and two workshops will be devoted to the contribution made by cultural diversity to economic growth and the links between economic wealth and cultural wealth. Which levers can States, regions and towns use to support economic growth based on cultural investment?

As an example of the contribution of cultural diversity to economic growth, the part played by monuments in a country's wealth will be highlighted, whether that concern heritage, particularly in non-Western countries, or recent creations.

The second plenary session and the remaining two workshops will focus on cultural industries in the digital age, as well as cultural diversity and globalisation (East-West, North-South).

While the consequences of digitisation for some sectors are already known - for example, the music industry has lost 50% of its revenue since 2000 - uncertainties remain over new economic models for film, publishing and audiovisual sectors.

On the other hand, although the widespread use of internet in homes is recognised as enabling artists to reach the largest possible audience worldwide, it is more difficult to know if globalisation reinforces the uniformity of tastes and behaviour or, on the contrary, promotes the development of cultural diversity. This poses the question of how countries without strong cultural industries can preserve and if possible, strengthen their own cultures. This presents a major challenge for North-South relations and, more specifically, for relations between countries with strong heritages and major cultural groups and countries which do not.