On the 22nd of September, culture Solutions hosted the webinar EU’s International Cultural Relations: Reality Check, welcoming Mafalda Dâmaso, coordinator of the recently published and important handbook The EU as a Global Cultural Power, along with four contributors: Avril Joffe, Matina Magkou, Alessandro Lamonica, and Andrew Murray.

The webinar offered a timely opportunity to assess where the EU currently stands in international cultural relations (ICR), the gaps that persist between ambition and implementation, and how culture can act as a strategic tool in today’s rapidly evolving global landscape. It also provided a necessary reflection on the nine years since the 2016 Joint Communication towards an EU ICR.

The handbook discussed during the event is a must-read for anyone curious about, committed to, or passionate about international cultural relations. Its foreword provides a valuable historical context for European cultural policy — shaped by the rise of global cultural exchanges. It also highlights the EU’s internal and external ambivalences in its cultural approach — shifting from a focus on promoting cultural values to seeking economic justification, from soft power to what some now call “enabling power,” and dealing with the challenge of making its own cultural sector more competitive.

In this podcast, we selected key moments from the webinar where panellists and the audience explored several critical themes:

• EU–Africa cultural relations

• Cultural relations in the Mediterranean region

• The absence of theory in international cultural relations

• The rise of digital cultural movements

• The call for a strong community of practice
  

Enjoy the podcast — and we’d love to hear your thoughts and feedback. Let’s continue to engage and grow this community of practice together.

This French-language episode is part of a series dedicated to the role of art and culture in the face of crises and conflict: their capacity to support communities, foster dialogue, contribute to conflict resolution, and assist in both material and psychological reconstruction.

In 2021, the European Union adopted a concept on the protection of cultural heritage in times of conflict and crisis, recognising cultural heritage as an important driver of peace, democracy, and sustainable development. What can artists and cultural actors do to rekindle dialogue, preserve memory, and build peace? What role can the European Union, as an international player, take in defending endangered cultural heritage? What concrete initiatives have already been implemented, with what outcomes, and in collaboration with which partners?

In this episode, Lilian Richieri Hanania, a collaborator with culture Solutions, speaks with Fady Jeanbart, a Lebanese opera singer who has conducted significant archival work related to Lebanon’s cultural memory. This interview was conducted during the period of Israeli airstrikes on Beirut and southern Lebanon, followed by incursions by the Israeli army into Lebanese territory, between September and October 2024. These attacks, occurring in the context of the conflict between Israel, Gaza, Hamas, and Hezbollah, caused serious damage to Lebanon’s cultural heritage.Speaker bio, references and transcript: https://www.culturesolutions.eu/podcast/building-lebanese-cultural-memory/

In this third episode of the (Re)generating trust podcast series on the links between youth and culture, Elise Cuny exchanged with four artists from Kenya, Somalia and Italy, who took part in the ArtXChange project, a result of the AU-EU youth cooperation hub.

We explore how they experienced co-creation, how creative directors supported them in residencies and exhibitions, and what they learned from international cultural relations. “This is what it feels like to be alive. I didn’t know, but now I know”, shared a participant, pointing to the life experiences behind strategies.

More about the artists, sources of inspiration, and transcript on our website: https://www.culturesolutions.eu/podcast/au-eu-youth-cooperation-breaks-barriers-through-art/

Musical creation credits: Stéphane Lam Songs: Mana y’i Rwanda, by Kaya Byinshii, and Freedom, by Liboi