The European Capital of Culture Forum organised by Kaunas – European Capital of Culture 2022 and encouraging discussions on the importance of culture is coming back for the third time on 20–22 May with discussions in the virtual space bringing together well-known cultural representatives and dealing with a wide geography of ideas from around the world. For the three days of the Forum, all culture professionals and fans will be invited to take part in five debates covering a wide range of topics: from the role of culture that has emerged during the crisis and funding mechanisms for culture, to the futuristic scenarios for the future of culture.
“The pandemic that has struck the world has raised many questions not only about the economy, but also about culture: its significance in times of crisis, the challenges for artists, new skills for culture participants, and what real future scenarios can be constructed. The forum will provide an opportunity to participate in and join for conversations with well-known representatives of the cultural world: Professor of Cultural Economics at IULM University based in Milan and OECD Venice Office Director Pier Luigi Sacco, the world-renowned futurist, brand strategist and market forecasting expert Anne Boysen, writer and community artist François Matarasso as well as many other well-known figures from Lithuanian cultural life”, says Ana Čižauskienė, Kaunas 2022 programme manager and Forum organiser.
According to Ana Čižauskienė, aiming to discuss the other problematic side of the crisis, namely, finances, two special sessions of the Forum dedicated to Culture Sponsorship are organised together with the Creative Europe Desk in Lithuania: experts from Lithuania and the most famous international foundations will discuss the changed funding models and their possibilities.
“Representatives of the Asia-Europe Foundation, the mobility programme Nordic Culture Point, and the European Cultural Foundation will join for a discussion about what can be expected from the internationalisation of culture, while representatives of the Lithuanian Council for Culture, Central Project Management Agency, and Klaipeda City Municipality Administration will share relevant information on how core Lithuanian cultural funding institutions have adapted to the new conditions”, reveals Ana Čižauskienė.
The sessions on Culture Sponsorship will be moderated by Dileta Nenėnė, Head of the Creative Europe Desk in Lithuania. A special session of the news portal 15min.lt will be dedicated to the topic of internationalisation of culture and the challenge posed by Covid-19 to the idea of global culture.
In the session on the post-pandemic world for cultural future scenarios, Lithuanian and international experts will try to predict what real scenarios are waiting for culture in the future if car factories produce respirators and perfumeries produce disinfectants.
Discussions of the Forum will be accessible in the virtual space, with a possibility to pose questions to the Forum speakers. All the sessions will be broadcasted live on the site forumas.kaunas2022.eu, Kaunas 2022 Facebook account, and news portal 15min.lt.
The full Forum programme and more information about the speakers and participants are announced on the website www.forumas.kaunas2022.eu.
