top of page

Culturopolis: International Days on Cultural Rights |
Beyond the Obvious 2022
Barcelona, 16-19 November 2022

Cultural work and sustainability
 

The framework of cultural rights also includes the right to work in the cultural sector under decent conditions. All necessary tasks that are focused on culture must be recognised and valued, not only the most visible ones. We must approach inequalities that occur in cultural work from an intersectional perspective, and ensure the economic, social and environmental sustainability of cultural work.

 

CULTURAL RIGHTS, FOR WHOM?

Debate about cultural rights. Who are they for? Who should defend them?

Participants: Patrice Meyer-BischLucina Jiménez

Moderated by: Gemma Carbó

The way we understand cultural rights is linked to the view that culture is an everyday fact of life which presupposes equality among people, recognises various types of knowledge and values all kinds of cultural experiences.

However, do we ever reflect on the sense and the need to defend cultural rights as citizens? Or if, on the other hand, it doesn't make much sense to do so, as that is the work of the professional sector?

During this debate, we reflected on cultural rights from an analytical viewpoint, pondering questions on the existing critical mass in defence of those rights and the role played by the various parties involved.

CAN CULTURAL RIGHTS BE GUARANTEED?
 

Reflection of the ways and means of exercising cultural rights.

Participants:  Fran QuirogaLaurence CunyLuca Bergamo

Moderated by:  Inês Câmara

The area of cultural rights has always been a very abstract field. In Latin America, there are some examples involving the legal recognition of cultural rights, but is it possible to adapt them to other contexts and situations?

Reflecting on the ways we should exercise, demand and guarantee global rights from the cultural sphere and from organised social ambition will be the main aim of this discussion panel. What role do government institutions play and what should the general public be doing to maintain a society that exercises cultural rights in a broad, diverse way?

ACADEMIC CONGRESS - PARTICIPATION AND CULTURAL WORK I

Material and living conditions of artists and culural professionals: what can be done to improve them?

Speakers: Marcela País Andrade, Jerahy Garcia Garcia, Antoni Rubí Puig

Moderated by: Nicolás Barbieri

The aim of this session is to delve deeper into the rights of artists and cultural professionals and, more specifically, into those instruments that must ensure they are guaranteed a decent job.

CULTURAL WORK: ASSURED INSECURITY?

A debate on the current state of the cultural sector and possible means for improvement.

Participants: Noel KellyMontserrat MolinerCatherine MagnantGuillem ArnedoTom KestensEmma Rodriguez

Moderated by: Eduardo Maura

The cultural sector is often considered to be one of the most insecure sectors. The employment situation of people who work in it is different from other sectors, but is it really less favourable? Public dependence plays a major role, but how is this related to the working conditions of culture professionals?

The main aim of this debate is to reflect on these issues, to what degree they should be involved in other labour struggles and the limits and possibilities of old and new forms of organisation or trade-unionism.

What paths should the cultural world take in order to overcome current obstacles and improve its situation?

Diversities

This area tackles the diversity of identities included in cultural rights (gender, sex, ethnicity, language, origin, background, etc.) and the difficulties that may be encountered with regard to freely experiencing this diversity.

There is a need to tackle the insufficient presence and visibility of diversities in cultural expressions and practices, as well as in participation and the decision-making capacity inherent in the design of cultural policies.

ACADEMIC CONGRESS - DIVERSITIES I

The construction of gender as a major challenge for cultural policy

Speakers: Marta Casals-Balaguer, Jaslyn Reader, Joana Soto, Maria Patricio-Mulero

Moderated by: Özgur Günes Özturk

The speakers on this panel reflect on the symbolic, discursive and subjective construction of women, and they discuss the challenges that these constructions pose for the field of cultural policy, especially in the context of a rise in conservatism.

PRESENTATION OF THE SURVEY ON CULTURAL PARTICIPATION AND NEEDS IN BARCELONA

Presentation of results from the second edition of the Survey on Cultural Participation and Needs in Barcelona.

Participants: Montserrat TortNicolás BarbieriAssumpta Manils

In 2020, Barcelona City Council's Cultural Data Observatory published the results of the first Survey on Cultural Participation and Cultural Needs in Barcelona. This year, the results of the second survey will be presented at CULTUROPOLIS.

The survey aims to provide relevant knowledge for public decision-making and reveal the cultural needs, types of participation and value that the people of Barcelona attach to culture. This project makes Barcelona one of only a few cities in the world to conduct a survey on cultural participation that incorporates diverse practices, not just event attendance, and evidence of the inequality that exists regarding the right to take part in the city's cultural life.

DEMOCRATISATION OF CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS: WHAT IS THE WAY FORWARD?

A debate on cultural democracy and the role played by cultural institutions.

Participants : Pedro Jiménez ÁlvarezLaia FornéSara Brighenti, Julia Pagel

Moderated by: Jorge Luis Marzo

Some cultural institutions do not have the ability to exercise democratic participation as a central pillar of their practices, or they find it very difficult to successfully apply it. In light of this situation, would it be a good idea to pursue new paths that make it possible to democratise institutions in order to carry out fairer, more equitable action?

The aim of this discussion panel is to reflect on the steps that should be followed in order to turn the current situation around and understand what role each stakeholder should have in terms of the conflict between multiculturalism, decolonisation and cultural hegemony. To explore and determine the ideal conditions for cultural institutions to approach cultural democracy, in terms of internal decision-making and in all of their practices.

ACADEMIC CONGRESS - DIVERSITIES II

Speakers: Mariona Lladonosa, Özgür Güneş Öztürk, Mariano Martín Zamorano, Lluis Bonet, Alba Colombo, Xavier Villanueva, Laia Manonelles Moner

Moderated by: Nicolás Barbieri

This panel proposes a rethink of cultural rights and the meaning and scope of cultural policies, taking as the central challenge the processes and dynamics of minoritisation in Catalonia and Spain for the construction of a non-exclusive national identity and for the democratisation of society.

ACADEMIC CONGRESS - DIVERSITIES III

Are there ways of transforming cultural and artistic institutions to ensure the right of access and the right to exercise cultural rights?

Speakers: Jordi Quintana i Albalat, Jordi Puig i Martín, Timanfaya Custodio CastañeyraI, Sílvia García Márquez 

Moderated by: Özgur Günes Özturk

In this panel were considered the different ways of transforming cultural and artistic institutions in order to guarantee the right of access, the right to participate and the right to contribute to community cultural life of subaltern groups such as differently abled people, children and those of migrant origin.

Participation and communities

There are various conditions that affect the right to participate in the city’s cultural life, as well as the various forms of participation. This area tackles the various ways of exercising cultural rights in a collective fashion, analysing the opportunities and challenges involved in experiencing culture as a community.

 

CULTURE AND SUSTAINABILITY: MYTH, FASHION OR NEED?

Debate on the relationship between sustainability and culture, and its raison d'être.

Participants: Rocío Nogales MurielJordi Panyella, John Crowley, Alexandra Xanthaki

Moderated by: Isabelle Le Galo Flores

Sustainability includes all of those practices that do not harm the environment and which, in addition to being economically viable, are able to follow models that are socially acceptable. In short, following some sustainable practices is possible thanks to mutual responsibility and the ability to share a common set of principles among human beings, natural systems and cultural, social and economic dynamics.

However, the interdependence of these two broad areas, culture and sustainability, is sometimes called into question.

Why is the relationship between culture and sustainability sometimes labelled as a myth? Has the relationship come about through need, or because society considers it to be morally ethical?

ACADEMIC CONGRESS - COMMUNITIES I

Speakers: Roger Dedeu Pastor, Jesús Prieto de Pedro, María Lorenzo Moles, Alfons Martinell Sempere, Colectivo Llámalo H, Cristina Sáez Estrela, Cristian Añó Frohlich

Moderated by: Anna Villarroya

This panel aims to deepen the conceptualisation of cultural rights and their incorporation into cultural policy, as well as their practical application, through the presentation of innovative projects and initiatives that promote cultural democracy.

ACADEMIC CONGRESS - PARTICIPATION AND CULTURAL WORK II


From theory to practice

Speakers: Roger Dedeu Pastor, Jesús Prieto de Pedro, María Lorenzo Moles, Alfons Martinell Sempere, Colectivo Llámalo H, Cristina Sáez Estrela, Cristian Añó Frohlich

Moderated by: Anna Villarroya

 

This panel aims to deepen the conceptualisation of cultural rights and their incorporation into cultural policy, as well as their practical application, through the presentation of innovative projects and initiatives that promote cultural democracy.

ACADEMIC CONGRESS - PARTICIPATION AND CULTURAL WORK III

 

Materialisation of cultural rights in local spaces and community management

Speakers: Sergio Ramos Cebrián, Ricardo Klein, Santi Eizaguirre, Javier Rodrigo, Rocío Nogales Muriel, Begoña Rius Peña, María Camarero Peña, Fran Ros

Moderated by: Emma Armengod

 

This panel focuses on community-based culture and, in particular, on its management models, the difficulties and challenges it has to face, and its value and contribution to the effectiveness of cultural rights.

ACADEMIC CONGRESS - PARTICIPATION AND CULTURAL WORK IV

How culture can transform our society

ACADEMIC CONGRESS - COMMUNITIES III

Community culture construction

Speakers: Nil Barutel Gaspar, Youssef Sultan Correa, Javier Vergel Faro, Hugo Cruz, Aliki Gkana

Moderated by:  Antonio Alcántara

 

In a globalised society marked by inequalities, the construction of community cultural proposals promotes social cohesion, participation and the development of active citizenship.

Digital environments
ACADEMIC CONGRESS - DIGITAL RIGHTS

Cultural rights and digital change: fulfilling cultural rights in the digital society

Speakers: Laurence Cuny, Bartosz Wójcik, Paul Heritage, Stefan Priebe, Catherine Fung, Mariana Steffen, Aline Navegantes, Karina Ruiz 

Moderated by:  Joaquim Rius

 

This panel is aimed at rethinking the opportunities, threats and challenges posed by digitalisation and the social change it brings about, especially in relation to creation and cultural practices in a broad sense. Thus, cases of cultural management will be presented and debated that allow for an in-depth study of cultural rights in the digital sphere or based on technologies and forms of participation that the digital change makes possible. 

PRESENTATION OF THE GOVERNMENT MEASURE "CULTURE AND DIGITAL RIGHTS"
 

One of the nine measures included in the Barcelona Cultural Rights Plan will be presented

Participants: Eva Soria, Daniel Granados

Culture and Digital Rights: instruments and policies to ensure access to knowledge, transparency and digital innovation is one of the nine measures included in the Barcelona Cultural Rights Plan, as a conceptual, political and strategic framework for recognising and expanding cultural rights in the city. It contains the lines of action, projects, policies and mechanisms that are being rolled out with the aim of strengthening and consolidating digital rights in the cultural sphere.

In fact, it includes all the actions that Barcelona City Council will carry out to guarantee the right of all citizens to effective access to open knowledge, transparency and ethical, sustainable and responsible digital innovation.

ARE OUR CULTURAL RIGHTS ENDANGERED BY THE DIGITAL ENVIRONMENT? SHARING STRATEGIES AND PRACTICES

A discussion panel tackling the relationship between culture and the digital environment, the opportunities it offers and the inequalities it may cause.

Participants: Fieke Jansen, Francesca Bria,Toni Navarro

Moderated by: Eva Soria

On the one hand, digital environments can favour cultural participation and attract younger generations, but on the other, there is a risk of reproducing existing inequalities and creating new ones.

Not everyone has the ability or the resources to make use of technology. Consequently, fostering the digitalisation of culture may lead to the generation of new differences, in terms of equal opportunities and cultural experiences.

Furthermore, the privacy of users, the need for ethical digital innovation and the importance of transparency in public management, are now starting to attract the attention they deserve. Consequently, from a legal, political and strategic perspective, what actions should be taken in order to favour the cultural world, but without harming universal cultural rights?

bottom of page