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Robert Manchin opened the debate by explaining that CAE practices what it preaches.

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Michel Magnier reflected on the theme “Belonging and Becoming”. According to the Budapest Observatory and Peter Inkei, culture, history and values form the basis of our sense of community. But what can we do to counter the “takeover” of these aspects by populist movements? Michel Magnier’s answer to this is to progress and believe in the process of progression, not as a utopia, but as a constant sense of imbalance, as Martha Graham put it. We must dare to step forward and progress.

The upcoming year of European cultural heritage must develop inclusion and education, not only at EU level but with a global perspective.

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Mr Magnier referred to the upcoming Gothenburg social summit on 17th November 2017. He also referred to the communication on 14th November entitled “Strengthening EU identity through Education and Culture”. The sector has progressed and these are exciting times for us.

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He considered that the EU had gone beyond the obvious twice in recent years. The first time was in 1992 when the Maastricht treaty recognised culture in article 151. The second time was in 2010 when the intrinsic, economic and social values of culture were recognised.

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We must continue to explore the unknown territories to further this progress.

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For him the key word has been “convergence”. The digital shift brings convergence; convergence between heritage and creation, between the digital and the physical, the private and the public, the commercial and the non-commercial.

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He was recently at a meeting in Nancy of a meeting of the Regions of Europe. He was able to learn about some interesting examples of video mapping of heritage buildings or the rebuilding digitally of heritage sites. He suggests that this is a way forward and we should adopt and promote these tools. Similarly, digital and physical converge when for example Opera becomes free. This is a major breakthrough allowing this form of art to no longer be elitist. Museums such as Louis Vitton or Fondation Kino are able to rent out works of art, allow franchising of museums. We may not always like this convergence but we must accept to adapt to changes.

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What is the place of Culture in the EU? Is it a nicety or a necessity? Perhaps culture was not mentioned in the Future of Europe scenarios or in the UN sustainable development goals, but we can hope with Gothenburg because Culture and Education will be discussed by the leaders during their lunch.

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We acknowledge that there is a need for social well-being and culture. Jacques Delors said that no one falls in love with a single market. Policies such as sport and citizenship connect citizens to Europe. European values are linked to heritage. The document on the strengthening of EU identity through Education and Culture was written quickly but we now need to revamp the European Agenda for Culture. We must commit to more. The EYCH is the same move. The scenarios should include culture.

Policies need funding. Public money is no longer legitimate. Needs are huge. Bank loans are a solution. The guarantee facility is very promising and has increased to 180 million euros. Our sectors need to reduce the financial risks involved in supporting them and understand the market. The sector must also resort to crowdfunding because citizens that benefit from culture should be donors. Crowdfunding enlarges the network of citizens engaged in culture. Private funding should also be sort via corporate social responsibility. The Coliseum was renewed by private investors. The culture budget is only 0,15% of the EU’s overall budget. We should double this for 2021 to three billion euros and expand the parameters of funding to:

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-action for mobility of arts – build on success

- support for music (competitiveness, cultural diversity, streaming, promotion of agenda)

- international (global cultural players).

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The new increase in budget will address these three strands. Culture’s role to play in the future is one of encouraging breakthrough (of technology).