CULTURE REPORT EUNIC YEARBOOK 2011 CULTURE REPORT EUNIC YEARBOOK 2011 Cultural relations are the glue that holds alliances together. The geopolitics of the 21st century mean we need to see a revival of cultural diplomacy. China and India are already expanding their external cultural policies. Despite Europe‘s huge cultural diversity, the EU has still not developed an adequate cultural strategy for its foreign policy. The establishment of the European External Action Service (EEAS) provides an opportunity to tighten up and co-ordinate the EU‘s existing cultural foreign policy. In this edition of the Culture Report, 30 authors from 20 different countries examine what this all means. Foreword: Crisis and new awakenings by Sebastian Körber 4 CHAPTER 1: EXTERNAL PERSPECTIVES A Brave New World - Globalisation as Europe’s touchstone by Yang Lian 8 All talk and no action by Mai’a K. Davis Cross 20 Art at the heart of mainstream entertainment – an interview by Regis Debray with Frédéric Martel 28 Seizing the day by André Azoulay 38 The cultural revolution by Reem Kassem 45 A gateway to two worlds by Julie Chénot 48 Welcome to the real world by André Lemos 54 A union of double standards by Mahir Namur 60 2 Contents Moving the chairs in the global boardroom by Rajeef Balasubramanyam 64 Europe‘s forgotten fringes by Jurko Prochasko 70 Peeking through the open window by Hela Kamarou 78 CHAPTER 2: EUROPE IN THE WORLD THE WORLD IN EUROPE Now is the time by Robert Palmer 86 Common spaces by Gerhard Sabathil 96 A necessity, not a luxury by Marietje Schaake 110 Daring the impossible by Gottfried Wagner 116 More than just image by Steffen Bay Rasmussen 121 Less hysteria, more listening by Joseph Muscat 128 It‘s good to be different by Mike Hardy 136 Reconciling the irreconcilable by Katherine Watson 146 Seeing the world in a new light by Mary Ann DeVlieg 150 Europe‘s dowry by Farid Tabarki and Rindert de Groot 153 CHAPTER 3: A NEW BEGINNING FOR EUROPE THE EUNIC NETWORK Singing in harmony with others by Horia-Roman Patapievici 160 No panacea by Berthold Franke 170 Focusing on its strengths by Delphine Borione 180 Softly, softly towards a green revolution by Finn Andersen and Olaf Gerlach-Hansen 184 Trust: why it matters A contribution by the British Council 190 EUNIC Annual Report 2010-11 194 3 tion Service has therefore come at exactly the right for some kind of panacea. “Culture is the bearer time to analyse just what Europe really has to offer of great humanitarianism, while at the same time in face of these global challenges. “Europe’s position bearing the stigma of colonial oppression”, is how in the world is not only defined in terms of national Berthold Franke of the Goethe Institute sums up security or economics”, claims Robert Palmer from the ambivalent role of culture in foreign relations. the Council of Europe in Strasburg. The geopolitical The EUNIC Yearbook is the successor to the situation in the 21st century demands that cultural “Culture Report Progress Europe“, which was first diplomacy be revitalised, using a multilateral ap- published in 2007 by the Institute for Foreign Cul- proach. Just what role culture can play in European tural Relations and the Robert Bosch Foundation. external affairs is the subject of the second chapter. The help of European partner institutions has made The third and final chapter of the EUNIC Year- it possible for the Report not only to continue to of- book 2011 is dedicated to the EUNIC network itself, fer an overview of the state of cultural relations in founded in 2006. In his contribution, Horia-Roman Europe, but also to be published in several langu- Patapievici, doctor, essayist, head of the Romani- ages. I am delighted that the fourth edition of the an Cultural Institute and President of EUNIC for Culture Report is now being published within the 2010-2011, recalls the founding ideal behind EU- framework of EUNIC. This can be seen as a sign NIC, the European network of national institutes of progress by all involved, as the Culture Report is for culture. It was as simple as it was convincing. It now likely to have even greater impact than before. was based on the belief that good things can happen The EUNIC network is also gaining an ideal plat- if people decide to work together. If the national in- form from which to address fundamental issues and stitutes for culture could work together they would allow a two-way expression of thoughts and ideas. I become more than just the sum of their parts, like would like to thank all those involved for their sup- the individual instruments in a concerto grosso. In port, especially the authors, but also the translators this respect, the founding of EUNIC in 2006 can and editors, whose work is mostly done behind the be seen as a new beginning for international cultu- scenes. I would also like to thank the Robert Bosch ral relations. What has been achieved so far? How Foundation, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, can the network develop from a somewhat random the British Council and Culture Ireland. This publi- partnership into a more strategic one? And finally, cation would not have been possible without their what can EUNIC, with its 2,000 branches around generous financial assistance. the world, contribute towards building a common Sebastian Körber external cultural policy? These are the questions addressed by the authors in this chapter, amongst them Delphine Borione from the French Foreign Ministry, who will be the next President of EU- NIC. They also risk a look ahead to the future, but without falling into the trap of mistaking culture 5 A brave new world – globalisation as Europe’s touch- stone The latest developments in the Middle East just seem to provide further proof that the world is tur- ning towards the European model. Europe remains the centre of the universe and history continues to unfold around the axis of its value system. The future still lies in the hands of the old continent. This is a comforting picture, but writer Yang Lian reminds us that the Chinese have held this same view of history for the last two thousand years. By Yang Lian dictators on the other side of the Medi- terranean have disappeared into thin air. Global politics and the economic lands- cape are changing as quickly as the scenes in a play. Could it be that the Chinese or the Arabs, who have experienced these changes at first hand, now find themselves waking up with a start during the night and wondering “Where am I?” On the other hand, the Europeans who are caught up in all this turbulent history are probably asking themselves “What’s happening to the world? Where is all this rapid change taking us?” Or, in he earth is spinning like crazy - other words, how will Europe react when and sometimes it flies off in to- the world looks totally different? Does Eu- tally unexpected directions. Who ropean culture need to be repositioned? Twould have thought that communist Chi- What does our culture amount to today na, a country in which millions of peo- and what are our values? ple starved to death under Mao, would It seems to me that these are very pres- end up acting as creditor and “favourite sing questions, particularly in light of two uncle” to the capitalist world, and that experiences that might at first glance ap- Western countries flailing around in the pear to be contradictory. The first of these maelstrom of the financial crisis would be was the 2009 Frankfurt Book Fair. China eagerly waiting for China to come to their was invited to attend as guest of honour, rescue and help out with their national which on the face of it seemed like a good debt? The same is true of the Arab states. opportunity to use the diversity of per- Not so long ago Europe more or less open- spectives and forums on offer to give the ly viewed them as the enemy with whom world an insight into this ancient country, they were going head-to-head in a battle take a peek behind the red curtain of the of cultures. But now Tunisia, Egypt and Libya have changed their colours almost overnight and suddenly the antiquated 8 External perspectives Communist Party and find out what has conceived notion of “China”. been going on in China over recent years. The second experience arose from the It would have been interesting to see how 2010 International Literature Festival in China has managed to break away from Munich. The title of the discussion – the traditional thinking of other commu- which I took part in – was as striking as nist countries during the Cold War and it was misleading: Present-Day Masterpi- has steered a dictatorship to economic eces. The very title poses a major dilem- success. If all powers are equally greedy ma for the modern world: in a world of and corrupt, why haven’t other places had so many diverse cultural traditions, who their own economic miracle like China? sets the criteria for measuring what is a What seems like a contradiction in contemporary masterpiece? terms is in fact the result of a range of The debate revolved around how to complex cultural factors which deser- construct a ranking system for measu- ve to be looked at more closely. The or- ring excellence, and German, European ganisers of the Book Fair should have and international ranking systems were thought about this and then drawn up set up.