CITY OF

21.2.2003

European Parliament Committee on Culture, Youth, Education, the Media and Sport Mr Ignacio Samper, Head of Division ATR 8 K 029 Rue Wiertz 60 1047 Brussels

Committee on Culture, Youth, Education, the Media and Sport Replies in respect of the City of Helsinki to the questionnaire preparing for the European Parliament working meeting to be held on 20.5.2003:

1) Due to its status as Capital City, Helsinki is home to the majority of the public cultural establishments in . Joint Government and City funds are allocated to the maintenance of what is a very lively and high-quality cultural environment, in view of the size of the City.

The City of Helsinki’s budget allocation for culture in 2003 is as follows:

General cultural activities EUR 33 643 000 - Grants allocated to the arts (includes the Finnish National Opera) - Cultural centres in suburbs, theatres in the City Centre for visiting productions, artists’ studios, an arts centre for children and young people, an international cultural centre, etc.

City Art Museum EUR 4 819 000 City Museum (historical) EUR 5 639 000 City Orchestra EUR 7 638 000 City Library EUR 28 176 000

Total EUR 79 915 000

There are 559 718 inhabitants in Helsinki. A total of EUR 133.4 per inhabitant is allocated in cultural subsidies.

(The budget table is attached)

The general cultural activities are concentrated on City Hall, Pohjoisesplanadi 11-13, 00170 Helsinki Telephone 09-1692290, fax 09-1692248 Email: [email protected] DV\497612EN.doc External Translation CITY OF HELSINKI

- the arts education of children and young people, 5 % (provided by the City) - the support of professional artists (theatres for visiting companies and grants), 72 % - cultural work in the region (the cultural centres in the suburbs), 18 % - multicultural work, 5 %

The majority of the total budget allocated to cultural activities is committed to premises and salaries, among other things, as well as in costs relating to these. Without resorting to any major structural changes, it is possible to earmark an estimated 5-10 % of the funds for a primary target.

2) The general cultural body (Helsinki Cultural Office) of the City of Helsinki is active in several European city networks.

The biennial Artgenda acts as a link between the young artists of the regions around the Baltic Sea. European capital cities which are members of the biennial are Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Tallinn and Riga. Other members include St Petersburg, Hamburg, etc. Each of the member cities takes its turn in organising a major arts event.

Helsinki has been invited to participate as a member in the biennial of young artists of the Mediterranean region (Biennale de Jeunes Créateurs de l’Europe et de la Méditerranée). Other capital cities which are members include Lisbon, Madrid, Rome, Athens, Sarajevo (and Algiers). The next event will be organized in Athens in June 2003.

The cultural cooperation takes its most extensive form in the Eurocities Cultural Committee. Over the next two years, its largest project will be the analysis and comparison of the cultural policies of 22 European cities. The research work is 100 % financed by the Commission (DG Research and Development). Stockholm, Helsinki, the Hague, Vienna and Athens are some of the capital cities which are participating.

Helsinki City Library is one of the coordinators in an EU project entitled PULMAN (Public Libraries Mobilising Advanced Networks). The project was launched in 2001, and it spans 26 countries. The project aims to promote the distribution of know-how and best practices and exchange experiences. In 2002 the EU funded continuation project PULMAN XT was launched. It primarily targets Eastern European states. In this project, Helsinki is the only participating European capital city.

Helsinki City Museum (historical) is a member of the International Association of Museums of History. The Association has an active Europe Section (the European Council of History Museums), of which the City of Helsinki acts as Chairman. The Section enjoys major EU funding (Euroclio) which is being used to finance a European “network museum” and travelling exhibitions as well as publications. City Hall, Pohjoisesplanadi 11-13, 00170 Helsinki Telephone 09-1692290, fax 09-1692248 Email: [email protected] DV\497612EN.doc External Translation CITY OF HELSINKI

During the last ten years, Helsinki City Orchestra has been touring European capitals, visiting among others London, Paris, Berlin, Madrid and Vienna. The visits are organised by a European agent on a commercial basis. The European “sister orchestras” have not been involved in the organisation of the tours. The City of Helsinki provides considerable financial assistance for the visits.

City of has a large array of European contacts. On the whole, the cooperation revolves around specific exhibitions for which contacts are made with the various European art museums as well as other actors in the field of the arts. There have been a great many contacts with European capital cities, involving establishments such as the Barbican Centre in London, the Magnum photo agency and the Jeu de Paume Museum of Art in Paris, the Kulturhuset of the City of Stockholm and the Kunstforeningen in Copenhagen. Helsinki City Art Museum is not a member of any European association.

3) For the time being, the City of Helsinki does not implement any specific policy to support international festivals. So far, each individual case has been evaluated on its own merits in the aid decision process. The overall approach to the issue of aid for festivals is to be considered. Helsinki supports several festivals which concentrate on the arts in Europe.

Up to now, the division of labour between the State and the City of Helsinki has meant that the City imports visiting international productions, while the State is responsible for exporting the arts.

The City of Helsinki participates in a number of international residential artist exchange programmes. The City offers the selected visiting artist accommodation as well as studio premises, while the State extends the funds to cover living expenses (accommodation in a historic Eläintarha villa and a studio within the old restored cable factory complex). Helsinki is also a participant in the European Pepiniérs network, which encompasses all aspects of the arts, as well as in the Aerowaves modern dance network. Furthermore, the City of Helsinki and the City of Brussels have a bilateral agreement concerning the exchange of artists.

4) Yes, but the cooperation is not on a regular basis.

5) Helsinki is a member of a network of 14 cities which carries out research into the architecture of the Jugendstil period. The network has been granted financing from the Culture 2000 Programme for a second three-year period. In addition to Helsinki, other European capitals participating in the network are Brussels, Budapest, Ljubljana, Riga and Vienna..

City Hall, Pohjoisesplanadi 11-13, 00170 Helsinki Telephone 09-1692290, fax 09-1692248 Email: [email protected] DV\497612EN.doc External Translation CITY OF HELSINKI

As a member of the Europe Section of the aforementioned International Association of Museums of History, Helsinki, along with 18 other cities, has applied for funding for a research project concentrating on the history of health and hygiene.

6) From Helsinki’s viewpoint one major obstacle to the furthering of cooperation, in particular at the level of the city, is financing. Helsinki’s location on the periphery of Europe ensures that travel and transport costs will remain high. The cultural networks have expressed the wish that more consideration than at present be accorded in the EU programmes to mobility, both at the level of the individual and in the more extensive exchange programmes (cf. student and research exchanges).

A further problem is the fact that most of the cooperation initiatives take place at the government level, and the cities are rarely involved in the negotiations. City policies are not as visible on the European agenda as they deserve to be. There is certainly room for improvement.

7) What is meant by 'alueeliset yhteisöt' (local authorties)? If it refers to the local level, the answer is ‘yes’.

(signed) Ilkka-Christian Björklund Deputy Mayor

City Hall, Pohjoisesplanadi 11-13, 00170 Helsinki Telephone 09-1692290, fax 09-1692248 Email: [email protected] DV\497612EN.doc External Translation Annex to Memorandum 21.2.2003 §

At the beginning of 2002 there were 559 718 inhabitants in Helsinki

2003 Expenditure 2003 2003 Public/ Aid/ Aid/ Income Net Students Visitor Inhabitant 2002 (net) (net) Cultural activities, includes subsidies 33 643 000 1 269 000 32 374 000 2 820 521 11.48 57.84 The Centre for Cultural Matters 8 650 000 742 000 7 908 000 696 224 11.36 14.13 of which regional cultural centres + others 4 042 500 473 460 of which Annantalo (arts education for children and young people) 1 222 000 51 007 of which artists’ studios (Harakka and Kaapeli) 273 500 of which the (visitors’ theatre) 694 500 43 912 The Savoy Theatre (visitors’ theatre) 1 142 000 497 000 645 000 80 608 8.00 1.15 The international cultural centre Caisa 1 549 000 30 0000 1 519 000 47 237 32.16 2.71

Arts grants (inc. EUR 2 635 000 for the Opera) 22 302 000 22 302 000 2 124 297 10.50 39.85 students 8 150 public 2 116 147

The City Library 28 176 000 2 419 000 25 757 000 7 709 496 3.65 46.02

The City Museum of Art 4 819 000 606 000 4 213 000 93 191 51.71 7.53

The City Museum 5 639 000 179 000 5 460 000 141 118 39.96 9.75

Orchestral activities 7 638 000 771 000 6 867 000 12.27 of which the City Orchestra 7 268 000 665 000 6 603 000 110 000 60.03 11.80

Grand Total 79 915 000 5 244 000 74 671 000 10 874 326 6.87 133.41

City Hall, Pohjoisesplanadi 11-13, 00170 Helsinki Telephone 09-1692290, fax 09-1692248 Email: [email protected] DV\497612EN.doc External Translation