Government Balance Sheet Ministry of Culture Government of Catalonia 2011/2015 Executive summary Generalitat de Catalunya Departamen t de Cultura Government Balance Sheet Ministry of Culture Government of Catalonia 2011/2015 Executive summary Podeu fer servir la informació continguda en aquest document d’acord amb la llicència de Reconeixement–NoComercial–SenseObraDerivada 3.0 No adaptada de Creative Commons © Generalitat de Catalunya Departament de Cultura Rambla de Santa Mònica, 8 08002 Barcelona http.//cultura.gencat.cat Contents and coordination: Cristina Crespo Blanco Writing and production: Eva Benedicto Soriano Barcelona, September 2015 Government Balance Sheet Ministry of Culture. Government of Catalonia Executive summary Legal deposit: B 24874-2015 Presentation A legislature has ended and it is time to make out a balance sheet. These have been enormously complex years in cultural terms. The economic crisis, technological transformation, demographic change, a sharp fall in cultural consumption, reduction in Catalan government budgets and totally adverse cultural policies in the State government have composed an extremely complex environment for Catalan culture and even more so for the policies of the Ministry. These have been very difficult years, with the objectives at the outset having to be transformed to accommodate the changing and unfavourable circumstances we have had to live with. But without ever neglecting the basic ideal: to maintain a cultural system as solid and central as possible in our region’s social structure. We have tackled the crisis, then, with the conviction that we could only win through if we faced up to it and if, measure by measure, detail by detail, policy by policy, we palliated the effects of the crisis and at the same time put into practice the necessary process of transforming the outdated public cultural policies in the region. The document you have in your hands explains the initiatives that we have taken, but also sets out the structural changes that we have been articulating and a substantial modification in the methods of handling. We have rethought a good part of the cultural policy, we have taken full advantage of what we had, we have updated structures and protocols. We have remodelled essential things and we have made the structural and cooperative bases of the public policies more solid. We have backed creativity and cultural enterprises, the heritage, cultural associations, internationalization, the best possible management, the definitive normalization of the language and the principle of cooperation between administrations. We have suffered alongside the suffering in the sector, but we have given a response to the difficulties by forming a sound base on which we can benefit as fast as possible from clarification in the political situation and improvements in the financial and social situation, which are starting to come out. We have smoothed out the way. The policy barrier which we are at the point of lifting will give us a cruising speed of maximum intensity. The work that we have done in these years allows us the certainty that the mechanisms of support for culture are much more solid than they were, that creativity is at the centre of the cultural story, we have improved the general perception of the role of entrepreneurs and cultural enterprises, we have organized the governability and role of most national amenities, we have organized the network of markets to be definitively focused on contracting and professionalization in each sector. We have achieved a significant presence in some international ambits (for example, the Catalan pavilions in Venice). Government Balance Sheet 2011-2015. Executive summary, page. 1 On another point I would like to mention advances in the implementation of the library project. Without losing their individuality these have become focus points for cultural dynamism in their environments. We have created the Heritage Agency. A year and a half later, it is already seen to be a magnificent instrument to manage our rich heritage with much more efficiency. In the field of language we have maintained our pace and, even, have advanced its use – although unevenly – in spite of continuous campaigns of disrespect, disdain and division by the State government. Luckily, after years of chipping away at it, society in general in Valencia and the Balearic Isles is entering a new and much more encouraging stage. In any case, from the Ministry we have prepared the ground for a return to applying shared policies to encourage extending the Survey on Linguistic Uses throughout the Catalan- speaking ambit. We have also used these years to promote, with truly excellent results, citizen participation in manifestations of popular culture and in the associative movement. Half a million people are involved. We have been there to help them, we have created organs of participation. Be that as it may, the last five years have served us for working with the idea of maximum cooperation. We have gone deeply into all the instruments of dialogue and participation, to the point of being able to ensure in practice that we have created a joint administration-civil society working model. All the sectors have a presence in executive bodies and there are many joint working tables. We have promoted to the maximum the exchange of ideas with creators, creative enterprises and agents of culture, both professional and amateur. We have created numerous forums for discussion. Everyone has been able to give his opinion. In the same way we have untiringly sought a consensus and understanding with the rest of the administrations and we have achieved agreements which would have been difficult to foresee some years ago. In spite of the logical difficulties, we are grateful for everyone’s readiness to talk, talk and talk until finding the elucidation of each problem. There remains much to do, much money to invest when the economic situation changes, but the bases for restructuring the public cultural sector and support for the private sector are in place. The effects have started to be noted, but will not become clear immediately. With time we will find that the changes which have been introduced in these five years are a good basis on which to achieve the materialization of the qualitative leap that we desire. We want the Catalan culture to have maximum centrality in our society. To achieve a cultured region is the best guarantee for the future, the most rotund commitment to a creative, innovative, prosperous, cohesive, singular and universal region. Ferran Mascarell i Canalda Minister of Culture Government Balance Sheet 2011-2015. Executive summary, page 2 THEMES CREATIVITY CULTURAL ENTERPRISES HERITAGE INTANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE ASSOCIATIONS CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS TERRITORIAL BALANCE SOCIAL DIMENSION OF CULTURE FINANCING MODERNIZATION OF THE STRUCTURE LANGUAGE PARTICIPATION INTERNATIONALIZATION GOVERNANCE Government Balance Sheet 2011-2015 Executive summary, page 3 Government Balance Sheet 2011-2015 Executive summary, page 4 Significant items 1. Deployment of the visual arts network (XAV) 2. Creation and start-up of the Catalonia Culture Foundation 3. Approval of the National Photography Plan 4. Plan to Stimulate Architecture 5. Olot Seismographic Festival 6. Creative Catalonia Programme 7. Mapping the Cultural and Creative Industries of Catalonia including new disciplines 8. Catalonia, country of festivals 9. Reordering the strategic markets for the scenic arts and music in Catalonia 10. Comprehensive Plan for Music 11. Stimulus to the professionalization of culture 12. Creation of tax on electronic communications operators in order to promote audiovisuals 13. Defending the return of what are called the “Salamanca Papers” by the Government 14. Commemorative years and acts to recall and update leading figures in the Catalan cultural heritage 15. Open Romanesque Programme 16. Heritage in action 17. More tools for archaeological research 18. Integration of important legacies into various Catalan institutions 19. Impulse to setting up the National Fund of the Comic 20. Plan for Cultural Associations 2014-2016 21. Methodology for the inventory of the Intangible Cultural Heritage 22. Architecture Museum 23. Agreement for the delimitation of tasks between the Catalan National Art Museum (MNAC) and the Barcelona Contemporary Art Museum (MACBA) 24. Updating the museum presentations at MNAC 25. New headquarters of the Catalan Film Library and opening the Film Material Preservation and Restoration Centre in Terrassa 26. Public system of facilities and amenities 27. Stimulus to the “Apropa Cultura” programme for groups in a situation of discrimination or risk of exclusion 28. “ArtAccés” application for people with hearing and visual disabilities (2014) 29. Scene 25 for young people aged 18 to 25 years 30. National Reading Plan 31. Libraries on the Network 32. 2015, the Year of the libraries 33. Single card 34. Creation of a new framework of financing 35. Creating the Heritage Agency 36. Digital efforts 37. Setting up the Office for Support to Cultural Initiatives (OSIC) – Single window for aid 38. Rationalization of the administrative structure Government Balance Sheet 2011-2015 Executive summary, page 5 39. Catalan, European language 40. Catalan, State language 41. Catalan, shared language 42. Catalan, language of society 43. Recognition of the Aranese Studies Institute as an Occitan academy 44. Setting up participative organizations 45. Setting up the Social Council of Culture 46. Reinforcing