LabforCulture on line

LabforCulture - the new interactive website aimed at all those in arts and culture who collaborate, create, share and produce work across borders in Europe, went live yesterday, 8 June 2006. The site is a vast source of current information and debate on European cultural cooperation, from case
studies and inspiring stories of trans-border collaboration to online cultural news and newsletters, from information and tips on how to fund a project to links to key cultural organisations and networks. There is an extensive resource section and research information includes topical cultural trends and debates in Europe. The website welcomes your own experiences, resources and points of view through MyLabforCulture, an online meeting place for all those involved with cultural activities. LabforCulture
was initiated by the European Cultural Foundation together with many partners. It is supported by all the leading European cultural organisations, by many Culture Ministries, and the European Commission.
Visit it at www.labforculture.org.

What is LabforCulture.org?

LabforCulture is an online information and knowledge platform dedicated to European cultural cooperation, complemented by a range of offline services and programmed activities. The website provides an unprecedented range of information on cultural cooperation across the broader Europe, as well as offering a platform for transnational cultural exchange, cultural debate, news and research.

LabforCulture has been developed as an online tool for cultural practitioners, operators and managers, as well as artists and arts organisations, cultural researchers, research bodies, policy makers and funders in arts and culture. It is very much a partnership project and is jointly developed, funded and supported by many of Europe’s leading cultural organisations.
Aims of LabforCulture

    * To support cultural cooperation by improving access to cultural websites with annotated links and by publishing new research findings.
    * To link people working across the cultural cooperation sector through interactive networking possibilities and to provide a platform for online debate.
    * To encourage further discussion and promotion of cross-border cultural work.

What does LabforCulture do?

LabforCulture instigates research projects and works in an associated way with existing projects such as Eurotopics – a website that offers a daily news digest of political, cultural and social debates across Europe.

LabforCulture’s two current research projects started in 2005, and will continue throughout 2006:

    * Mobility: Dynamics, Causes and Consequences in European Arts and Culture: This comparative research project is being conducted by the European Institute for Comparative Cultural Research (ERICarts) in partnership with LabforCulture and other independent experts. Since this project was launched in July 2005, meetings have taken place in Barcelona, Cologne and Moscow. The first report is due in summer 2006 and will be available on this website.

    * Cultural Components of European Foreign Policies: Boekman Foundation – the Dutch study centre for arts, culture and related policy – was commissioned to produce a survey that focuses on existing documents from the 25 EU member states, including regional and intergovernmental agreements on cultural foreign policies. The research is being carried out by Diane Dodd, Melle Lyklema and Kathinka Dittrich van Weringh, as well as other researchers from across Europe. The results of the survey will appear soon in print and online at LabforCulture.org. A complementary qualitative policy analysis, involving interviews with selected decision-makers across Europe, is currently being conducted by Rod Fisher, International Intelligence on Culture and Kathinka Dittrich van Weringh. This will be available at LabforCulture.org in summer 2006.