Tracing the Trails: for Inclusive Culture in Unequal Times
Our 2024 annual conference was an exploration of the transformative roles socio-cultural centres can play in building more inclusive societies. With over 120 participants between socio-culture workers, artists, activists and researchers, at Tracing the Trails we tried to foster exchanges between our members and beyond, creating opportunities for cross-sectorial cooperation and strategic partnerships, with a view to pursuing inclusive systemic change.
Tracing the Trails has been an invitation to problematise, get inspired, and conceive new approaches to access and diversity. It was also an invitation to celebrate #30yearsofENCC, looking back at where we started, and gazing forward at where we're collectively headed. As usual, there were study visits, panel discussions, workshops, and walks in nature.
The event was held in Riga, Latvia, and co-organised with our members the Association of Latvian Culture Centres and the Culture Association of Northern Riga, as well as the Latvian National Centre for Culture.
© Reinis Oliņš
4 June
Monica Urian is a programme manager at the European Commission – Directorate General Education and Culture, where she is responsible for the audience development strand within the Creative Europe Programme. Before joining the European Commission, Monica worked at ARTketingm, a research centre in marketing for arts, culture and media within the Solvay Business School, Université Libre de Bruxelles.
Filip Pawlak is an independent producer of performing arts and a self-advocate for artists with disabilities. In recent years, he was involved as an ambassador and expert in the Europe Beyond Access project. He has experience in the institutional and independent art sector, having been, among other roles, head of the production department of the Nowy Teatr in Warsaw. Today, after a break of several years, Filip is once again taking to the stage as a performer.
Zita Holbourne is an award-winning multidisciplinary artist, writer, human rights and equality campaigner, community activist and trade union leader. Among other roles, she is the co-founder and national chair of BARAC UK, as well as joint national chairperson of Artists’ Union England and the Culture Workers Network.
Ivo Peeters is one of the founders of the European Network of Cultural Centres and has served as the organisation’s chairman since 2015. He was previously the director of the De Zeyp cultural centre in Brussels. With 30+ years of experience working at the local and international level, he has been involved in conceiving and facilitating many European cooperation projects, with a special focus on arts and disabilities.
Kristīne Freiberga is a researcher on the cultural and creative sector at the Research Centre of the Latvian Academy of Culture. Previously, among other tasks, she has been a guest lecturer in cultural economics, cultural management and project management at the University of Culture and the Riga Cathedral Choir School.
5 june
Diana Anselmo is a LIS/Italian bilingual artist who debuted in 2021 with his first performance “Autoritratto in 3 atti”, still performed in various Italian and foreign festivals. Diana is the accessibility manager of various festivals, and one of the founders of Al.Di.Qua. Artists, Europe’s first association of and for artists with disabilities.
Anna Maria Ranczakowska is a Polish-born anthropologist based in Estonia. Since 2014, she has been involved in over a dozen projects in the capacity of researcher, facilitator and manager, bridging the gap between academia and praxis of the arts in service of societal transformation. At ENCC, she was the principal researcher in the project Just Sustainability from the Heart of Communities: the Transformative Power of Socio- Cultural Centres.
Kaspars Lielgalvis is a textile artist, advertiser and graphic designer. In 2005, he established
a decorations firm providing scenography supplies to some of the country’s main theatre festivals. More recently, Kaspars has been active in urban development and in the creation of artist-run structures such as the Totaldobze Art Centre, which became an important platform for interdisciplinary artistic creation.
6 June
Kirsi Mustalahti is the founder and chairperson of ACCAC Global, a network promoting access and equity through culture and the arts. Since 2011, ACCAC fosters positive change through inclusive festivals, seminars, global cooperation projects, and more.
Emils Rode has been one of the coordinators of the Interreg project Urban Cultural Planning, that aimed at building trust between citizens and public authorities in the Baltic Sea region by applying the cultural planning method. After the project’s end, many of the partners continued collaborating on new actions, such as Liveability (2023-2025) and BSR Cultural Pearls (2023- 2025), which focus on participation, placemaking and building societal resilience through culture.
Leen Vanderschueren is a member of ENCC’s Board of directors and the coordinator of cult!, the network of cultural centres in Flanders and Brussels, formerly known as VVC. In the past, she has worked for the Flemish film fund (VAF), where she coordinated activities such as film festivals, cinemas, educational and youth initiatives, and trainings. She has a background in fashion design and history of art.
Kim Taewon is a Korean artist and cultural professional based in Finland, where he currently runs the King Sejong Institute for the promotion of Korean culture, and regularly collaborates with ACCAC Global. He is also an expert and facilitator in the Korean zen meditation method. In the past, he has carried out educational and development projects for the Korean Ministries of Foreign Affairs and of Interior.
Lapo Bettarini has a background and extensive academic experience in astronomy. Always divided between a strong scientific curiosity and an active social and cultural commitment, after having created and managed two non-profit associations in Belgium for several years, in 2016 he became the coordinator of a regional network of cultural centres in the proximity of Brussels, and since 2017 he directs La Concertation, the Brussels regional network of cultural centres.
Moderator
Divs Reiznieks is an experienced journalist, producer, and tv and radio host covering culture, sport and international events. He has been the head of the international news desk at the news department of the Latvian National Television, covered numerous Olympic games, hosted and produced national television documentaries such as “Born in Europe” and “Snapshot”. He currently produces weekly sports TV magazine “Sporta Studija” and podcast “Drošinātājs”.
Master of ceremony
Théo Majcher is the co-founder of ALTER EGO (X), where he is in charge of European cooperation projects, advocacy and training on international funding. Beyond his involvement in cultural affairs, Théo is also an actor, performer, stage director, and jazz singer. In the past, he has collaborated with the ENCC as well as the European Theatre Convention as a programme and event coordinator. Most recently, he has also been active in the moderation and facilitation of events.