European Network of Cultural Centres (ENCC)
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Towards the Culture Compass: a Sector Blueprint

Published 3 weeks ago
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As the European Commission finalises the drafting of the Culture Compass, its new cultural strategy expected to be made public in November 2025, we have joined a group of approximately 30 European cultural networks, gathered under the coordination of Culture Action Europe, to develop a "shadow Culture Compass" co-created by and for the sector. The result was "Towards the Culture Compass: A Sector Blueprint", a document that complements the vision of the Commission with the insights and point of view of civil society, represented in its full diversity.

Find the publication here

Drafted with the aim of strengthening the EU cultural ecosystem as a whole, the Blueprint consists of 10 interconnected policy briefs, each dedicated to a key priority topic:

  • Brief 1: Artistic freedom;

  • Brief 2: Working conditions;

  • Brief 3: Artistic research, culture and innovation;

  • Brief 4: International cultural relations;

  • Brief 5: Culture, health, and well-being;

  • Brief 6: Culture and sustainability;

  • Brief 7: Cultural participation;

  • Brief 8: Access to cultural and arts education;

  • Brief 9: Culture and security;

  • Brief 10: Culture and digital.

As the ENCC, we have been coordinating the drafting of briefs 6 (culture and sustainability) and 7 (cultural participation), and contributed to brief 10 (culture and digital) with insights from our Digital Ethics working group.