The International Culture Panel: Cooperation and Knowledge-sharing between public officials and cultural actors
Denmark’s cultural exchange with other countries comprises a plenitude of actors at national and local level, who are based both in and outside of Denmark. As mentioned in the Danish QPR of 2012, there are several challenges facing a small country on the global scene when it comes to international cultural exchange, e.g. to create conditions for individual artists and cultural institutions to be able to function in a globalised world where it is necessary to be able to build and maintain professional working networks with international partners. Especially as a small country, it is important to facilitate cross-sectional cooperation aiming at combining experiences and achieving synergies without losing the richness and diversity of international activities and relations with other countries. Since 2010 the key actors in the field of cultural exchange have been gathered in an International Culture Panel.
The Panel is a cross-ministerial collaboration between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Business and Growth and the Ministry of Culture as well as the following institutions, who all in their own way and with different starting points are active in international cultural cooperation: The Danish Arts Foundation, The Danish Cultural Institute, Danish Architecture Center, Danish Design Centre, Danish Film Institute, Center for Culture and Development, Danish Agency for Palaces and Culture and VisitDenmark. The main purpose of the collaboration in the Panel is to increase Denmark’s cultural exchange with foreign countries and to strengthen the internationalisation of Danish cultural life. Herein lies an inherent focus on creating coherence and give the various international cultural initiatives a shared focus with a view to create increased visibility and impact of cultural exchange projects.
The various actors involved in the Panel have an extensive and complex network of contacts and working partners in Denmark and in a diversity of countries. Therefore, the actors form a professional and practical forum for the sharing of knowledge in the field of international cultural exchange as well as a forum for generating and developing new collaboration projects.
The Panel is currently working on the basis of a strategic action plan 2014-2016, which encompasses the following cross-sectional themes: sustainability, children/young people and dialogue, democracy and participation. The geographical areas of focus are the BRICS-countries (defined as Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) and the Middle East (divided into the Levant, North Africa and the Gulf States). In addition to the geographical focus areas, the Panel also collaborates on so-called strategic events, which can be cultural world events with regional or global impact or cultural events in the form of celebrations of famous cultural figures, the Royal Family’s Visits abroad or culture and business promotions abroad.
During the spring of 2016 the Panel will be evaluating the action plan.
Please see above
-