The cultural dimensions of the fight against poverty and social exclusion A European perspective

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1 Theculturaldimensionsofthefightagainstpovertyandsocialexclusion AEuropeanperspective ApositionpaperpreparedbyCultureActionEuropeinthecontextofthepreparationsof thebelgianpresidencyconferencetotakeplaceinbrussels,17 19October2010. Introduction Poverty and social exclusion are often evoked in connection to realities lived outside of the European Union, but they are more than relevant within our borderstoo.differentpolicyinitiativesintendedtodirectlyaddress,ateuropean level,thiscentralsocietalchallengehaveincreasinglyseenthelightinthelast10 years. If the competence of the European Union is still limited in the social exclusionfield,aeuropeandefinitionofpovertyexistssince1975: Peoplearesaidtobelivinginpovertyiftheirincomeandresourcesaresoinadequateas toprecludethemfromhavingastandardoflivingconsideredacceptableinthesocietyin which they live. Because of their poverty they may experience multiple disadvantage throughunemployment,lowincome,poorhousing,inadequatehealthcareandbarriersto lifelonglearning,culture,sportandrecreation.theyareoftenexcludedandmarginalised fromparticipatinginactivities(economic,socialandcultural)thatarethenormforother peopleandtheiraccesstofundamentalrightsmayberestricted 1. TheUnitedNationshasalsoputforwarddefinitionsofpovertysuchas: ( ) a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food,safedrinkingwater,sanitationfacilities,health,shelter,educationandinformation therefore,mainlydependingonaccesstoarangeofservices 2 ( ) a denial of choices and opportunities, a violation of human dignity ( ) a lack of basiccapacitytoparticipateeffectivelyinsociety( ) 3 Asthesedefinitionsindicate,povertyleadstosocialexclusion,andindeedmany academic or policy documents often use indiscriminately one or the other concept. In this paper, social exclusion will be preferred, as it is considered as encompassingthedifferentfacetsofpovertyanditsconsequences.italsoallows ustoaddressmoreeasilytheculturaldimensionsoftheissue. 1InEurostatStatisticalBooks,CombatingPovertyandSocialExclusion:AstatisticalportraitoftheEuropeanUnion2010 p.6http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ity_offpub/ks EP /EN/KS EP EN.PDF 2UNWorldSummitonSocialDevelopment,Copenhagen(1995) 3UNStatementfromJune1998,signedbytheheadsofallUNagencies Positionpaper CultureActionEurope July2010 1

2 Social exclusion and its remedy, social inclusion, have also been defined in documentsoftheeuropeanunion: Socialexclusionisaprocesswherebycertainindividualsarepushedtotheedgeofsociety and prevented from participating fully by virtue of their poverty, or lack of basic competencies and lifelong learning opportunities, or as a result of discrimination. This distances them from job, income and education opportunities as well as social and communitynetworksandactivities.theyhavelittleaccesstopoweranddecision making bodiesandthusoftenfeelingpowerlessandunabletotakecontroloverthedecisionsthat affecttheirdaytodaylives 4. Social inclusion is a process which ensures that those at risk of poverty and social exclusiongaintheopportunitiesandresourcesnecessarytoparticipatefullyineconomic, socialandculturallifeandtoenjoyastandardoflivingandwell beingthatisconsidered normalinthesocietyinwhichtheylive.itensuresthattheyhavegreaterparticipationin decision making,whichaffectstheirlivesandaccesstotheirfundamentalrights (defined intheeucharteroffundamentalrights) 5. Eveniftherealitiesofsocialexclusionandpovertyvaryfromcountrytocountry, common conditions define the European context of their development, and thereforedemandcoordinationorspecificinitiativesateuropeanlevel. Asthedefinitionsaboveindicate,socialexclusionisaboutindividuals,groupsor communities not participating fully in society, not enjoying their fundamental rights, not having access to public services, not having access to or being marginalised from participating in economic, social and cultural life. These definitions recognise social exclusion as a multidimensional phenomena that alsoincludesculture. Howisaccesstocultureandotherculturalrightsaffectedbypoverty?Howcan culture participate in the fight against poverty and social exclusion? Are there waysinwhichequalaccesstocultureandfreeparticipationinculturallifecan influencepositivelythelivesofthosewhoaresociallyexcluded? As we will highlight later in this paper, improved access to culture and participation in cultural life can, at an individual level, enhance personal skills, foster self confidence, and develop active citizenship, and, at a collective level, contribute to urban regeneration, consolidate community life, or participate more broadly to social development. Examples of projects and grassroots practicesthatconfirmthosebenefitsaredocumentedelsewhere 6 andwillnotbe part as such of this paper. Here, we will take the thinking a step further and, basingourselvesontherecognisedcontributionofculturetosocialexclusion,we will look at the way new initiatives could be taken by the European Union to better capitalise on those benefits, and integrate a cultural dimension to their futureinitiativesinthefieldofthefightagainstpovertyandsocialexclusion. 4EuropeanCommission,2004JointReportonSocialInclusion(p.10) 5Idem 6Thispaperispartofawiderresearchthatindentified,acrossEurope,80grassrootsprojectsaddressingtheissueof socialexclusionfromorwithanartsandcultureperspective. Positionpaper CultureActionEurope July2010 2

3 Therecommendationspresentedattheendofthispaperproposetoaccountfor the cultural aspects of social exclusion in both cultural and social policies. Recognisingtheculturaldimensionofsocialpolicies,andthesocialdimensionof cultural policies, does not mean diverting them from their ultimate objectives: alleviating people s poverty mainly in terms of economic and social terms, and developing a coherent framework for the development of cultural life both in terms of production and access. On the opposite side, we see the cultural and social dimensions of each policy as complementing and reinforcing their respectiveactions.whatisadvocatedforinthispaper,asbymanyexpertsand commentators before us, is to look at culture as a complex and encompassing field,connectedtootherfundamentalrightsandsocio economicconditions,and participatingintheoverallwell beingoftheindividualsandsociety. Inthefollowingpages,wewilllookbackatthedevelopmentofthecompetences and actions of the European Union in the social and cultural policy fields, with specific attention on the times and places where those two fields met or overlapped.recallingtheinternationalandeuropeaninstrumentswhichcommit MemberStatestodefendandpromotefundamentalhumanrights,amongwhich cultural rights, we will finally make a number of recommendations to be implemented by the EU and its member States in the field culture and social inclusion. Positionpaper CultureActionEurope July2010 3

4 1. The competences and actions of the EU in the field of culture and socialinclusion 1.1Fromthesocialpolicyperspective In1957,thecreationoftheEuropeanEconomicCommunity 7 wasmotivatedby politicalandeconomicreasons.oneoftheprimarytriggersforthecooperation of European nation states was the reconstruction and the reconciliation in the aftermath of the Second World War, and a geographical redistribution of economicresources. An important milestone in this evolution was the Single European Act (1986) that launched the establishment of the so called single market, based on the free movement of goods, persons, services and capital. Today those four freedoms applytoalmostall27memberstates theoneshavingjoinedlaststill being subject to some restrictions, and a standardised system of laws that regulates its implementation, mostly in economic terms. As a consequence, the acquis communautaires 8 aim at ensuring that those four freedoms are progressivelyappliedtotheentireeuropeanunionspace.fromtheoutsetofthe European project, economic aspects therefore prevailed, relegating social concerns to a secondary place, as well as other policy domains, such as the environment,education,orculture. ThisrelativeabsenceofsocialconcernsintheEuropeanprojectwerenotonlya consequence of the main focus on economic integration, but was also due to MemberStatesprotectionistviewsoftheirsocialsystems;somebeingafraidof lowering their standards, and others being reluctant to aligning their own systemstodifferentmodels,forideologicalorbudgetaryreasons. Inthe1980s,however,thespill oversfromthesinglemarketprocessstartedto visibly invade the social policy domain, rendering the neat separation between economic and social measures unsustainable. But the resistance of national governments was hard to overcome, and it is only in the 1990s that some soft policy making mechanisms started to be used at European level in order to devise adaptation measures that would help alleviate the pressure on national social policies created by the single market and the different waves of enlargement.formorethantenyears,theeuropeanunion sactioninthesocial field was therefore a consequence of other(economic) objectives rather than a full fledgedpolicydefendingforitsownsakeasocialdimensionintheeuropean project. The European Union common policy objectives in relation to the fight against poverty and social exclusion were defined for the first time during the Nice 7TheTreatyofParisin1951establishedtheEuropeanCoalandSteelCommunitywhereastheTreatyofRomeof1957 establishedtheeuropeanatomicenergycommunityandtheeuropeaneconomiccommunity.thelatterisnowcalled thetreatyestablishingtheeuropeancommunity. 8AcquiscommunautaireisaFrenchtermthatencapsulatestherightsandobligationsderivedfromtheEUtreaties,laws, andcourtrulings,whichthenewmemberstatesmustembracebeforejoiningtheeu. Positionpaper CultureActionEurope July2010 4

5 European Council of December Earlier that year, during the March European Council, the so called Lisbon Strategy was adopted with the overarching goal to make the EU "the most competitive and dynamic knowledge basedeconomyintheworldcapableofsustainableeconomicgrowth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion" by The Lisbon strategy already included a weak social strand, even if its ambitions were emphaticallydefinedasaimingat makingadecisiveimpactontheeradicationof poverty. In the context of the social inclusion framework the Open Method of Coordination 9 (OMC)wasusedforthefirsttimein2000.TheOMCisasoftlaw mechanism,whichusesguidelines,indicators,benchmarkingandpeerreview 10 inordertoleadmemberstatestobettercoordinatetheirnationalpolicies.each OMC process, negotiated at an intergovernmental level, is slightly different in termsofobjectives,ambitions,andproceedings.anomcprocessreflectshowfar MemberStatesarereadytogoatagivenmomentatstreamliningtheirnational policies, and looking for convergence, in a policy field falling outside of the full competenceoftheeu. InwhatconcernssocialprotectionandsocialinclusiontheOMCwaslaunchedin 2000providinganoverarchingframework,andsettingcommonobjectivesand indicators. Member States are then asked to translate those objectives into nationalstrategies,called NationalActionPlansforSocialProtectionandSocial Inclusion 11.Onthebasisofthoseactionplans,governmentsarethenrequiredto submitperiodicnationalreports,called NationalReportsonStrategiesforSocial Protection and Social Inclusion, which form the basis of the Joint Reports on SocialProtectionandSocialInclusion preparedbythecouncilandtheeuropean Commission. Inthe2004CouncilandECJointReportonSocialInclusion,oneofthekeypolicy approachestopromotingaccesstoresources,rights,goodsandserviceswas: To develop, for the benefit of people at risk of exclusion, services and accompanying measures which will allow them effective access to education, justiceandotherpublicandprivateservices,suchasculture,sportandleisure. This Joint Report is remarkable in that it adopts a multidimensional notion of social exclusion, and examines as one of these dimensions access to culture 12. 9AlthoughnotcalledOpenMethodofCo ordination(omc)atthetime,themethodwasusedforthefirsttimeineu historyforemploymentpolicy,asdefinedinthetreatofamsterdamin1997.itformallyreceiveditsname,wasproperly definedandendorsedatthelisboncouncilin2000.itisnowusedamongstothersinthefieldsofsocialinclusion, pensions,health,immigration,asylum,educationandcultureandresearch. 10TheOpenMethodofCo ordinationworksinstages.firstly,thecouncilofministersagreesonpolicygoals.secondly, Memberstatestransposethoseguidelinesintonationalandregionalpolicies.Thirdly,specificbenchmarksandindicators aresetup,andbestpracticesindentified.finally,theresultsoftheprocessaremonitoredandevaluatedbythecouncil. FunctioningoutsideofthetraditionalEUframework,theEChasonlyamonitoringrole,andtheEPisalmostcompletely sidelined.thisisamereintergovernmentalprocess. 11Namedbefore2005NationalActionPlansforSocialInclusion 12 Inadditiontotheintrinsicvalueofculturethereisnowaverywidebodyofpracticeonthegroundthatshowsthat participationinculturalactivitiescanalsobeinstrumentalinhelpingpeopleandcommunitiestoovercomesocial exclusion.itiswell documentedhowactiveinvolvementinculturalandartsactivitiescanbeakeytoolinhelpingpeople whoareisolatedandmarginalisedtogainskillsandself confidence (p.72) Positionpaper CultureActionEurope July2010 5

6 The report is also prescriptive about the fact that cultural policies should embracesocialinclusion 13.Theoverallassessmentofthisreportinthatfieldof action is that there is a clear lack of strategic approach to inclusive cultural polices 14 in a large majority of Member States. The report also considers that National Action Plans insufficiently reflect the grassroots practices that exist in thevariousmemberstates.theexplanationofthisweaknationalawarenessput forward by the Report is threefold: the low level of understanding in Culture Ministriesoftherelevanceofsocialissuesintheculturalfield,theirlackofdirect involvementintheelaborationofthenationalsocialactionplans,andthepoor nationalapproachofthemultidimensionalityofsocialexclusion.thereportalso enumerates specific initiatives undertaken at national level to address the overlapsbetweencultureandsocialexclusion.inthisrespectafocusedattention ispaidtobelgium,franceandswedenfortheirover averageperformance. In2004,anotherimportantstudycommissionedtoNorthumbriaUniversity(UK) bydgemployment,socialaffairsandequalopportunitiesforsocialaffairswas published.entitled Reportofathematicstudyusingtransnationalcomparisons to analyse and identify cultural polices and programme that contribute to preventing and reducing poverty and social exclusion, this study identified the ways in which a lack of access to culture can aggravate poverty, as well as the barriersimpedingaccesstoculturetopeoplelivinginpoverty.italsodocuments grass rootlevelcasesindifferentmemberstatesthatconfirmthecontributionof animprovedaccesstoculturetobuildingsocialinclusion.thestudyfinallyputs forwardaseriesofrecommendationsthathavebeenalmostcompletelyignored ateuropeanlevelsofarbutthatarestillextremelyrelevant.thisiswhywewill reiteratesomeofthoserecommendationsattheendofthispaper. Following the EU enlargement in 2004 the new Member States prepared their National Action Plans on Social Inclusion. Those reports were then analysed in yetanotherecreportpublishedin Inthisreport,accesstocultureisstill included. The conclusion of theeuropean Commissionis that even if almost all neweumemberstatesdevelopedsomeactionsinthefieldofcultureandsocial exclusion,acomprehensiveapproachtotheissueisstillmissing.theattentionis alsocalledtothelackofrecognitionofthepositiveaspectsthatparticipationin culturalactivitiescanhaveforurbanregenerationandactivecitizenship 16. The EC and Council Joint Report on Social Protection and Social Inclusion published the same year (2005), in order to streamline the OMC progress, 13 Culturalpoliciesshouldbeacentralpartofanycomprehensiveandmulti dimensionalapproachtotacklingand preventingpovertyandsocialexclusion.participationinculturalactivitiesisakeywayinwhichpeopleandcommunities candefineanddeveloptheirownidentitiesandcommunicateandrepresentthemselvestoothersandengageinsymbolic exchange.itisthusameansofpeoplebecomingactiveagentsindemocraticsociety.thuspromotingaccesstoand participationinculturalactivityisasintrinsicallyimportantandvalidanaspectofbuildinganinclusivesocietyas promotingparticipationintheeconomic,employmentorsocialdomains. 14 Inspiteofthecentralityofculturetotheprocessofsocialinclusionthe2003NAPs/inclusionarestrikingfortheirlack ofastrategicapproachtothedevelopmentofinclusiveculturalpolicies.thereismorementionofaccesstoculturein somenaps/inclusion(dk,f,el,irl,l)thanin2001.however,manymemberstatesstillgivelittleornoattentiontothis issue. (p.72) 15Reportonthe AnalysisoftheNationalActionPlansonSocialInclusion( )submittedbythe10newMember States 16 ItisparticularlystrikingthatnothingissaidinanyoftheNAPsaboutthesignificantcontributionsthatculturaland creativeactivitycanmaketotwoveryimportantaspectsoftacklingpovertyandsocialexclusion:promotingthe regenerationofdisadvantagedareasandhelpingpeopleexperiencingexclusiontogaintheskillsandselfconfidenceto expressthemselvesandtoparticipatemorefullyineconomicandsociallife. (p.70) Positionpaper CultureActionEurope July2010 6

7 focusesonpensionsandhealthcare,butleavesthistimeaccesstocultureaside. From 2005 onwards, culture does not appear anymore in any of the Joint reports. The common policy objectives related to social inclusion and social protection wererevisedin2006,andalignedtothemid termreviewofthelisbonstrategy, which re centred on growth and jobs. Whereas in the previous overarching framework (2000) the Member States recognised the need for actions to facilitate access of excluded people to cultural activities, in the 2006 revised framework,thisrecognitiondisappeared. In the most recent National Reports on Strategies for Social Protection and SocialInclusion ,onlyafewcountries inparticularbelgiumand Austria mentionparticipationinculturallifeasmakinganintegralpartoftheir overallstrategiestofightsocialexclusion. 1.2Fromtheculturalpolicyperspective As in the case of social inclusion, but for somewhat different reasons, Member Statesalsoresistedforaverylongtimedevolvinganysignificantcompetenceto the European Union in the field of culture. Cultural policy has long been considered as strongly linked to national identity building, and some Member States principally the net contributors to the EU budget were extremely reluctant to commit to additional European programmes. The legal base giving the Union a competence in the field of culture was therefore only adopted in 1992, and only as a complementary competence to the national or, when appropriate,sub nationalcompetences. Thistypeofcomplementarycompetenceappliestoanumberof sensitive policy fields such as culture, education, youth, public health, or social protection and inclusion. The principle of subsidiarity 18 that regulates the complementary competence states that decisions and actions to achieve certain policy goals shouldbetakenatthelowestgovernancelevel.theeuisentitledtoactonlyif actions at the European level are better achieved than by the Member States themselves; and those actions should only support, coordinate or supplement Member States' actions. The principle of subsidiarity has been laid out in the Maastricht Treaty under the article 5 (2) and is now operational under article 5(3) ofthelisbontreaty Itisimportanttonoticethat NationalReportsonStrategiesforSocialProtectionandSocialInclusion donot necessarilyreflectwhatishappeningonthegroundorinculturalpolicytermsinagiveneumemberstate.goodcasein pointistheuk.whereastheuknationalstrategyreportonsocialprotectionandsocialinclusiondoesnotmention culture,theukhasactuallyawelldevelopedculturalactioninthefieldofsocialinclusion.thismismatchmightbea resultofapoortransversalvieworoflackoftheexchangeofinformationatthetimeofdraftingthenationalreports. SuchasituationmightalsobethecaseforotherEUMemberStates. 18TherearethreemainprinciplesgoverningEUcompetences:exclusivecompetence,sharedcompetenceandsupporting orsubsidiaritycompetence.theprincipleofsubsidiaryisoperationalforthefollowingfields:protectionand improvementofhumanhealth;industry;culture;tourism;education,vocationaltraining,youthandsport;civil protection;administrativeco operation. 19 Undertheprincipleofsubsidiarity,inareaswhichdonotfallwithinitsexclusivecompetence,theUnionshallactonly ifandinsofarastheobjectivesoftheproposedactioncannotbesufficientlyachievedbythememberstates,eitherat centralleveloratregionalandlocallevel,butcanrather,byreasonofthescaleoreffectsoftheproposedaction,bebetter achievedatunionlevel. Article5(3),TreatyoftheEuropeanUnion. Positionpaper CultureActionEurope July2010 7

8 Intheculturalpolicyfield,nofull fledgedvisionconcerningtheculturalaspectof social inclusion has been developed since the launch of the first specific EU cultural initiatives in the 90s, or as an objective of the two generations of the broadercultureprogrammethatfollowedfrom2000onwards.ifsomeprojects funded by those programmes must have directly or indirectly addressed this issue, particularly in the case of projects and initiatives supported through the EU cohesion policy 20, social inclusion was never stated as one of the clear conditionstoreceiveeusupport. Social inclusion does not appear as such either in the European Agenda for Culture 21, the first cultural strategy document of the EU, published by the European Commission in 2007, and adopted by the Council of Ministers of Culturethesameyear.ThethreeobjectivesoftheAgenda(interculturaldialogue andculturaldiversity,cultureasacatalystofeconomicgrowth,andtheroleof cultureineuexternalpolicy)avoidanydirectsocialreferences,andthemember States,atthetimeoftranslatingthoseobjectivesinOMCworkinggrouptopics 22 ignoredsocialinclusionaswell,anddidnotintegrateitinthe accesstoculture strandtheyaddedtotheagenda.thecivilsocietyplatform,whichwasgiventhe taskofdeepeningthereflectiononthetopicof accesstoculture,addressesthis questionthroughits rights basedapproach,andfocusonculturalrights.when formulating its first set of recommendations however 23, social inclusion measureshavenotbeengivenaprominentplace. 1.3.Theopportunityofthe2010EuropeanYearforcombatingpovertyand socialexclusion Calledforsixyearsinadvance 24,the2010EuropeanYearforcombatingpoverty and social exclusion is meant to address a difficult reality: 16% of the EU populationislivinginorareatriskofpoverty;17%ofwomen,19%ofchildren, and 19% of the elderly people face a higher poverty risk, and groups such as homeless, Roma, migrants and ethnic minorities often live in extreme forms of poverty 25. Renewingpoliticalcommitmenttothefightagainstpovertyandsocialexclusion isoneoftheobjectivesoftheyear,aswellasraisingawarenessandstimulating debateaboutthecausesandeffectsofpovertyandsocialexclusion,includingthe 20Studieshavedemonstratedthat5%to10% ofeustructuralfundsgotoculture.nodataisavailablehoweveronhow muchofthisamountgotoculturalprojectswithasocialinclusionpurpose. 21CommunicationfromtheCommissiontotheEuropeanParliament,theCouncil,theEuropeanEconomicandSocial CommitteeandtheCommitteeoftheRegionsonaEuropeanagendaforcultureinaglobalizingworldhttp://eurlex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2007:0242:FIN:EN:PDF 22ThefiveOMCpriorityareasare:themobilityofartistsandotherprofessionalsintheculturalfield;thesynergies betweencultureandeducation;themobilityofcollections;datacollection,andstatisticsdevelopmentinthecultural sector;thepotentialofculturalandcreativeindustries. 23CivilSocietyPlatformonAccesstoculture,Policyguidelines: 24Anorganisationthatplayedakeyroleinpushingforwardthedecisiontobrand2010theEuropeanYearforcombating socialexclusionandpovertyistheeuropeananti PovertyNetworkhttp:// 25Source:Combatingpovertyandsocialexclusion statisticalportraitoftheeuropeanunion2010,eurostat EP /EN/KS EP EN.PDF Positionpaper CultureActionEurope July2010 8

9 challenge of negative stereotypes. To this end various actions are undertaken throughouttheyearateuropean,nationalandlocallevels. Thefactthatthisthematicyearcoincidedwiththeadoptionofthesuccessorof thelisbonstrategy,which aswehavealreadynotedabove hasbeenheavily criticised for its failures, especially in what concerns its social objectives has been considered by many as a unique opportunity to reinforce the social dimensionoftheeconomicstrategyoftheeuinthetenyearstocome.thenewly adoptedeurope strategygoesindeedastepfurtherthanitspredecessor in defining clear targets for poverty reduction, and in committing to stronger tools to address the issue, mainly through the EC flagship initiative entitled Europeanplatformagainstpoverty. It is also interesting to note that in the national programmes 27 Member States havebeenaskedtoprepareinthecontextoftheyear,onlyafewaddressinan elaborated manner the cultural dimension of exclusion. Only Austria and Belgium integrated a consequent strand on access to culture in their programmes; while Bulgaria, Cyprus, France, and Germany take culture into accountbuttoalesserextent.swedenmentionsinterculturalissues;polandand Slovakia mention cultural rights; whereas the programmes of Lithuania and LuxembourginvolveinawayoranothertheirCulturalMinistries.Allremaining MemberStatesdonotrefertotheculturaldimensionofsocialexclusionatall. The fact that Belgium holds the presidency of the Council of the EU during the secondsemesteroftheyear,andthatthefrenchcommunityministryhasbeen given the responsibility to pilot the cultural portfolio with its acknowledged andlongstandingcommitmentandexperienceinintegratingcultureinitssocial inclusionpolicies ishoweverastrongsignthatprogressinthoseareascouldbe expectedinthemonthstocome. 26EU2020strategy a EuropeanStrategyforsmart,sustainableandinclusivegrowth wasadoptedduringtheeuropean CouncilofMarch2010,andwillguideEUpoliciesandactionsinthenext10years.Ifitretainedthreetargetsfromits predecessor,namelyonemployment,r&dandclimate/energy,itintroducedtwonewones atargetoneducationanda targetofpoverty.allfivetargetswillbetranslatedintonationaltargetstobeattainedbythememberstatesbefore Allnationalprogrammesforthe2010Yearcanbeconsultedonline: Positionpaper CultureActionEurope July2010 9

10 2. The international and European legal frameworks in the field of cultureandsocialinclusion 2.1.Internationalinstruments Many international legal instruments have already recognised the interrelation betweencultureandsocialinclusion.thoseinstrumentsframethisrelationship inahumanrightsperspective,vestingtoculturalrightsakeysignificanceinthe overallnotionofbasicentitlementsofindividualsandcommunities. CulturalrightsaredirectlyorindirectlymentionedintheUniversalDeclaration of Human Rights (UDHR) 28, and in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) 29. Both instruments apply to EU Member States, and require from them actions to fulfil their commitments in terms of cultural rights. Cultural rights are however the less developed family of rights within the overall human rights framework. They only started to be better definedinoperationaltermsinrecentyears,especiallythroughthecivilsociety initiativeofthefribourgdeclarationonculturalrights 30 (2007).Thisdocument is the first attempt to give a comprehensive view of what cultural rights entail, and of the responsibilities they imply for policymakers, at all levels of governance. Cultural rights, as defined by the different international legal instruments 31 quotedabove,encapsulateawiderangeofrightsfromtherighttoeducation,to freedomofexpressionandreligion,tocreativeexpression,toinformation,orto participate in cultural life. Cultural rights are also of transversal nature as they permeatedifferentdomainsofhumanactivityandthereforeoverlapwithother rightssuchaspolitical,economicorcivicrights.despitethissomewhatblurred conceptualbasisoftheculturalrights,whichmaybethereasonforgovernments inertia in this area, there is now a growing commitment to better understand andimplementthem. As for the link between culture and social inclusion, the most pertinent of the cultural rights is that of equal access and participation in cultural life. The international human rights framework establishes the right to participate in cultural life in Article 27 (1) of the UDHR which states that: Everyone has the right to freely participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits. This right is also laid downinarticle15(1)(a)oftheicescrinwhichthestatepartiesrecognise: the rightofeveryonetotakepartinculturallife.thegeneralcommentn.21onthis right, elaborated by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of 28FulltextoftheUniversalDeclarationofHumanRights: 29FulltextoftheInternationalConvenantonEconomic,SocialandCulturalRights: 30FulltextoftheFribourgDeclarationonCulturalRightsisavailablehere: declaration.pdf 31Otherrelevantinstrumentsincludeamongstothers:theDeclarationofPrinciplesofInternationalCulturalCo operation (UnitedNations,1966);theUNESCORecommendationonParticipationbythePeopleatLargeinCulturalLifeandTheir Contributiontoit(1976);theUNESCODeclarationofPrinciplesofInternationalCo operation(1966) Positionpaper CultureActionEurope July

11 the UN Economic and Social Council, divides this right into several interrelated components: participation in culture, access to culture and contribution to culturallife. Participationcoversinparticulartherightofeveryone( )toactfreely,tochoosehisor her own identity ( ) to engage in one s own cultural practices ( ) to seek and develop cultural knowledge and expressions and to share them with others, as well as to act creativelyandtotakepartincreativeactivity ; Accesscoversinparticulartherightofeveryone( )toknowandunderstandhisorher owncultureandthatofothersthrougheducationandinformation( )andtobenefitfrom culturalheritageandthecreationofotherindividualsandcommunities ; Contributiontoculturallifereferstotherightofeveryonetobeinvolvedincreatingthe spiritual, material, intellectual and emotional expression of the community ( ) to take partinthedevelopmentofcommunitytowhichpersonbelongs( ) 32 Participation in cultural life should be granted to everyone, based on the fundamental principles of non discrimination and equality. The equality in accessandparticipationinculturemustbeenseen,asforotherhumanrights,as fundamental to honor human dignity, and indispensible for personal development 33. TheCommitteeonEconomic,SocialandCulturalRightsoftheUNEconomicand Social Council also lists vulnerable groups requiring special protection with regard to the fulfilment of the right to participate in cultural life: women, children, older persons, persons with disabilities, minorities, migrants, indigenous peoples and persons living in poverty. It thereby recognises the restrictedabilityofpeoplelivinginpovertytoexercisetherighttotakepartin culturallife,aswellasthefactthattheexerciseofsuchrightscanalsobeoneof the elements that can empower them to be lifted from poverty. Other internationalinstruments 34 alsorefertotherighttotakepartinculturallife,and underlineonceagainvulnerablegroups. The obligations and duties imposed upon the parties to the legal instruments mentioned above are twofold: negative ( non interference with the exercise of cultural practices and with access to cultural goods and services ) or positive ( ensuringpreconditionsforparticipation,facilitationandpromotionofcultural life and access to and preservation of cultural goods ). Positive actions include 32UNEconomicandSocialCouncil;CommitteeonEconomic,SocialandCulturalRights,GeneralCommentno.21(p.4), November ThebasisforargumentofequalparticipationandaccesstoculturallifearefurtherlaiddownintheArticle22ofthe UDHR: Everyone,asamemberofsociety,hastherighttosocialsecurityandisentitletorealization,throughnational effortandinternationalco operationandinaccordancewiththeorganisationandresourcesofeachstate,ofthe economic,socialandculturalrightsindispensableforthisdignityandthefreedevelopmentofhispersonality. 34InternationalConventionontheEliminationofAllFormsofRacialDiscriminationarticle5(e)(vi):therightofequal participationinculturalactivities;conventionontheeliminationofallformsofdiscriminationagainstwomenarticle 13(c):totherighttoparticipateinallaspectsofsocialandculturallife;ConventionontheRightsoftheChildarticle31, paragraph2:therighttoparticipatefullyinculturalandartisticlife;internationalconventionontheprotectionofthe RightsofAllMigrantWorkersandMembersofTheirFamiliesart.43,paragraph1(g):totherightofaccesstoand participationinculturallife;conventionontherightsofpersonswithdisabilitiesarticle3,paragraph1:therighttotake partonanequalbasiswithothersinculturallife. Positionpaper CultureActionEurope July

12 theobligationforstatesandadministrationstocreateanenablingenvironment butalsotodesignspecificpoliciesnecessaryforthefulfilmentofthoserights Europeaninstrument AttheEUlevel,anotherimportantinstrumentimposesobligationsuponMember States with regards to participation in cultural life and access to culture. The European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights (2000), which became legally binding 36 with the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon (2009), lists the political, social, and economic rights of EU citizens. With the integration of the CharterintheLisbonTreatytheprotectionofthoserightsnowappliesbothto nationalgovernmentsandtheeuropeanunionitself. Although the Charter does neither use the wording of cultural rights nor mentions explicitly the right to cultural participation for all, alongside the principle of freedom, it does lay down some rights (freedom of thought, conscienceandreligioninarticle10,freedomofexpressionandinformationin article11,freedomofartsandsciencesinarticle13,andtherighttoeducationin article14)thatfallunderculturalrightsasunderstoodinunterms.importantly, alongside the principle of equality, the Charter also recognises several fundamentalprinciples(non discriminationinarticle21,cultural,religiousand linguistic diversity in article 22, equality of men and women in article 23, the rights of the child in article 24, the rights of the elderly in article 25, and the integration of persons with disabilities in article 26), which have direct consequencesforsocialexclusionpolicies.thecharteristhereforeanadditional and important complementary reminder to the Member States of their obligationstoensureanenablingenvironmentforequalaccesstocultureforall. 35MeasuringCulturalExclusionthroughParticipationinculturallife,AnnimariLaaksonen(2005)p.4 36Theonlycountriesthatopted outfromtheeucharteroffundamentalrightsarepolandandunitedkingdom. Positionpaper CultureActionEurope July

13 3. Recommendations for actions related to culture and social inclusionateulevel As explained in the first two chapters, there are both opportunities and challenges to the development of EU actions and integrated policies around culture and social inclusion. To end this paper, we would like to propose a number of recommendations that could push this agenda forward. These recommendations are based on an analysis of key historical, political, and contextual factors; on recalling the International and European commitments Member State and the EU itself are bounded by concerning cultural rights; and onrepeatingimportantrecommendationsthathavealreadybeenformulatedin thepast,especiallybythe2004northumbriauniversityreport. TheEuropeanUnionanditsMemberStatesshouldrecognisethepositiveroleof cultureinpreventingsocialexclusion,andtothisendthefollowingactionsmust betaken: MemberStateswhendevelopingtheirnationalprogrammesonSocial Protection and Social Inclusion should address participation in culturallife,inanintegratedandcoherentway. The EU2020 flagship initiative establishing a European platform against poverty should address the cultural dimension of social exclusion through the involvement of grassroots organisations carrying projects in that field, and by engaging all relevant policymakersandstakeholdersconcernedbyorworkinginthefieldof cultureandsocialinclusion. DG Education and Culture and DG Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities should join their forces and respective responsibilities, and develop their cooperation in bringing the social and cultural agendas together in order to address the cultural dimension of social exclusion both in the cultural and social policy fields. In the new Culture Council working plan to be adopted in October 2010, particular attention should be paid to culture and social exclusion in terms of the follow up of the 2010 European year for combating poverty and social inclusion. Setting up a dedicated OMC workinggrouporsubgrouponthetopicshouldbeenvisaged. Alltherecommendations 37 outlinedinthe2004ecstudyon therole of culture in preventing and reducing poverty and social exclusion should be acted upon both at European and national levels, with a 37Thefourfollowingrecommendationscomefromthesummaryofthestudy,CommunityActionProgrammeonSocial Exclusion,PolicyStudyFindings2,DGEmploymentandSocialAffairs, Positionpaper CultureActionEurope July

14 particular attention to the alignment of the agendas of ministries responsible for culture with those that are responsible for social inclusion so that policies that recognise and value the contribution access to cultural services in tackling social exclusion can be developed. Positionpaper CultureActionEurope July

15 Bibliography: InternationalandEuropeanlegalinstruments UniversalDeclarationonHumanRights,UnitedNationsGeneralAssembly(1948) InternationalConvenantonEconomic,SocialandCulturalRights,UnitedNations GeneralAssembly(1966) International Convenant on Civil and Political Rights, United Nations General Assembly(1966) FribourgDeclarationonCulturalRights,The FribourgGroup (2007) General comment No.21 Right of everyone to take part in cultural life (art.15, para.1 (a), of the International Convenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights), United Nations Economic and Social Council, Committee on Economic, SocialandCulturalRights(2009) CharteroftheFundamentalRightsoftheEuropeanUnion,EuropeanUnion(2000) EUofficialdocumentsandreports Combating poverty and social exclusion: A statistical portrait of the European Union,EurostatStatisticalbooks(2010) Europe 2020: a strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, European Commission(2010) Europeanagendaforcultureinaglobalizingworld,Communicationfromthe CommissiontotheEuropeanParliament,theCouncil,theEuropeanEconomic andsocialcommitteeandthecommitteeoftheregions(2007) European Year for combating poverty and social exclusion (2010) National Programme alleumemberstates,(2010) JointReportonSocialProtectionandSocialInclusion,TheCounciloftheEuropean Union(2010) JointReportonSocialProtectionandSocialInclusion,TheCounciloftheEuropean Union(2009) JointReportonSocialProtectionandSocialInclusion,TheCounciloftheEuropean Union(2008) JointReportonSocialProtectionandSocialInclusion,TheCounciloftheEuropean Union(2007) Positionpaper CultureActionEurope July

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17 from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European EconomicandSocialCommitteeandtheCommitteeoftheregions(2006) Work Plan for Culture , Conclusions of the Council and of the RepresentativesoftheGovernmentsoftheMemberStates(2007) Othersources Five recommendations to ensure that the European Platform against Poverty delivers concrete actions reducing poverty and promoting social cohesion, Open lettertojosemanuelbarroso,presidentoftheeuropeancommission,andtothe Commissioners,SocialPlatform(2010) Making culture accessible access, participation in cultural life and cultural provisioninthecontextofculturalrightsineurope,councilofeurope(2010) PolicyRecommendations,CivilSocietyAccesstoCulturePlatform(2009) Articles Study on the legal framework of the right to take part in cultural life, Yvonne Donders, in: Y. Donders and V. Volodin (eds.) Human Rights in Education, Science and Culture: Legal Developments and Challenges, UNESCO/Ashgate, December2007,pp Measuring cultural exclusion through participation in cultural life, Annimari Laaksonen, paper prepared for Third Global Forum on Human Development: DefiningandMeasuringCulturalExclusion,17 19December2005,Paris Analyse des droits culturels in: Droits Fondamentaux, Partice Meyer Bisch, n 7, janvier2008 decembre2009 Ce que declarer des droits culturels veut dire, Mylene Bidault, in: Droits Fondamentaux,n 7,janvier2008 decembre2009 Websites 2010EuropeanYearcombatingpovertyandsocialexclusion EuropeanAnti PovertyNetwork Directorate GeneralEducationandCulture Directorate GeneralEmployment,SocialAffairsandEqualOpportunities Positionpaper CultureActionEurope July