Thursday
LECTURE — DVORANA OHRID / 10 – 11:30 H
NATALIJA MAJSOVA
Cultural Policies & the Implications of Thinking in Terms of Creative Participation
What does it mean to think about culture starting with the notions of creative participation and governance, rather than production and consumption? And how can we use the principle of participation to open up the field of cultural policies? This lecture foregrounds the implications of thinking through the notion of participation in various dimensions of the cultural sector: production, distribution, consumption, governance, and facilitation. Focussing on selected issues that characterize cultural participation and engagement in the present moment (notably, technological and ICT advances), and foregrounding specific case studies, the aim of the lecture is to highlight the implications and challenges that sociocultural transformations entail for cultural policymakers on the one hand, and for the various stakeholders affected by these policies on the other.
DISCUSSION GROUPS — DVORANA OHRID / 12 – 13:30 H
TIHANA PUPOVAC ~ moderator
MIRELA TRAVAR ~ moderator
AJETE KËRQELI & NITA ZEQIRI ~ moderators
Challenges and obstacles in your context
Working in the field of culture, especially tackling advocacy in culture, is a taunting undertaking.
Many cultural workers and artists have great, even visionary ideas, but implementing them in the real, day-to-day context, is the real challenge. We see the goal, we see the benefits it will provide us, our communities and beneficiaries, but the obstacles that come our way are more often than not daunting, sometimes even discouraging. Advocacy in the field of culture, especially advocacy in the independent cultural scene is very often a marathon and a process that demands much of our time, energy and patience – we hit upon walls of systems that don’t comprehend innovative ideas in cultural policy or simply crash into the misunderstandings of stakeholders of what it is we do and why it’s important to a broader community.
What are the challenges and obstacles that you face in your context? How are you trying to deal with them? How do you keep on working and pushing despite them? These are the questions and issues that we will discuss, as well as try to find that common space of mutual understanding and support that we can take with us.
We will discuss these questions in three smaller groups, each moderated by a different expert.
PLENARY SESSION — DVORANA OHRID / 15 – 16:30 H
TIHANA PUPOVAC & MIRELA TRAVAR ~ moderators
Feedbacking and Common Ground
Halfway through our summer school we will open up the space to reflect on the discussions, lectures, reading groups, panels, non-formal and informal learning processes. As the inaugural summer school on participative governance, it is important to open a space for common deliberation on the ideas and knowledge gained at the school. Moreover, we wish to encourage all of us to bring our own experiences in relation to what has been heard and discussed at the school up to this point. This way we will map out common values, issues, struggles and principles of work at the same time providing space for new connections and joint endeavours to emerge.