Message Book A toolkit for campaign supporters We are More

1. Message Book
A toolkit for campaign supporters
we are more – act for culture in Europe is a Europe-wide campaign for the arts and culture.
It was launched in October 2010 and will run until 2013, when the EU decides about its next
multiannual budget.
The we are more campaign promotes culture, heritage and the arts, together with education,
social cohesion and environmental sustainability, as key areas in which the EU has to make
more bold investments if it wants to reach its growth objectives and Europe to remain a
thriving democracy in the future.
The force behind the we are more campaign is Culture Action Europe, a coalition of more
than 100 organisations and many artists across Europe, in strategic partnership with the
European Cultural Foundation. It is an open source advocacy tool that encourages you and
your supporters to get involved and stand up for increased support to arts and culture in the
policies and programmes of the European Union.
Do you want to support the campaign but feel a bit unsure of what arguments to use? This
Message book provides you with key arguments and solid facts to back them up. If you end
up in an elevator with your MEP or regional politician, the Message book explains how to
pitch the campaign during this precious minute! The Message book can also be used when
preparing a presentation of the campaign or speaking to journalists.

2. Version as of 01/07/11
Message book for the campaign
we are more – act for culture in Europe
Table of contents
1. The ‘elevator’ pitch
2. Key messages
3. Facts and figures
4. Tough questions
5. Political calendar for the next EU budget
6. EU jargon glossary
7. Further reading: Links and resources
8. Basic campaign facts
9. Join!
2

3. Version as of 01/07/11
3

4. Version as of 01/07/11
1. The ‘elevator’ pitch
Here is an example of how to pitch the campaign in one minute. It consists of four parts:
Context, Analysis, Challenges and Conclusion. The EU budget is negotiated between the
European Parliament and the Council on the basis of a proposal by the Commission. The
negotiations on the EU Regional Development Funds also involve local and regional
politicians. This pitch can therefore be used on various occasions: when setting up meetings
to present the campaign to local, regional and national politicians or MEPs, as well as when
speaking to journalists.
• Context & presentation: As you know, national governments and EU policymakers
are about to take decisions on the next multiannual EU budget that will determine the
next ten years of support to culture on European level. To demonstrate that civil
society cares about this issue, my organisation has decided to join the Europe-wide
campaign we are more – act for culture in Europe. The campaign has two demands;
firstly, a reinforced Culture Programme that is more daring and experimental than
the current one. Secondly, an increased and more explicit support to culture, heritage
and the arts in the EU Regional Development Funds dedicated to cohesion and local
and regional development. To date, more than xx.xxx individuals across Europe have
signed the campaign manifesto (check the website for the latest figure before
presenting the campaign: www.wearemore.eu/manifesto).
• Analysis: More than 90% of Europeans think that culture should have an important
place in the European Union. However, direct support to culture, heritage and the
arts only represents 0.05% of the current EU budget. On top of its intrinsic, artistic
and creative values, culture is also a catalyst for social and territorial cohesion and
economic growth. For example, statistics show that the cultural and creative sectors
account for 2.6% of the EU GDP, and generate a far bigger turnover than the car
manufacturing industry. Without substantial acceleration of investment in culture –
alongside education, social cohesion and environmental sustainability – the EU will
not reach its growth and development objectives in the EU 2020 strategy.
• Challenges: We all understand that in a time of real need, the cultural sector cannot
be immune when public expenditure has to be cut. Savings have to be made in all
public domains, but a lack of long-term visions and disproportionate cuts seriously
undermine the cultural sector’s capacity to contribute to develop our societies.
• Conclusion: Culture is a strategic place for long-term public investment. Increasing
the investment in culture, heritage and the arts would have a negligible impact on the
total EU budget, but a huge impact on European development in creative, democratic,
social and economic terms.
4

5. Version as of 01/07/11
2. Key messages
Here are the three key messages you should make sure to get across when you present the
campaign to policymakers or journalists. These three simple messages summarize the
different entry-points of the campaign: why culture, why Europe, and why today?
1. Culture and the arts are integral parts of sustainable and inclusive
development. They have to be recognised and supported as such by
policymakers.
Culture is not the icing on the cake but one of its most important ingredients.
Access to culture and freedom of cultural expression are fundamental rights and key
components of democratic societies. Arts and culture generate value both in themselves (they
enrich our lives, enhance our empathy, develop our powers of observation and understanding
of the world), and indirectly (they are a catalysing factor in education, community building,
social inclusion, territorial cohesion and economic growth). Both types of values have to be
properly measured and accounted for when making political- and funding decisions.
2. The European Union is a unique political space that values democracy and
solidarity. The cultural dimension of the European Union has to be reinforced.
Europe didn’t start with culture, but it is a cultural project.
Arts and culture have been central to European history and continue to be so in our day-to-
day lives. Culture, heritage and the arts illustrate our cultural diversity. They open up
physical and mental spaces for personal and collective imagination, and are key tools in
helping us to better understand our complex world and increasingly intercultural realities.
More than 90% of Europeans believe that culture should have an important place in the
European Union. This has to be reflected in EU policies and budgets.
3. The EU is about to decide on its future financial priorities. More than ever,
long-term investments are needed, and arts and culture have to be part of this
vision.
A crisis shouldn’t be an excuse for cuts in funding for culture. On the contrary.
In times of economic downturn, characterized by austerity and budgetary discipline, it is a
frequently held view that funding for culture should be cut in order to focus on ‘serious’
issues such as employment and economic growth. This is a shortsighted vision. On top of its
intrinsic artistic and creative values, culture is a catalyst for growth in every sector of public
policy. Culture is also an invaluable educational and community-building tool, as well as a
place for innovation – both social and economic. Arts and culture is a strategic place for long-
term public investments precisely because a relatively small investment has multiple impact.
5

6. Version as of 01/07/11
3. Facts and figures
We are more than 450 million people who value culture in
Europe!
• 91% of Europeans think that culture and cultural exchanges Cultural Statistics
contribute to greater understanding and tolerance. 2011 Eurobarometer
(67.1), 2007:
• 92% of Europeans think that culture and cultural exchanges http://ec.europa.eu/p
should have an important place in the European Union. ublic_opinion/archiv
es/ebs/ebs_278_en.p
df
Less than 1% of the total EU budget goes to culture.
• Direct support to culture, heritage and the arts (i.e. the Culture Culture Action
Programme, total budget 400 million Euro for 2007-2013) only Europe’s own
represents 0.05% of the current EU budget. calculations based on
data provided by
• The budget of the Culture Programme amounts to 0.13 Euro cents EACEA:
per EU citizen per year. http://eacea.ec.europ
a.eu/culture/index_e
• The budget for the Culture Programme for seven years (400 n.php
million Euro for 2007-2013) is less than half of the annual
Figures on the French
support to the French food industry (918 million Euro per year).
food industry:
http://agriculture.go
• The annual support to culture through the EU Culture
uv.fr/publication-des-
programme (approx. 57 million Euros per year) is almost three beneficiaires-des,1556
times smaller than the annual budget of the Opera in Paris
(approx. 150 million Euros per year). Annual budget figures
for the Opera in Paris:
• The estimated support to culture through the current EU http://www.opera-
Structural Funds (regional development policy) represents 0.7% gouvernance.fr/fr/les
of the total EU budget. -themes-
abordes/opera-paris-
compare/donnees-
comparatives.php
The Culture Programme is ... more!
The added value of the Culture Programme, representing less than Results from data
0.1% of the total EU budget, is impressive: provided by EACEA:
http://eacea.ec.europ
• The Culture Programme has supported more than 3500 projects a.eu/culture/index_e
since the year 2000. n.php
6

7. Version as of 01/07/11
• More than 7000 cultural operators have been partners in projects Interim Evaluation of
supported by the Culture Programme since the year 2000. the Culture
Programme 2007-13
• In 2009 alone, the Culture Programme supported the cross- commissioned by DG
border mobility of 141 580 artists and culture workers, and the EAC, 2010:
circulation of 422 493 artworks. http://ec.europa.eu/d
gs/education_culture
/evalreports/culture/
2010/progreport_en.
pdf
Culture is a catalyst for growth and jobs.
• The cultural and creative sectors account for 2.6% of EU GDP, The economy of
and generate a turnover of more than 654 billion Euros (2003). culture in Europe.
This is much more than what is generated by the car KEA, 2006:
manufacturing industry (271 billion Euros in 2001) or by the http://ec.europa.eu/c
Information and Communication Technologies manufacturers ulture/key-
(541 billion Euros in 2003), for example. documents/doc873_e
n.htm
• In general, the growth of the cultural and creative industries in
1999-2003 was 12.3% higher than the growth of the general
economy.
• Almost five million people work in the cultural sector (2005), or
2.4% of the active population in the 27 Member States (6 million
if we include people working in cultural tourism).
Culture plays a crucial role in regional development.
Recent studies show that: Study on the
contribution of
• Culture contributes to social inclusion and improves social culture to local and
cohesion regional development
• Participation in cultural activities develops creativity and – Evidence from the
innovation skills Structural Funds.
• The cultural and creative sector is an incubator of new forms of CSES-ERICARTS,
2010:
entrepreneurship
http://ec.europa.eu/c
ulture/key-
documents/doc/studi
es/final_report_SF_e
n.pdf
Cultural richness is a central element of the
attractiveness of regions.
7

8. Version as of 01/07/11
• Cultural attractiveness is the second motivation for Europeans Flash Eurobarometer
(after value for money) when deciding on a holiday destination. 281, 2009.
http://ec.europa.eu/p
• If European tourists have to reduce their spending during their ublic_opinion/flash/f
holidays they do it primarily for restaurants and shopping, but l_281_en.pdf
rarely for cultural and entertainment activities.
8

9. Version as of 01/07/11
4. Tough questions
Anticipate difficult questions and identify how you’ll turn the answer positively.
- In difficult financial times, when all Member States have to save money and
make cuts in national budgets, why should the EU increase its support to
culture and the arts?
We all understand that in a time of real need, the cultural sector cannot be immune
when public expenditure has to be cut. Savings have to be made in all public domains, but
a lack of long-term visions and disproportionate cuts seriously undermine the cultural
sector’s capacity to contribute to develop our societies.
European support to arts and culture is not expected to replace national, regional and
cultural policies. Member States still hold the main responsibility in guaranteeing access to
culture and cultural diversity, as well as in supporting a healthy and dynamic cultural sector.
Culture, however, also has a role to play in European development, be it in terms of civic and
democratic participation, diversity and interculturality, or growth and cohesion.
European support to culture is also a key driver to mobilize additional public funding for
cultural co-operation and circulation across Europe, and beyond our borders.
Direct support to culture, heritage and the arts (the EU Culture Programme) only represents
0.05% of the current EU budget. Even if we add the support to culture through the EU
regional development policy, the support is still less than 1% of the total EU budget.
Increasing the investment in culture, heritage and the arts would have a negligible impact on
the total EU budget, but a huge impact on European development in creative, democratic,
social and economic terms.
- Why should public funding support the arts and culture? Shouldn’t the EU
only focus on supporting the cultural and creative industries?
Public policies and funding is the best guarantor of access to culture and cultural diversity.
Arts and culture, just like education, public health or environmental sustainability,
participate in public interest objectives and should be valued and supported as such by public
policies.
The arts and culture sector is a complex field where public institutions, civil society
associations, the social economy, and market driven actors are strongly interdependent. All
elements of this chain, of the ‘cultural ecology’, have to be supported with appropriate means.
The specific needs and operational environments of the different actors need to be fully
recognized, and policies and support instruments have to be developed accordingly. An
industrial policy cannot replace a cultural policy. Both types of policies and support are
needed. They should be developed in parallel while looking at synergies and
complementarities.
9

10. Version as of 01/07/11
5. Political calendar for the next EU budget
The campaign we are more was launched at the beginning of the process of adoption of the
next cycle of EU policies and programmes. EU budgets are indeed decided upon every 7
years, and the negotiation process itself lasts several years.
The EU budget negotiations calendar is complex, has several parallel tracks, and is extremely
dependent on political agreements reached behind the scenes by Member States. Those
political negotiations might indeed slow down the formal co-decision processes between the
Council and the Parliament, initiated by the Commission’s proposals. The tentative calendar
below is therefore provisional, and will be updated regularly.
2010: • Mid-term reviews of the current policies and programmes
• Public consultations on the EU programmes
• First phase of the work of the EP Policy Challenges committee
• Member States start their discussions ‘behind the scenes’
2011: • Impact assessment of the current EU programmes and policies by the
European Commission
• June: publication of the report of the EP Policy Challenges committee
• End June: publication of the Commission’s overall proposal for the
EU financial perspectives beyond 2014
• September: Commission’s proposals for the EU guidelines for the next
Structural Funds
• November: publication of the Commission’s proposals for the
different policies and programmes (including the Culture Programme)
2012/2013: Parallel processes of formal adoption of the overall budget framework
2014-2020, and of the legal basis of the different programmes and
policies.
For more background reading on the EU budget negotiations, please go to the campaign
website: http://www.wearemore.eu/campaign-calendar/
10

11. Version as of 01/07/11
6. EU jargon glossary
Advocacy The act of publicly supporting a particular cause or policy. Advocacy can be done using
different tools: from one-to-one meetings with policymakers to collective media
actions.
European The European agenda for culture in a globalizing world is a policy document proposed
Agenda for by the EC and adopted by all EU Member States during the 2007 European Council. It
Culture is the first policy document adopted at European level in the field of culture that
outlines the basis for a co-ordinated action at EU level in this domain.
The European Agenda for Culture has three main objectives: promoting cultural
diversity and intercultural dialogue, promoting culture as a catalyst for creativity; and
promoting culture as an essential element in the EU's external relations. These
objectives are implemented through different tools: the mainstreaming of culture in EU
policies and Programmes, the intergovernmental Open Method of Co-ordination (see
below), and the structured dialogue with civil society (see below).
EU Cohesion The EU Cohesion Policy, also referred to as the EU Regional Policy, aims at reducing
Policy disparities amongst EU regions in terms of economic, social and territorial
development. The EU Cohesion Policy accounts for 35% of the entire EU budget,
making it the second biggest EU expenditure after agriculture.
The EU Cohesion Policy is organised around three objectives: convergence, regional
competitiveness and employment, and European territorial cooperation. To achieve
these objectives, the EU Cohesion Policy uses three different instruments: the
European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the European Social Fund (ESF), and
the Cohesion Fund. Different EU regions are eligible for funding under different
objectives, depending on the phase of their economic development (measured in GDP).
The biggest share of funding for culture at the EU level comes from the Structural
Funds. Under the current Cohesion Policy, earmarked culture funding has been
estimated at six billion Euros (1,7% of its total budget).
EU European Union competences, i.e. areas where the EU has the right to take decisions,
Competence are laid down in the Treaties. The Union is only competent to act within the scope of the
powers allocated to it and any measures adopted by the EU institutions must be
founded on a legal basis.
In the area of culture, the EU has a supporting competence (art. 167 of the Lisbon
Treaty). This means that the EU can only intervene to support, coordinate or
complement the action of Member States but has no direct legislative power. The
cultural competence therefore remains at national, regional or local level depending on
the country.
EU Culture The Culture Programme is the only instrument of the European Union exclusively
Programme dedicated to support arts and culture. However, funding for culture at the EU level also
comes through other programmes and policies such as the structural funds, innovation,
entrepreneurship, research, education, citizenship, lifelong learning or external
relations.
The Culture Programme 2007-2013 has a total budget of 400 million Euros. It has
three objectives: to promote cross-border mobility of those working in the cultural
sector; to encourage the transnational circulation of artworks; and to foster
intercultural dialogue. These objectives are translated into different support lines for
short and long term cultural co-operation projects, for literary translations and
festivals, as well as for operational funding for European networks.
11

12. Version as of 01/07/11
EU 2020 Europe 2020 is the European economic strategy for the period 2010-2020. It aims at
Strategy ‘smart, sustainable, and inclusive growth’. It replaces the former Lisbon Strategy. As its
predecessor, it aims at ‘boosting the competiveness of the EU knowledge-based
economy’, but also takes into account the environmental and social aspects of economic
development. The strategy gives an important place to ‘innovation’, but does not
mention culture or creativity.
The EU2020 strategy provides a roadmap for all EU actions in the years to come. The
next generation of EU policies and programmes, including the Culture Programme and
the Structural Funds, will have to be aligned with its objectives.
GDP The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) refers to the market value of all final goods and
services produced within a country in a given period. It is often used as an indicator of a
country's standard of living but it is really a measure of national economic activity.
In recent years, different countries and international organisations have been exploring
alternative and more holistic ways of measuring societal development. One example of
such an effort is the ‘Beyond GDP’ initiative, which aims at developing indicators that
are as clear and appealing as GDP, but more inclusive of environmental and social
aspects of progress.
Intercultural Intercultural dialogue has been defined by the Platform for Intercultural Europe as ‘a
Dialogue series of specific encounters, anchored in real space and time between individuals
and/or groups with different ethnic, cultural, religious, and linguistic backgrounds
and heritage, with the aim of exploring, testing and increasing understanding,
awareness, empathy, and respect. The ultimate purpose of Intercultural Dialogue is
to create a co-operative and willing environment for overcoming political and social
tensions’.
Lobbying Lobbying is generally more restricted and only one part of advocacy. It refers
specifically to advocacy efforts that attempt to influence legislation.
MFF The Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) outlines the budgetary categories of EU
spending (so-called headings), and serves as a long-term guideline for the annual EU
budgets. The agreement on the MFF is reached on the basis of an inter-institutional
agreement between the European Parliament, the Council and the European
Commission.
The current MFF covers the 2007-2013 period. The publication of the Commission’s
proposal for the next MFF (end of June 2011) will formally launch the negotiations on
the EU budget beyond 2013.
12

13. Version as of 01/07/11
OMC The Open Method of Coordination (OMC) is a soft law mechanism for co-operation
between EU Member States in the policy domains where the EU has no legislative
competence, such as social affairs, education or culture. In the field of culture, the OMC
has been introduced by the 2007 European Agenda for Culture.
Topics addressed by the OMC in the field of culture are outlined in the work plan 2011-
2014 adopted by the Council of Ministers in November 2010. Working groups composed
of experts mandated by Member States are currently working on the following issues:
access to culture and intercultural dialogue, cultural and creative industries, skills and
mobility, and the mobility of collections.
Structured The structured dialogue is a co-operation mechanism used by the European Commission
Dialogue to involve different stakeholders in the elaboration of its policies.
In the field of culture, a structured dialogue has been introduced with the adoption of the
European Agenda for Culture. Three structured dialogue platforms are currently
operating in the field of culture: the Access to Culture Platform, the Cultural and Creative
Industries Platform, and the Platform for Intercultural Europe.
13

14. Version as of 01/07/11
7. Further reading: Links and resources
A selection of further reading to stimulate the development of the cultural sector’s arguments
and nourish the debate about the role of culture in our societies.
Arguments, toolkits:
Arts Organisations Checklist
National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, NASAA
http://www.nasaa-arts.org/Advocacy/Advocacy-Tools/Arts-Advocacy-Checklist-for-Arts-
Organizations-and-Advocates.php
Not for profit arts organisations play a key role in arts advocacy. Public money supports their
programmes, making the arts accessible to more citizens in your environment. This advocacy
manual presented as a checklist will allow you to get familiar with the basis of arts advocacy
and to evaluate your organisation in terms of what remains to be done in order to become an
efficient and recognized arts advocate.
National arts advocacy campaigns: overview of case studies and good practice
Madden, Chr. Strawberry Hills: International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture
Agencies. (2010)
http://media.ifacca.org/files/Dart16advocacy.pdf
The report looks at advocacy campaigns that promote appreciation and engagement in the arts.
It describes a range of campaigns currently being undertaken or planned by key national arts
funding agencies. It brings together online communication resources used by these campaigns,
and explores views on how to ensure a campaign’s success.
The Ten Golden Rules of Lobbying
Schonfelder, Brussels, EU Public & Governments Affairs, Conference ‘How Brussels Works’
(2011)
http://www.hdl.com.hr/preuzimanje/newsdata/Ten_Golden_Rules_of_Lobbying.pdf
This document sums up the ten key rules for lobbying on EU level.
The Top 10 Reasons to Support the Arts
Cohen, R. (2011)
http://blog.artsusa.org/2011/04/20/the-top-10-reasons-to-support-the-arts/
From the free weekly cultural policy publication of Americans for the Arts, Arts Watch, this
document summarizes ten arguments in favour of arts support, which can be used when
addressing governments and business leaders.
14

15. Version as of 01/07/11
Studies, reports:
Capturing Cultural Value
John Holden, Demos, (2004)
http://www.demos.co.uk/publications/culturalvalue
Cultural organisations and their funding bodies have become very good at describing their
value in terms of social outcomes. Tackling exclusion, increasing diversity and contributing to
economic development are all familiar justifications in grant applications. But by talking in
functional terms about the value of culture, cultural organisations have lost the ability to
describe their real purpose – producing good work that enriches people’s lives. Culture now
delivers government policy by other means.
Gifts of the Muse: Reframing the Debate About the Benefits of the Arts
Kevin F. McCarthy, Elizabeth Heneghan Ondaatje, Laura Zakaras, Arthur Brooks (2004)
http://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/MG218.html
Faced with intense competition for audiences and financial support, as well as adverse
political fallout from the “culture wars” of the early 1990s, arts advocates have increasingly
sought to make a case for the arts in terms of their instrumental benefits to individuals and
communities. In this report, the authors evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of these
instrumental arguments and make the case that a new approach to understanding the
benefits of the arts is needed. Critical of what they view as an overemphasis on instrumental
benefits, the authors call for a greater recognition of the intrinsic benefits of the arts
experience, provide a more comprehensive framework for assessing the private and public
value of both intrinsic and instrumental benefits, and link the realization of those benefits to
the nature of arts involvement.
Measuring Intrinsic Value
Hasan Bakhshi, Alan Freeman + Graham Hitchen (2009)
http://www.missionmodelsmoney.org.uk/papers/measuring-intrinsic-value/
This paper argues that the reluctance to use rigorous economic methods has hindered rather
than helped the case for the arts. It seeks to demonstrate how economics can provide the tools
to ‘measure’ and validate the intrinsic value of art, and to do so in a way that is commensurable
with other measures of value for other calls on the public purse.
15

16. Version as of 01/07/11
Pocketbook on Cultural statistics
Eurostat, (2011)
http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/culture/introduction
Eurostat’s pocketbook on ‘Cultural statistics’ published in April 2011 is the second in the series.
It presents data on enterprises in cultural sectors, employment in cultural sectors and
occupations, external trade in cultural goods, cultural participation, private household
expenditure on cultural goods and other statistics. It uses data collected in the framework of
the European Statistical System, as well as other sources such as UNESCO, Eurobarometer,
EGMUS and Media Salles.
Study on the contribution of culture to local and regional development – Evidence
from the Structural Funds
Centre for Strategy and evaluation Services (CSES) -ERICARTS, (2010)
http://ec.europa.eu/culture/key-documents/doc/studies/final_report_SF_en.pdf
The study was commissioned by the European Commission to provide evidence of the range of
contributions made by the cultural and creative sector to the objectives of EU cohesion policy
since 2000, and, backing this up, a pool of around 50 examples illustrating the contribution.
The economic crisis and the prospects for art and culture in Europe
SICA, (2010)
http://www.culturalpolicies.net/web/files/83/en/en_crisis_and_prospects_for_art_and_cult
ure_in_europe_oct2010.pdf
SICA has consulted its partners in a number of European countries in order to gauge the mood
in the cultural sector. The first overview was published in June 2010 and updated in October
2010.
The economy of culture in Europe
KEA European Affairs, (2006)
http://ec.europa.eu/culture/key-documents/doc873_en.htm
The study was commissioned by the European Commission and is a first at European level. It
highlights the direct (in terms of GDP, growth and employment) as well as the indirect (links
between creativity and innovation, links with the ICT sector, regional development and
attractiveness) contribution of the cultural and creative sectors towards Europe’s economic
growth.
The Empathic Civilisation - The Race to Global Consciousness in a World in Crisis
Jeremy Rifkin (2010)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7AWnfFRc7g
Political adviser Jeremy Rifkin investigates the evolution of empathy and the profound ways
that it has shaped our development and our society. Watch the RSA animation of the book.
16

17. Version as of 01/07/11
8. Basic campaign facts
What is the campaign about?
we are more is a Europe-wide campaign for the arts and culture. It was launched in October
2010 and will run until 2013. The campaign aims to influence the next EU budget beyond
2014. The we are more campaign asks for two kinds of support in the next EU budget.
Firstly, a reinforced Culture Programme that is more daring and experimental than the
current one. Secondly, explicit support to culture, heritage and the arts in the EU
programmes that are dedicated to cohesion and local and regional development, namely the
so-called Regional Development Funds.
Who is behind the campaign?
The we are more campaign has been set up by Culture Action Europe, a civil society
membership organisation and political platform for the arts and culture. The campaign is
carried out in strategic partnership with the European Cultural Foundation. Culture Action
Europe currently has over 100 members that together represent over 80.000 arts and culture
players across Europe and beyond – in more than 14 artistic disciplines. The campaign is run
in an open source way, and provide tools on the campaign website that encourage and
facilitate for the entire cultural sector as well as individuals to get involved in and support the
campaign.
Why the name we are more – act for culture in Europe?
Because we want to send a broad, positive message and use the campaign to demonstrate the
many different ways in which individuals, communities and arts organisations do more, and
contribute more to our societies than what is visible at first glance. Just like the EU is more
than coal and steel, and just like we need to speak about more than a single market, GDP and
economic growth if we want to discuss wellbeing and human development. This campaign
wants to show that we are many organisations built up by individuals who value and act for
culture in Europe. We are citizens, parents, arts organisations, lovers of culture, and active
participants in society.
9. Join!
On the campaign website you will find plenty of tools to give visibility to the campaign, as
well as ideas for activities when you are ready to take your support one step further. You can
sign the manifesto that is available in more than thirty languages, and even place the
manifesto signature box on your own website to help collect signatures in real time! Visit the
campaign website now, and make sure to subscribe to the bimonthly newsletter and follow
us on Facebook and Twitter to get the latest news!
We’re curious to hear about your ideas and your activities – please stay in touch!
Culture Action Europe
Rue de la Science 10
B-1000 Brussels
T. +32 2 534 4002
F. +32 2 534 1150
campaign@wearemore.eu
www.wearemore.eu
17