By ENCATC
/PROCEEDINGS
A momentous milestone was celebrated in Helsinki from 11th to 13th October as we held the 31st edition of the ENCATC Congress, entitled “Artificial Intelligence Embraced: the future of the cultural and creative sector”. With more than 250 participants and speakers coming from dozens of countries around the world to engage in debates, keynotes, presentations, workshops and much more, the event served as a testament to the legacy of ENCATC, reaffirming its leading role in the field of cultural management and policy.
Over three days, we convened educators, researchers, policy makers, practitioners, students and artists to focus on the theme of Artificial Intelligence and its impact on the cultural sector, addressing key issues, ethical questions, and current and future trends in a dynamic exchange.
We are proud of the energy that the diverse array of participants demonstrated throughout the event, which underscore the significance of the Congress as a conduit for groundbreaking innovations, knowledge dissemination, and research advancement. The richness of the Congress’ knowledge exchange, peer learning, and networking opportunities promise to invigorate the ongoing discourse on cultural management and policy across sectors, contributing to the evolution of approaches and practices in an essential exchange.
The global gathering of the ENCATC Congress has proven yet again to be the only platform at the international level where leading actors in the field come together to revolutionize discourses in the sector. By enabling attendees to commonly reach essential steps for positive change, the ENCATC Congress reinforces its standing as an essential rendezvous for the worldwide cultural management and policy community.
We would like to deeply thank all those who made this new successful edition possible, especially our local partners Sibelius Academy/Uniarts Helsinki and Arcada University, who hosted the Congress in their premises; Humak University, Metropolia University, Cupore and Seinäjoki University. A warm thank you also to the numerous volunteers who contributed to making the Congress a success, and to all the participants who actively took part. It all happened thanks to you!
Keynote and Talks highlight how “AI is already an inescapable reality”
The ENCATC Congress is known for bringing together strategic personalities of the cultural management and policy field. Leonardo Espinosa Leal, Principal Lecturer in Technology at Arcada University of Applied Sciences in Helsinki, led us into the definition of what generative artificial intelligence is and how pervasive it has already become. According to his knowledge, AI models are so easy to train that all fields of human activity are already being touched by this kind of technology.Stefan Lindström, the first Ambassador of Digitalization and New Technologies of Finland, also helped us frame the scenario of AI at play from a more comprehensive point of view, pointing out the extreme complexity of the panorama and encouraging universities and companies to continue embracing the ongoing developments. “Everything that can be digitized, will be digitized”, he said, letting the audience immediately grasp the enormous width of the phenomenon.
ENCATC Members Forum: a multidisciplinary space to delve into the sector’s latest shifts and challenges
Among its key sessions, the Congress featured, in the frame of the Members Forum, six special Members Talks reuniting the diverse fields of knowledge and expertise in the network.
From the use of ChatGPT in cultural marketing to the skills for the green transformation, passing by the new curricula in the cultural and creative sector and the latest experimentations with workplace models, the Members Talks constituted a privileged space for debate between Congress participants, allowing for exchange between different experiences and providing attendees with tangible tools and strategies to use in their daily activities.
The Forum hence ratified the valuable and insightful expertise that ENCATC members are capable of offering to the international cultural management and policy community, adding substantial knowledge to the debates ongoing in the field.
Research Awards: promoting excellence in research and contributing to the innovation of European cultural networks, cultural policy and sustainability
On 12 October, Carlotta Scioldo was announced as the winner of the 2023 ENCATC Research Award. The Award, developed by ENCATC in partnership with the Cultural Management Fund of the University of Antwerp, is the only international Award recognising top academic achievements in cultural policy and cultural management research. This year’s recognition also continues the longstanding tradition of honouring female researchers’ academic attainments.
Scioldo will now see her doctoral work on transnational networks and policy harmonization in the cultural and creative sector published in the ENCATC Advances in Cultural Management and Policy, published by Routledge. Special attention and recognition also goes to the other finalist, Giuliana Ciancio, who will publish an article based on her thesis on the role of emotions in cultural policy in the European Journal of Cultural Management and Policy.
During the Ceremony, the ENCATC Best Research Paper was also announced, recognizing the best work among those part of the ENCATC Education and Research Session. The recognition was awarded to Vânia Rodrigues of the University of Coimbra for a paper on the the ecological imperative in cultural policy: she will also see her work published in the European Journal of Cultural Management and Policy.
Learn more about the Research Awards in the dedicated press release
2023 ENCATC Oustanding Award Ceremony: honouring Lluís Bonet and his exceptional contribution and vision in research and academia
The Congress was the occasion to recognize the essential role and impact that key figures in the cultural management and policy field play. Lluís Bonet, Professor and Director of the Cultural Management Programme at the University of Barcelona, was awarded the 2023 ENCATC Award for Outstanding Contribution. Prof. Bonet, a longstanding educator and researcher with a solid history in cultural projects, was honoured for his exceptional scholarship and his remarkable achievements in cultural management and policy, which make him a transformational leader and a central figure in the international cultural arena.
In his Keynote speech, the 2023 Laureate addressed the topic of innovation in cultural management. He particularly stressed the importance of vision and risk-taking among cultural leaders, and the need to sustain management education in the cultural sector, ensuring that innovation is concrete, valuable and cooperative.
Education and Research Session: world-class researchers gather to disclose latest advancements and trends in AI
The ENCATC Congress builds substantially on academic insight, finding its foundations in the value that research can bring to the understanding of the current challenges and trends in cultural management and policy. The second day of the Congress was entirely devoted to academic research.
Overall, 13 different sessions over 6 tracks were held in the frame of the Education and Research Session, the arena to share and learn about the latest world-class research and teaching experiences in the field of cultural policy and management. In the 2023 edition, an impressive group of 50 presenters coming from 21 countries worldwide were featured, addressing topics dealing with artificial intelligence, technological acceleration, decolonisation, and cultural tourism.
Young and Emerging Researchers’ Forum: the privileged space for the new generation of researchers to network and boost their academic careers
The afternoon of 12 October saw the Young and Emerging Researchers’ Forum taking place. This is the global gathering developed to help the new generation of researchers in cultural management and policy advance in their career, by getting involved in a mix of debates and direct research feedback, discussions on shared challenges and networking opportunities.
The event, involving young researchers from all over the world, also in hybrid mode, comprised sessions with presentations by PhD candidates and commentaries by both senior and emerging researchers. New scholars were thus provided a space to be protagonists, feeding their research, contact network and collaboration possibilities.
Policy Debate, international experts outline the transformative impact of AI on cultural policy development across the globe
The Congress traditionally brings together a diverse array of experts to engage in exchanges on topics that have significance at the global level. This year’s Policy Debate brought together experts from various academic backgrounds at both the national and international level, to address the most pressing items on the policy agenda of the cultural field today, especially in terms of the technological advancements affecting it.
The session particularly discussed the significance of culture within governance today, the role of culture in our modern societies at large, questions of freedom of speech and the mega trends currently shaping the world. Between considerations on the strategies to deal with the loss of trust towards decisionmakers and the acknowledgement of the structural role that culture needs to play in sustainability-related policies, the Debate offered participants an overview over the biggest policy questions today, unveiling the role that new technologies will increasingly play.
The ENCATC Congress as a catalyst for dialogue with policymakers at the international, European and local levels
During the Congress, ENCATC received the support of its key partners, who took an active role in the event: at the international level, Ernesto Renato Ottone Ramírez, Assistant Director-General for Culture of UNESCO; at the European level, Catherine Magnant, Deputy to the Director and Head of the Cultural Policies department at the European Commission, DG EAC; and at the local level, Stefan Lindström, the Finnish Foreign Services first Ambassador of Digitalization and Technology. The ongoing dialogue with partner institutions and policymakers at all levels in the frame of the event not only aligns with ENCATC’s core mission but also reaffirms the Congress’s significant role as an influential platform for shaping effective cultural policies across all levels.
In the frame of this continued dialogue, ENCATC also contributed to the initiatives of the European Year of Skills and the Creative Skills Week, through the organization and promotion of its annual Education and Research Session and the organization of a special hybrid Members Talk, developed in collaboration with the Working Group on Skills for the Green Transformation of the EU Large-Skills Partnership for the Cultural and Creative Industries ecosystem (CCI LSP). These endeavors underscore ENCATC’s commitment to advancing skills and knowledge in the cultural and creative sectors and fuel the network’s impact on the wider cultural landscape.
Global Conversation: according to world experts, in the film and music industries the role of AI is definitely going “to grow, and grow, and grow”
The Global Conversation involved international experts to analyse how common challenges within cultural management and policy are addressed around the world. Specifically, this year’s topic analysed the impact of AI on the industries of film and music, with the aim to provide a concrete exchange on some of its most practical implications. The panelists taking part particularly illustrated how education on the use of AI within culture is already becoming a structural element of university programmes, and how familiarity with AI systems is going to make a difference in the long run between the survival of certain professional profiles, and the extinction of others. This served as a powerful remnant of the inescapability of technological advancement in the cultural field, and as a question challenging the sector to include active reflections and technological novelties in cultural industries.
Study Visits: a uniquely crafted cultural programme to discover Helsinki’s cultural institutions in their day-to-day innovative management practice
The ENCATC Congress provided chances for participants to embark on a number of Study Visits to complete their Congress experience with a hands-on encounter with core cultural institutions of the Finnish capital. The Visits comprised tours at the Finnish National Opera and Ballet, the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, the National Museum of Finland, the Helsinki Central Library Oodi, and the Amos Rex Museum.
From the exploration of the complex mechanisms behind the work of a mid-sized opera company, to the discovery of the composition of site-sensitive and experiential exhibitions in contemporary art, participants were therefore able to delve into some of the most interesting examples of innovative cultural programming, getting to know institutions who are currently leading as examples in the transformation of the cultural field.
Musical programme: enriching the Congress experience through pioneering and youth-led live performances and concerts
This year’s edition of the Congress involved a number of exceptional musical performances accompanying the programme, involving the students and affiliates of Sibelius Academy as protagonists and giving them as a stage to share their experimentative art.
Performances involved a sound installation and an audiovisual live performance between electronic music and abstract visual art by Jonatan Snapir, a traditional fiddle tunes concert by the Duo Emilia Lajunen & Suvi Oskala, an experimental electro-acoustic music performance by Pajuh’s Electro-Acoustic Trio and dances and shakes at the rhythm of percussions, marimba and vocals by the quartet Wanne. Spread throughout the three days, these performances enchanted the audience in a unique and original way, adding to the amount of memories that each participant would take home.
ENCATC International Study Tour: exploring Helsinki’s approach to sustainability through local projects and initiatives
The 10th edition of the ENCATC International Study Tour, serving as a pre-program to the Congress, was entirely dedicated to sustainability and the immersive exploration of green policies and exemplary local initiatives within the city of Helsinki. This activity responds to ENCATC’s commitment to raise awareness and educate the cultural management and policy community towards a better and more sustainable way of designing, producing and consuming culture.
Organised in partnership with ENCATC’s Finnish members, the University of Jyvaskyla Yliopisto, Uniarts Helsinki and Aalto University, this unique opportunity allowed attendees to delve into the city’s most innovative green projects and policies. Key sessions of the day involved lectures on sustainable fashion and design and on ecological sustainability in the Finnish arts and cultural sector, presentations of the Elma.live and LuoTo projects dealing with sustainability in music and in the creative industry, and a special roundtable on sustainable urban planning and culture-led urban regeneration, involving representatives of the city administration of Helsinki. A day filled with insightful conversations, shared questions, and inspiring insights, ultimately propelling the key questions towards a greener and more sustainable future in the cultural sector.
The Congress legacy: forging powerful local synergies and a lasting impact
The legacy of the Congress is going to be far-reaching, involving an infusion of international perspectives which have enriched the local environment and are going to leave a lasting impact on the local community.
Through the Study Tour, we forged valuable partnerships between local institutions and international collaborators. The wide success of this year’s International Book Exchange contributed to the internationalization of the academic libraries of Sibelius Academy and Arcada University of Applied Sciences, making them more diverse and comprehensive in their offerings on cultural management and policy literature.
The Congress also provided an invaluable platform for growth to 73 students, who were able to profit from this unique international experience, broadening their horizons and developing their knowledge. Local students were afforded the chance to partake in the global conference through a dedicated grant.
Finally, among the grants offered, ENCATC is proud to have offered a chance to gain concrete, practical experience to 13 volunteers from the partner universities, who not only advanced their knowledge of international cultural management and policy international events but also enriched their resumes for future opportunities.
Mark your calendar for another round of invigorating encounters and insightful exchanges: 2024 ENCATC Congress taking place in Lecce!
The 2023 Congress was the occasion to launch the next edition of the ENCATC annual conference. This will take place on 18-20 September 2024 in the captivating city of Lecce, Italy. Known for its rich cultural heritage and stunning architecture, Lecce provides the perfect backdrop for the exceptional gathering of cultural professionals, academics, policymakers and artists from across the globe that the ENCATC Congress represents. We welcome all to already mark down the dates and prepare to immerse themselves in a new edition of stimulating conversations, innovative ideas, and celebration of cultural diversity.