Save the date! Final meeting of the CULPOL project “EU Competencies and National Cultural Policies: Critical Dialogues”

Throughout the two years of its activities, the primary aim of the project ‘EU Competences and National Cultural Policies: Critical Dialogues’ (September 2016 –August 2018) was to promote discussion and reflection on the impact of the EU agenda on the Croatian cultural policy. The project contributed to enhancing knowledge about the impact of the EU policies and its processes on the national cultural sector and created synergies between national and EU stakeholders in the domain of culture. All the planned project activities have been realized according to the initial plan. Two major international events, three stakeholders group meetings, and a number of supporting meetings and events have been organized, and a number of analytic outputs have been published on the website.

The final meeting of the CULPOL project is planned to be held on 11th June 2018 at the Library of the Institute of Development and International Relations (IRMO) in Zagreb. One of CULPOL’s final outputs is the publication of the special issue of the scientific journal Croatian International Relations Review (CIRR) entitled ‘European Union and Challenges of Cultural Policies: Critical Perspectives’ (Vol. 24 No. 83). As part of the project wrap up, this event will serve as an opportunity to promote the special issue, highlight its contributions and present the results of the project.

Draft version of the CULPOL final meeting.

Stay tuned for more information on the articles and the content of the special issue!

Find out more about the focus of the CIRR special issue at: https//culpol.irmo.hr/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/CfP_CIRR_Special-Issue-EUandCulturalPolicies_Final__.pdf

Other materials:

Report_CULPOL Final meeting

The International Round Table on Digital Single Market and Its Impact on Culture and Media in Croatia held in Zagreb

After two days of successful international round table “Digital Single Market and Its Impact on Culture and Media in Croatia”, held on 19 and 20 April 2018 in Zagreb, Croatia, we are pleased to provide you with audio-visual materials, detailed CULPOL round table report and other working materials.

The international round table offered a rich and dynamic programme, which created an environment for very fruitful discussions. It successfully tackled the multi-layered issues of DSM’s institutional and regulatory aspects, online platforms and media sustainability, copyright, authors’ and users’ interests, as well as the role of heritage in balancing culture and economy, thus affirming the need and desire to promote such dialogue within the EU.

Detailed CULPOL round table report (in English)

Audio materials: 

Moderator: Dr Aleksandra Uzelac, IRMO

Moderator: Dr Jaka Primorac, IRMO


Moderator: Dr Paško Bilić, IRMO

Moderator: Professor Romana Matanovac Vučković, Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb

Moderator: Dr Koraljka Kuzman Šlogar, Institute for Ethnology and Folklore Research

Other materials:

Programme-DSM-Round-Table-ENG

Round table reader

Below you can find pictures from the two days of panels and welcome event held on the first day.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Video address by Mariya Gabriel, European Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society

After two days of successful international round table “Digital Single Market and Its Impact on Culture and Media in Croatia”, held on 19 and 20 April 2018 in Zagreb, Croatia, we are pleased to provide you with a video address by Mariya Gabriel, European Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society, streamed before the Introductory Panel “Digital Single Market and Its Impact on Culture and Media: Institutional and Regulatory Aspects”. The video is available on the following link: Mariya Gabriel

Detailed CULPOL round table report (in English)

Other materials:

Programme-DSM-Round-Table-ENG

Round table reader

Round Table Programme and Reader are available online

We are delighted to announce that the final programme of the international round table “Digital Single Market and Its Impact on Culture and Media in Croatia” as well as the Round Table Reader are now available online.

We have prepared a very rich and dynamic programme that will take place on 19th and 20th April at the Council Room at the Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb.

The round table will place emphasis on the changes that the Digital Single Market (DSM) strategy brings to the cultural and media sector in Croatia. By gathering researchers, cultural professionals and policy-makers, the round table will promote focused thematic discussions, which will concentrate on the contextualization of the DSM strategy for culture and the media in the EU.

The registrations start on Thursday, 19th April at 2 pm. The programme which starts at 3 pm will be open by Dr Nina Obuljen Koržinek, Minister of Culture of the Republic of Croatia.

Video address by Mariya Gabriel, European Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society will be streamed before the Introductory Panel “Digital Single Market and Its Impact on Culture and Media: Institutional and Regulatory Aspects”. In this session Ms. Anja Jelavić, Head of the International Cultural Cooperation and European Affairs Sector of the Croatian Ministry of Culture and Mr. Božo Zeba, Acting deputy secretary of state at Central State Office for Development of Digital Society will present initiatives being developed by Croatian policy makers concerning DSM reform in Croatia.

The first Panel – “Online Platforms and Media Sustainability in Democratic Societies” will discuss how online platforms influence local media and communication industries in a political, cultural and economic sense. In particular, the panel will focus on the impact of online platforms on digital advertising, media sustainability, market competition and media pluralism, and will discuss public subsidies for media industries and citizens’ alternatives to market driven frameworks. This panel will gather: Mr Damir Hajduk, President, Electronic Media Council; Mr Božidar Abramović, Omnicom Media Grupa and Croatian Association of Communications Agencies (HURA); Dr Paško Bilić, IRMO, Mr Ante Pavić, Forum TM, non-profit media; and Mr Saša Leković, President, Croatian Journalists’ Association.

On Friday, 20th April at 10 am the introductory keynote lecture about the challenges posed by the Digital Single Market framework entitled “Culture and the (New) Single Market: Reproducing Regimes of Dominance or Rebooting the New Europe?” will be given by Professor Katharine Sarikakis from the Department of Communication, University of Vienna.

Having in mind the context of small EU countries like Croatia, the European tradition of the protection of authors’ rights, the changing role of collective management organizations (CMOs), the rights of users to access culture, etc., the second panel – Copyright, Authors’ and Users’ Interests: How to Foster Creativity? will question whether the DSM reform brings benefits for the cultural and media sectors or primarily for the ‘big players’ in the field of creative economy. This panel will bring together in conversation Croatian and European experts: Dr Maja Bogataj Jančič, Intellectual Property Institute, Slovenia; Dr Simone Schroff, Institute for Information Law, University of Amsterdam; Mr Antun Tomislav Šaban, Croatian Composers’ Society; and Mr Hrvoje Hribar, Board Member, Federation of European Directors (FERA).

Panel 3 – Striking the Balance Between Culture and Economy: What Role for Heritage? will emphasize some important questions concerning the cultural heritage sector: What would be an adequate conceptualisation of IPR in the digital age that would ensure the preservation of the robust public domain and the users’ rights from the analogue age, taking into account that the right to obtain and share knowledge and the right to create and re-create are central to the survival of any culture and our cultural memory? Will the education and the heritage sector be able to take real advantage from the opportunities presented by the environment of digital networks? This panel will gather: Mr Harry Verwayen, Acting Executive Director, Europeana Foundation; Ms Goranka Horjan, Etnographic Museum; Dr Vlatka Lemić, Croatian State Archives; and Professor Marianne Ping Huang, Aarhus University.

The round table is organized within the framework of activities of the Jean Monnet project entitled EU Competences and National Cultural Policies: Critical Dialogues (2016-2018), which aims to promote discussion and reflection on the impact of the EU agenda on the Croatian cultural policy.

Please see the Round Table Reader to find out more about the speakers, their interventions and conference’s events.

CULPOL Final Round Table Programme

Looking forward in seeing you at the conference!

Other materials:

DSM_International-Round-Table-Web-Report

Professor Katharine Sarikakis’ guest lecture in Zagreb

IRMO has the pleasure of announcing Professor Katharine Sarikakis’ introductory keynote lecture to its International Round Table ‘Digital Single Market and Its Impact on Culture and Media in Croatia’, to be held on 20 April 2018 under the title ‘’Culture and the (New) Single Market: Reproducing Regimes of Dominance or Rebooting the New Europe?’’.

Save the date and do not miss this special opportunity to hear Professor Sarikakis from the Department of Communication, University of Vienna speaking about the challenges posed by the Digital Single Market framework!

The lecture will take place at the Council Room of the Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb on 20 April 2018 at 10:00 a.m. Please register early, as places are limited by the capacity of the venue (seating maximum 80 persons), and no later than 15 April via the provided registration form.

Culture and the (New) Single Market: Reproducing Regimes of Dominance or Rebooting the New Europe?

Katharine Sarikakis

Despite the fact that European integration has been largely associated with ’hard’ areas of policy, such as fiscal, agricultural and technological, the substance of integration has been tested on all things ’soft’: from the experience of citizens of Europe as a polity to the learning about one’s neighbours and the expression of the range of possibilities of what it means to be European in everyday life. The levels of trust and distrust in European institutions, the future of Europe and the place identity has always been tested in the ways of life, beliefs and expressions carried through what we call ‚culture‘. More so, historically, the success of the European project has been reflected by the degrees of attention it has given to the cultural ’sector‘, from the high arts and the media to the protection of free speech. The European polity has, however, an ambivalent relation with culture: it has fragmented it, monetized, instrumentalized, glorified, economized, promoted, marginalized, reimagined it through policies which, in regulatory terms, have treated various aspects of culture in different and even conflicting ways.

The most recent challenges are those posed by the Digital Single Market framework, whereby the redefinition of the EU as a digital-oriented, single market of a Europe of 27 (or other, depending on exits of, accessions by and restrictions on) states, effectively reproduces and insists on the perpetuation of unequal motors for development in the sector. Critics worry that cultures and the cultural sector, in particular in small nations, or, more precisely, in countries other than the big four (France, Germany, Spain, UK) and the dominant two (Germany and UK), would be subsumed in a regime of dependence and tokenism, rather than in a state of development and flourishing.

The questions are many and urgent, particularly given the fact that Europe is not confronted with the ’normal’ challenges of skepticism of the European Single Market of 1992, but rather with the extreme consequences of multiple polarizations in the political, financial and social realities in people’s lives. Within this context, the burden on European states is heavier than before: the old tools of inward-gazing cultural policies may have exhausted their capacity. The way forward is quite arguably the creation of more integration, however one that meaningfully and engagingly connects national sectors, national markets, national audiences and national makers along axes with a political purpose: to protect, promote, reinvigorate and reboot democracy. Smaller, multiple, networked ’Europes‘ through coordinated action can steer the DSM to the desired destinations of multiple voices though paying attention to other pieces of the puzzle, such as the institutions of public service media, the institutions of archives and heritage, non-professional culture actors, the youth and the educational system.

For further information, please follow CULPOL project or contact us via e-mail at culpol@irmo.hr

Registration is open for the International Round Table ‘Digital Single Market and Its Impact on Culture and Media in Croatia’

Zagreb, Croatia, 19-20 April 2018

Venue: Council Room at the Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb

Address: Trg Republike Hrvatske 14

Organizer: IRMO – Institute for Development and International Relations

Framework: Jean Monnet project ‘EU Competences and National Cultural Policies: Critical Dialogues’ (2016-2018)

Supporting partners:

The round table working languages are English and Croatian (with simultaneous interpretation)


Registration for the international round table ‘Digital Single Market and Its Impact on Culture and Media in Croatia’ is now open!

The round table will place emphasis on the changes that the Digital Single Market (DSM) strategy brings to the cultural and media sector in Croatia. By gathering researchers, cultural professionals and policy-makers, the round table will promote focused thematic discussions, which will concentrate on the contextualization of the DSM strategy for culture and the media in the EU.

The programme of the round table, that will take place on 19 and 20 April, will include:

  • Introductory Keynote Lecture by Professor Katharine Sarikakis from the Department of Communication, University of Vienna entitled “Culture and the (New) Single Market: Reproducing Regimes of Dominance or Rebooting the New Europe?” (20 April)
  • Introductory Discussion – “Digital Single Market and Its Impact on Culture and Media: Institutional and Regulatory Aspects” (19 April)

In this session Ms. Anja Jelavić, Head of the International Cultural Cooperation and European Affairs Sector of the Croatian Ministry of Culture and Mr. Božo Zeba, Acting deputy secretary of state at Central State Office for Development of Digital Society will present initiatives being developed by Croatian policy makers concerning DSM reform in Croatia.

  • Three Panel Sessions, as follows:

Panel 1 – Online Platforms and Media Sustainability in Democratic Societies (19 April)

The aim of this panel is to discuss how online platforms influence local media and communication industries in a political, cultural and economic sense. In particular, the panel will focus on the impact of online platforms on digital advertising, media sustainability, market competition and media pluralism, and will discuss public subsidies for media industries and citizens’ alternatives to market driven frameworks.

Panel 2 – Copyright, Authors’ and Users’ Interests: How to Foster Creativity? (20 April)

Having in mind the context of small EU countries like Croatia, the European tradition of the protection of authors’ rights, the changing role of collective management organizations (CMOs), the rights of users to access culture, etc., this panel will question whether the DSM reform brings benefits for the cultural and media sectors or primarily for the ‘big players’ in the field of creative economy. As these issues have serious implications for the cultural diversity and media pluralism in Member States, they need to be addressed not only from the perspective of market-oriented mechanisms, but also from the perspective of culture as a public good.

Panel 3 – Striking the Balance Between Culture and Economy: What Role for Heritage? (20 April)

This panel session will emphasize some important questions concerning the cultural heritage sector: What would be an adequate conceptualisation of IPR in the digital age that would ensure the preservation of the robust public domain and the users’ rights from the analogue age, taking into account that the right to obtain and share knowledge and the right to create and re-create are central to the survival of any culture and our cultural memory? If we consider our cultural heritage to be a resource that triggers reflections and new insights, that should be preserved and passed on to the next generations, and that should constantly be questioned and rediscovered by individuals who breathe new life into it in the present time, we need to ensure that our cultural references (from both the recent and the distant past) stay alive in our cultural memory. We either use it or we lose it, as digital culture represents a vital part of our future heritage. Will the education and the heritage sector be able to take real advantage from the opportunities presented by the environment of digital networks?

The preliminary round table programme is available here.

For more detailed information, please see the round table announcement.

Please register for the participation at the round table via the provided registration form.

Please register early, as places are limited by the capacity of the venue (seating maximum 80 persons), and no later than 15 April.

For further questions, please contact us at culpol@irmo.hr.

Other materials:

Programme-DSM-Round-Table-ENG

Round-table-reader

DSM_International-Round-Table-Web-Report