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

Programme and Organizational Board meeting for the preparation of the CIRR Special Issue “European Union and Challenges of Cultural Policies: Critical Perspectives” (Vol. 24, No. 82)

Programme and Organizational Board meeting of the CULPOL project for the preparation of the CIRR Special Issue “European Union and Challenges of Cultural Policies: Critical Perspectives” (Vol 24, No. 82) was held on Tuesday, 28th November 2017 at the Institute for Development and International Relations, Zagreb.

The meeting was attended by programme and organizational board members Dr Aleksandra Uzelac, Dr Jaka Primorac, Dr Paško Bilić, Dr Senada Šelo Šabić, Dr Biserka Cvjetičanin, Barbara Lovrinić, Matea Senkić and Mario Pallua. Programme and organizational board members discussed about CIRR special issue design, article submission deadlines, and various organizational activities concerning CIRR.

For more information, please follow CULPOL project website or contact us via email: culpol@irmo.hr

International Round Table ‘Digital Single Market and Its Impact on Culture and Media in Croatia’ – First Announcement

Zagreb, 19 – 20 April 2018


An international round table on the Digital Single Market and Its Impact on Culture and Media in Croatia is planned to take place in Zagreb, Croatia, on 19 – 20 April 2018, aiming to gather participants from Croatia and Europe. 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. The theme of cultural and media policies in the digital age will be in the focus of the project in 2018.

The Round table will place emphasis on the changes that the Digital Single Market (DSM) strategy brings to the field of culture, and its impact on the culture and media sector in Croatia. The DSM strategy represents a major implicit policy for culture that brings significant changes to the overall cultural and media sector. As cultural production is becoming increasingly digital, the round table discussions will focus on the extent of the influence that the national political governance, and particularly cultural and media policies, have on regulating the digital infrastructure and content underpinning cultural activities. Although the Strategy was adopted two years ago, so far its implications for culture and media have not been discussed adequately in Croatia. As culture and digital culture are increasingly becoming closely interlinked, forming the context that defines our experience, cultural policies must not ignore this important aspect of cultural activities in today’s world.

Cultural Policies in the Digital Age

The cultural policy challenges in the digital context are complex and marked by globalisation, convergence processes and fluid boundaries. In the context of the changes caused by the impact of the digital environment in contemporary society, it is necessary to reflect on our cultural, social and technological development goals, aiming to determine whether complex societal changes are based on democratic principles. One important question is who decides the possible directions and ways of developing and applying technology. Thus, we need to consider what roles cultural policies play today, when digital practices on the one hand, and different public policies on the other, increasingly define the context of digital cultural development. What is their place in the regulation of the cultural space, when the use of digital technologies impacts business and communication models of the cultural sector, and when all aspects of contemporary culture are affected by it? Implicit and explicit cultural policies are being implemented, from the local to the EU level, by public authorities as well as by an active non-governmental sector and foundations advocating their goals in the field of culture and media. Cultural policies are important mechanisms for managing the European political and cultural sphere as they affect how citizens perceive and create culture. An important question is: what kind of cultural policies do we need in order to achieve the best digitization results in the culture and media sector to foster democratic values (freedom of expressions, cultural diversity and media pluralism).

EU Context and DSM: Digital Policies – Cultural Policies

In the European Union, the digital domain is regulated by different public policies that aim to maximize the economic and social potentials of digital technologies. They focus on the issues of digital market fragmentation, interoperability, cybercrime, security, privacy, digital literacy, etc. Since our communication and creativity are increasingly moving into the sphere of digital technologies, the EU regulatory space has a concrete impact on the changes in business and communication models in the cultural and media sectors. It impacts cultural and media sectors whose mode of operation depends not only on accepted institutional and sectorial models and strategies, but also on existing financial mechanisms and the legislative framework. Furthermore, the impact of national policies seems to be decreasing as regulation at the international or the EU level often obliges policies on the national levels to enforce the specific changes. In the context of the subsidiarity principle, EU Member States have the right to take decisions, formulate policies and decide on financing modes in the cultural field. However, as the regulation related to the digital environment mostly arises from other EU public policies, this re-presents an implicit cultural policy that has a significant impact on culture and the media. The question arises whether national cultural policies can still successfully regulate (digital) culture in situations where obligations deriving from other public policies (such as data policies, privacy regulation, copyright, etc.) affect the cultural sector, though in these policies cultural goals are often not taken into account. This situation is an indicator of the marginalization of culture in the digital strategy of the EU, giving rise to the following question – what needs to be done to remedy this?

As the main focus of the EU policies for culture has been placed on the creative economy, which is interlinked with the digital economy, one of the important implicit policies for culture is the Digital Single Market (DSM) strategy, the scope of which includes copyright regulation. With its focus on the digital and data economy, the DSM reform has implications for cultural trade, i.e. the trade of digital cultural goods and services, which consequently opens questions regarding its unintended cultural side-effects for our collective identity. The DSM goal is to ensure high-quality digital services throughout the EU, to create a single EU regulatory space and adequate conditions for the development of innovative digital services. The DSM’s focus is on the economic benefits of the digital economy. It emphasizes the business side of the access to the cultural content. Issues related to cultural diversity are seen quite simplistically – from the distribution point of view – where more content can reach more people through the digital market. The DSM leaves out of its focus the users’ cultural practices in the field of the new media and, more generally, the users’ rights to access and reuse cultural content, as well as the content which is offered under a not-for-profit logic.

Considering the discrepancy between the DSM logic that favours the supranational market principle and the territorial principles within which the instruments of national cultural policies operate, the important question is whether the DSM reform will bring benefits for the entire cultural sector or primarily for the ‘big players’ in the field of creative economy, and whether small Member States will benefit from the proposed reforms? In the context of the current EU reality that faces regulatory fragmentation and fragmented markets in the content sector, where rights need to be negotiated with 28 countries, simplifying this reality represents a significant step forward for the business sector and the consumers. However, the proposed changes lead to the redistribution of revenues from copyright, which is one of the instruments of national cultural policies, without taking into account current models and needs at national levels.

DSM can be understood as an attempt by the European Commission to indirectly reconfigure the European cultural space, as the proposed changes have an impact on the ways in which the cultural sector is managed in the EU Member States. For new policy approaches it is important to find an adequate place for (digital) culture between the market and its broader social context (i.e. between market commodity and public good) and to secure that cultural and artistic objectives of cultural organizations can be supported via business models that ensure the long-term sustainability of digital cultural services. In order to achieve this, there is a need for continuous research in this area. It remains to be seen whether Croatia is prepared for the current and upcoming changes and whether it can influence them?

Programme and Organizational Framework

By bringing together researchers, cultural professionals and policy-makers, this round table aims to promote a dialogue between different cultural-policy stakeholders regarding the changes brought upon the cultural and media sector by the DSM strategy. The round table format will promote focused thematic discussions, which will facilitate the contextualization of the DSM strategy for culture and the media in the EU, focusing mainly on topics such as:

  • Digitalization of Cultural Heritage: Overcoming the Obstacles to Access and Usability of Cultural Content
  • Copyright, Author’s Rights and Open Data: How to Foster Creativity?
  • Updated Audiovisual Media Service Directive: What are the Implications for Culture and the Media?

Gathering participants from Croatia and other European countries, the round table working languages will be Croatian and English (with simultaneous interpretation provided).

Publishing Possibilities:

  • Within the framework of the CULPOL project, the publication of a special issue of the journal Croatian International Relations Review (CIRR) is planned for 2018, focusing on the European Union and cultural policy issues. Contributions concerning the impact of DSM on culture are welcome. Please see the call for papers at CULPOL website.
  • Contributions are invited for the CULPOL Issue Papers and the CULPOL Commentary series that present selected articles providing critical analysis on various issues reflecting themes concerning the different ways in which the European Union impacts the cultural and media policies on national as well as local levels. Contributions concerning digital cultural policy issues and the impact of DSM on culture are welcome. For more information, please visit https//culpol.irmo.hr/culpol-issue-papers-2/

Programme Board:

  • Aleksandra Uzelac, Ph.D., Head of Department and Senior Research Associate at the Department for Culture and Communication and, IRMO (Project Coordinator)
  • Jaka Primorac, Ph.D., Senior Research Associate at the Department for Culture and Communication, IRMO
  • Romana Matanovac Vučković, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb
  • Martina Petrović, Head of the Creative Europe Desk – MEDIA Office Croatia

Organisation Board:

  • Aleksandra Uzelac, Ph.D., Head of Department and Senior Research Associate at the Department for Culture and Communication and, IRMO (Project Coordinator)
  • Jaka Primorac, Ph.D., Senior Research Associate at the Department for Culture and Communication, IRMO
  • Paško Bilić, Ph.D., Research Associate at the Department for Culture and Communication, IRMO
  • Matea Senkić, Associate at the Department for Culture and Communication, IRMO
  • Barbara Lovrinić, External Associate at the Department for Culture and Communication, IRMO

For more information, please visit CULPOL website or contact the organisers via email at culpol@irmo.hr.

Other materials:

Programme-DSM-Round-Table-ENG

DSM_International-Round-Table-Web-Report

Round-table-reader

Programme and Organizational Board meeting for the preparation of the International Round table ‘Digital Single Market and its impact on Culture and Media in Croatia’

27th of September 2017

Venue: IRMO Library


Programme and Organizational Board meeting of the CULPOL project for the preparation of the International Round table ‘Digital Single Market and its impact on Culture and Media in Croatia’ was held on Wednesday 27th September 2017 at the Institute for Development and International Relations, Zagreb. The meeting was attended by programme and organizational board members Aleksandra Uzelac, Jaka Primorac, Paško Bilić, and Matea Senkić from IRMO, Romana Matanovac Vučković, Associate Professor from the Faculty of Law University of Zagreb, and Martina Petrović, Head of Creative Europe MEDIA Office Croatia.

Along with the presentation of the preliminary Round table programme, the format of thematic discussions, potential speakers and stakeholders, and various organizational activities such as conference venue, simultaneous translation etc. were also discussed.

The Board unanimously agreed on the date of the Round table, scheduled for 19 – 20 April 2017.

More information about planned international round table ‘Digital Single Market and its impact on Culture and Media in Croatia’ will be soon available on the project CULPOL website.

For more information, please follow CULPOL project website or contact us via email: culpol@irmo.hr

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

CULPOL Second Stakeholders Group Meeting held in Rijeka, Croatia within the framework of the UNICULT 2020 third edition

The Second Stakeholders Group Meeting of the Jean Monnet project ‘EU Competencies and National Cultural Policies: Critical Dialogues’ (CULPOL) was organised on 5th of July 2017, at the premises of the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Rijeka.

A one-day event has been organised in Rijeka within the framework of the Unicult 2020 – The International Arts & Cultural Management and Cultural Policy Programme that took place from 3rd until 16th July 2017.

The CULPOL organisational board (Aleksandra Uzelac, Jaka Primorac, Ana Žuvela and Matea Senkić) from IRMO worked together with three members of the CULPOL stakeholders group (Daniela Urem, Mario Kikaš and Davor Mišković) in preparing the one day event that would facilitate the knowledge transfer of the cultural policy related research done within the framework of the CULPOL project towards the UNICULT 2020 students.

The one-day activity was attended by 22 participants (out of which 17 were UNICULT2020 registered students) from Croatia and other countries: 11 participants from Croatia and 11 participants from Spain, UK, Greece, Portugal, Kosovo, Romania, Serbia and Canada.

For more information on the project and planned events please follow us on the project CULPOL website or contact us directly via e-mail: culpol@irmo.hr.

CULPOL Second Stakeholders Group Meeting Report

For more information about the Unicult 2020 – The International Arts & Cultural Management and Cultural Policy Programme, visit: https://www.unicult2020.com/