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culture Solutions Newsletter

No. 22 > November 2025

Dear cS friend,



Welcome to our Winter 2025 culture Solutions newsletter. As the year comes to an end, we engaged in important discussions on the role of culture in the EU’s external action, including in the next Multiannual Financial Framework and the Culture Compass, and performed an EU ICR Reality Check -now available as a webinar recording and shorter podcast episode-. We also marked culture Solutions’ 7th birthday, a moment for us to reflect on our journey, strengthen our purpose, and thank our community for its continued trust, engagement, and collaboration.



Whether you're an EU official, an artist, a cultural sector professional or simply passionate about culture, we're here to keep you informed about the latest developments in EU cultural relations, along with updates on our projects, events and publications.

Our newsletter features cS Explains, which highlights our team's work and analysis, and cS Explores, which curates external content and opportunities. In addition, this edition of cS Enjoys celebrates the vibrant energy of spring through visual arts, sound, literature, theatre and performance.



Thank you for staying connected with us and for supporting our work. We look forward to the year ahead and to continuing to advance dialogue, trust, and cooperation through culture.



Warm winter wishes, culture Solutions team

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cS Explains

Publications

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 Policy analysis 



The European Commission’s new Culture Compass marks an important step for EU international cultural relations. Several of its priorities—mobility, digital cooperation, cultural data, climate action, peacebuilding, and heritage—echo analyses developed by culture Solutions since 2018. As the next MFF approaches, our latest blog examines what the Compass means for a more coherent and better-resourced EU cultural strategy.



> READ MORE 

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Culture in the next MFF: Internal and external cultural policies both at threat?

 Policy analysis  



As EU institutions negotiate the next MFF, culture risks losing ground in both internal and external policies. Our article reviews the debate and calls for a more coherent EU strategy that recognises culture and international cultural relations as essential to inclusion, dialogue, and trust-building.





> READ MORE 

Culture in the next MFF: What space for external cultural action in the next Global Europe financial instrument?

 Policy analysis  



Our latest blog explores key areas where culture can play a strategic role in the EU’s external action, from countering disinformation and strengthening democratic resilience, to promoting gender equality in global storytelling, protecting cultural heritage, and navigating AI-related challenges to intellectual property.



> READ MORE 

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 Policy analysis 



Within a few days of the AU-EU summit’s conclusion, cS policy brief #15 outlines key elements for a renewed Africa–Europe cultural and creative partnership. The brief highlights the need to address structural imbalances, strengthen cultural governance within AU and EU institutions, support skills and sustainable growth in the CCIs, and deepen cooperation with civil society and youth across both continents.



> READ MORE 

Events

culture Solutions takes part in key events

 Space for dialogue 



Over the past months, culture Solutions members have taken part in several key international events, contributing expertise and engaging in dialogue across regions. From cultural policy discussions in Brussels and global cooperation debates in Cape Town, to innovation platforms and UNESCO forums, these gatherings offered valuable spaces to exchange insights, strengthen networks, and explore emerging priorities in international cultural relations.

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 Space for dialogue 



The recording of our 22 September webinar is now available. It features The EU as a Global Cultural Power (De Gruyter, 2025), with Mafalda Dâmaso and contributors Avril Joffe, Matina Magkou, Alessandro Lamonica, and Andrew Murray discussing the state of EU international cultural relations and the gap between ambition and practice.


> LISTEN HERE 



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Podcasts

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Composing trust #5: Community of Practice talks - The EU as a Global Cultural Power

 Space for dialogue



The fifth episode of our podcast series takes a closer look at the state of the EU’s international cultural relations today. Based on the webinar EU’s International Cultural Relations: Reality Check, it brings together insights from Africa, the Mediterranean, and emerging digital movements, while highlighting the growing call for a stronger community of practice.



Mafalda Dâmaso, Avril Joffe, Matina Magkou, Alessandro Lamonica, and Andrew Murray discuss Europe’s evolving role and the gap between ambition and practice.





> LISTEN NOW

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Composing peace #2Documenting Ukrainian resilience from the frontline

 Space for dialogue  



The second episode of Composing Peace turns to Ukraine, where the documentary Cuba and Alaska captures resilience on the frontline.

Dr. Daryna Zhyvohliadova is joined by director Yegor Troyanovsky, producer Olha Bregman, and combat medics Cuba and Alaska to discuss resilience, solidarity, and the role of culture during war.





> LISTEN NOW

cS Explores

EU policy and politics

Culture Compass for Europe

Cultural relations News from European Commission

Brussels Manifesto Heritage Matters for Europe Europe Matters for Heritage

 Cultural heritage  Report by Europa Nostra



Policy Recommendations from the Cultural and Creative Sectors

Cultural relations  Report by EU-UK Forum Cultural & Media Relations



ALF position paper for the Pact for the Mediterranean, on people-to-people and ICR dimensions

Cultural relations Report by Anna Lindh Foundation



Towards a new strategic framework: 7th African Union (AU) – European Union (EU) Summit Joint Declaration

Strategic framework Declaration by AU&EU 

Publications

The European Union as a Global Cultural Power

 Cultural relations  Book by Mafalda Dâmaso



International cultural partnership programmes: impacts and ingredients

 Cultural relations  Report by Arts Council England



Culture Helps Solidarity / Культура допомагає: Солідарність

Cultural relations News from European Cultural Foundation



ICOMOS Statement on Gaza and the West Bank

 Cultural heritage  Statement by ICOMOS



All That Is Lost - The Cultural Destruction of Gaza

Cultural heritage  Article by PEN America

Events

Palestine Cinema Days: Around the World 2025

 Cultural relations  November 2025 by Filmlab Palestine



Legacies of Southern European dictatorships: fifty years later

Colonial memory  18.11.2025 by House of European History



Decolonising museum practices: a dialogue between Brazil and Europe

 Cultural heritage  24.11.2025 by Europeana



“Our Family Garden” – an evening with Smirna Kulenović

 Colonial memory 10.12.2025 Event by House of European History

Opportunities

Africa-Europe Partnership for Culture

Cultural relations 30.11.2025 Call for experts and agencies by Goethe-Institut



Culture Moves Europe: Call for Individual Mobility 2025-2026

 Cultural relations  30.11.2025 Call for applications by European Commission


CCP Fellowships: Strengthening Civil Societies

Cultural relations 10.12.2025 Open call by ifa



Connect & Create - Strengthening cultural ties between Africa and Europe

Cultural heritage 14.12.2025 Open call by Institut Français



Call for good practices: Cultural heritage as an asset for the green, digital and social transformation

 Cultural heritage 19.12.2025 Call for proposals by European Heritage Hub

Multimedia

Les mystérieux trésors du Nigeria

 Cultural heritage  Documentary by ARTE

Are we all trapped in a transatlantic Truman Show?

 Cultural relations   Podcast by The Europeans



Syrie: le retour du Syrian Documentary Festival

 Cultural relations  Documentary by ARTE

The views expressed in cS Explores do not represent the official position of culture Solutions.

cS Enjoys

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Breaking Boundaries

Breaking Boundaries is a travelling exhibition created by non-profit foundation The Artist and the Others in collaboration with eight curators across four European countries. The project invites emerging artists to explore migration, travel and artistic connectivity while challenging the unsustainable norms of the art world. Through six venues and a carefully curated roster of 12 international artists, it celebrates dialogue across borders and offers a fair, sustainable model for global contemporary art.

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The Cultural Intifada



The Cultural Intifada mobilises a global movement of creative resistance in Palestine. It empowers artists, activists and cultural workers with digital toolkits, educational resources and collective action guides. As cultural identities are increasingly targeted and silenced, the initiative uplifts voices under attack, exposes censorship, and invites all who believe in justice and creative liberation to take part.




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Mon Histoire

This exhibition presents a personal narrative that spans from the artist’s early days at the École des Beaux-Arts in Casablanca to recent works made in Rome and beyond. Drawing on his roots, El Hariri’s work blends Western abstraction with Arabic calligraphic forms, exploring themes of identity, memory and movement. Via subtleties of line, shape and erasure, the exhibition invites the viewer into a dialogue about tradition, modernity and the spaces in-between.

Collaborate

Become a partner

Our network of partners includes both the EU institutions and the cultural sector. Contact us now to establish a partnership with cS.



> SEE PARTNERS

Join us

We are currently looking for new collaborators. Apply now! Erasmus+ interns welcome.



> SEE VACANCIES

Donate 

cS is a non-profit organisation and our collaborators work pro bono. Help us continue creating commons in the sphere of EU international cultural relations.



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Photo credits (top-left to bottom-right)1. Winter by Wim Zandbergen, Zuiderzeemuseum Enkhuizen. 2. Stilleven met boeken, bladmuziek, viool, hemelglobe en een uil by Jacob van Camden. Rijksmuseum. Brezy na jeseň  by Ferdinand Katona Slovak National Gallery 4. Snow scene with grassy hump by CultureGrid. Royal Museums Greenwich. Public Domain.

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