Cultural cooperation

Cultural cooperation between Europe and the countries of the Mediterranean basin

Strenghten the Euro-Mediterranean audiovisual sector

EUROMED AUDIOVISUAL

Cinema and audiovisual cooperation was officially stressed in April 1997 in Malta during the second Euro-Mediterranean conference which gathered the Ministers of Foreign Affairs. The Euromed Audiovisual Programme was then launched in November in Thessaloniki during a conference gathering the government experts of the 27 Euro-Mediterranean partners. The Programme aims at altering and stimulating dialogue and exchange between peoples from both shores of the Mediterranean thanks to pictures and cinema. EUROMED AUDIOVISUAL programme corresponds to concentrating regional activities on a small number of thematic programmes.

Generally speaking, the programme aims at:

• promoting cooperation between audiovisual operators from both shores of the Mediterranean;
• stimulating technology transfer and transfer of expertise thanks to professional trainings;
• fostering the broadcasting of cinematographic works from the Mediterranean partners and the European Union;
• promoting the enhancement of the audiovisual heritage pertaining to the Euro-Mediterranean area;
• facilitating investments and jobs and wealth creation in the audiovisual sector.

The three frameworks of the Declaration of Barcelona

On November 27th and 28th, 1995, in Barcelona, the Euro-Mediterranean Ministers of Foreign Affairs officially set up the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership. With this event, sealed by the “Declaration of Barcelona”, the Partnership has provided an enlarged framework of political, economic and social relationships between the 15 Member States of the European Union and the 12 Partners of the Southern Mediterranean Countries (Algeria, Palestinian Authority, Cyprus, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Malta, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey).

The 27 partners set up three objectives:

1. To establish a common area of peace and stability thanks to a strengthened political dialogue (political and security chapter);
2. To create an area of shared prosperity with a view to establish a free-trade area thanks to an economic and financial partnership (economic and financial chapter);
3. To bring peoples and civil societies closer in establishing a partnership in social and cultural affairs (social, cultural and human affairs chapter).

The partnership foresees two parallel dimensions: the multilateral dimension and the bilateral approach. The regional dialogue constitutes the most innovative aspect of the Partnership concentrating itself on politics, economic and cultural fields (regional cooperation).

Partnership in social, cultural and human affairs

Partnership in social, cultural and human affairs is the third partnership of the regional cooperation. Recognizing that culture is an essential factor in bringing peoples closer, the Declaration of Barcelona underlines:

• The importance of dialogue between cultures and religions;
• The importance of the role of mass media in the reciprocal recognition and understanding of cultures;
• The essential nature of the development of human resources in the cultural field: cultural exchanges, knowledge of other languages and respecting the cultural identity of each partner through the implementation of a long-lasting policy of educational and cultural programmes;

The main MEDA regional activities aiming at improving the dialogue between cultures and civilisations are:

• Euromed Audiovisual, regional programme for cinema, television and radio cooperation;
• Euromed Heritage, regional programme for Euro Mediterranean cultural heritage;
• Euromed Youth, the Euro-Mediterranean Youth Action Programme;
• Euro-Mediterranean summits of economic and social Councils and similar institutions;
• Euro-Mediterranean Civil Forums;
• Cultural and Information activities of the Commission Delegations in the Mediterranean region;
• The Euro-Mediterranean Anna Lindh Foundation for the dialogue between cultures.