Cultural Coalition for
a Citizen's Europe
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on 10 November 2012
at the Deutsche Telekom,
Berlin Representative Office,
Berlin Representative Office,
Französische Strasse 33, 10117
Berlin, Germany
Berlin, Germany
from 9:30 a.m. till 6:30 p.m.
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Cultural Coalition for a Citizens’ Europe
Initiated by “A Soul for Europe” and its partners
Europe cannot be a mere political framework for the
convenience of governments. It must be made clear that the purpose of
European integration is primarily to enhance the quality of life for its
citizens. The active involvement of citizens is unthinkable without
participation that is taken seriously.
A Citizens’ Europe implies participation beyond the
dry confines of bureaucratic regulation and job creation programmes. It
involves all the activities necessary for real social justice and
dialogue. It requires the political structures to provide citizens with
the mobility, freedom and resources to make the most of the
opportunities of our time.
At its very core, a Citizens’ Europe is a cultural concept.
It has to encompass the wealth of languages, traditions, cultural
knowledge and experiences of people in Europe, regardless of where they
are originally from. The Coalition believes in the catalyst role that
culture – in all its diverse forms – can play in the development of
society. Culture and the arts are a vital element of Europe’s social and
democratic fabric. Culture shapes our common value system and at the
same time helps to establish a sense of self in an increasingly
fast-paced and fragmented world. Culture and the arts can simultaneously
strengthen social bonds, enable communication and stimulate
out-of-the-box thinking across European borders in a unique and
“avant-garde” way.
A Cultural Coalition for a Citizens’ Europe proposes
this basic and activating role of culture to politics and business. It
expresses a demand for supporting the development of Europe from the
bottom up: as a coalition based on the creative force of culture and in
continuous dialogue with all strands of society. The Cultural Coalition
thus brings together those whom political institutions will need in
order to deliver European integration that has real meaning for
citizens. Without such a coalition the current level of indifference,
hostility to and alienation from the European project will continue to
undermine it, strengthening the hand of those who wish to revert to
narrow nationalism.
Developing and implementing a new understanding of the cultural component of citizenship
will give the Coalition its guiding line. Building Europe means
integrating national histories, value systems and world views, and
fostering intercultural dialogue. Citizenship includes the right to
participate in diverse cultural life, not limited to the majority
culture of any nation state or linguistic group. It also includes the
willingness to learn about and be aware of the cultural traditions of
the community within which citizens reside and draw conclusions for
their own active responsibility for the development of society (the
community). This should not just be a nation state, but also a region,
city or community – and it should include all residents living in that
common “Union” space.
European Year of Citizens 2013
The European Year of Citizens 2013 will give the “Cultural Coalition
for a Citizen’s Europe” its time frame. The Year is an opportunity to
make European policy and European citizens aware of their rights and
responsibilities as Europeans: we want to give the European Year of
Citizens its urgency.
A Cultural Coalition is the expression of the hearts and
minds of Europe’s citizens: active in debate, innovative in thinking and
creative in their activities. This Coalition provides the political and
official institutions (whether local, regional, national, European or
global) with the interlocutors they need to help them develop. That is
what drives the Coalition’s work: to develop a new understanding of
cultural citizenship and cultural rights in order to create a democratic
Europe from the bottom up.
Join, follow and contribute to the Cultural Coalition for a Citizens’ Europe!
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