Mapping of Initiatives on Culture, Health and Well-being

The Davos Declaration 2018 highlights pathways for politically and strategically promoting the concept of a high-quality Baukultur in Europe. It reminds us that building is culture and creates space for culture. The built environment has a significant impact on the well-being and quality of life of all residents of an area. It is of crucial importance for social interaction and cohesion, and for creativity and people’s identification with the locality.
The Declaration is endorsed by Ministers of Culture and Heads of Delegations of the signatories of the European Cultural Convention and of the observer states of the Council of Europe, as well as representatives from UNESCO, ICCROM, the Council of Europe and the European Commission and from the Architects’ Council of Europe, the European Council of Spatial Planners, ICOMOS International and Europa Nostra.

Eurocities, in partnership with KEA, ERRIN, Europa Nostra and the Architects Council of Europe, has been selected by the European Commission to implement Cultural heritage in action, a peer-learning scheme financed by the European Union on cultural heritage to support exchanges between large numbers of cities, regions and stakeholders, thus building a broad learning community.
The project is one of the actions of the European Framework for Action on Cultural Heritage of the European Commission (setting a common direction for heritage-related activities in EU policies and programmes), adopted in December 2018 as a legacy document of the European Year of Cultural Heritage. Since 2020, Cultural Heritage in Action empowers cities and regions to strengthen their cultural heritage policies and initiatives as well as develop innovative solutions to preserve cultural heritage assets. Across the European Union, cultural heritage is an important asset for culture, economy, tourism and territorial competitiveness. It shapes identities of cities and regions, positively affects well-being and quality of life and contributes to social cohesion. Investing in cultural heritage is strategic for cities and regions. Some have been more successful than others in making bold investments about cultural heritage, and in ensuring long term benefits.

Using cultural jobs statistics from Eurostat and the JRC’s Cultural and Creative Cities Monitor, this report identifies highly vulnerable cultural jobs and creative cities. Both national and city governments have issued a wide range of policy measures (from compensatory grants to tax reliefs) to maintain alive Europe’s cultural capital, while giving cultural institutions, companies and workers the time to get prepared to post-COVID times. Proximity tourism could indeed help compensate losses from international tourism, while new cultural services that meet societal needs (educational, health, environmental) would help restore the European social fabric and people’s well-being.
The policy directions that seem to emerge from the analysis also consider that a sustainable recovery of the cultural and creative sectors will require a truly out-of-the-box thinking to cooperate with other sectors to develop novel (welfare) services (in the field of education, mental and physical health, proximity tourism, environment, etc.) to make the contribution of culture to societal well-being much more evident.

Adopted in May 2016, The Pact of Amsterdam launched the Urban Agenda for the EU, an EU-wide urban policy initiative concerned with multi-level governance: an umbrella for all urban policy initiatives. It enables cities, Member States, the European Commission and other key stakeholders to come together to jointly address urban issues within the regulatory framework of the EU and provide the EU with more on-the-ground data. Most actions under the Urban Agenda for the EU are delivered through partnerships, each made up of a variety of members. The aim of the Partnership on Culture/Cultural Heritage is to enable municipalities, Member States, EU institutions and interest groups, NGOs and Partners from the industry to work together on an equal footing to find solutions that improve the management of the historic built environment of European cities, promote Culture, and preserve the quality of urban landscapes and heritage. By increasing their knowledge about current and future trends/challenges linked to Culture and social inclusion (this can be about intercultural dialogue, about participation to Culture, about participatory governance of Cultural Heritage etc.), cities will develop policies that have more impact on the targeted population. There will be one peer learning visit (online or on-site, depending on sanitary conditions allowing traveling or not) to test the methodology. The visit will focus on a specific topic linked to Culture and social inclusion. Topics that could be covered during the peer learning activities (to be decided with members of the Partnership) include, among others, also: developing new Partnerships at local level within the Culture sector and other sectors, including social inclusion, health and wellbeing, migration and integration The final scope is to provide a specific tool that can be used also by other initiatives at EU level, specifically dealing with the topics mentioned above.
The Partnership has several strategies, including one for enlarging and enhancing the role of cultural urban services to strengthen the well-being of citizens (Strategy 5).

The European Year aimed to foster a society that sustains and develops quality of life, including quality of skills and employment, social well-being, including the well-being of children, and equal opportunities for all. It recognised that social exclusion damages the well-being of citizens, hampering their ability to express themselves and to participate in society. The problem of poverty and social exclusion relates to a large number of factors, such as income and living standards, the need for educational and decent work opportunities, effective social protection systems, housing, access to good quality health and other services, as well as active citizenship.
In line with the analysis carried out and the priorities identified in the Joint Report on Social Protection and Social Inclusion, the European Year should focus, among others, on the following themes: ensuring equal access to adequate resources and services, including decent accommodation, health and social protection; and facilitating access to culture and leisure opportunities.

The report assesses progress made in the implementation of the open method of coordination, sets key priorities for urgent action and identifies good practice and innovative approaches of common interest to the Member States. It aims at promoting more ambitious and effective policy strategies for social inclusion through mutual learning. It draws extensively from the National Action Plans for social inclusion 2003-2005, that all Member States submitted in July 2003. The document has dedicated chapters for health and for culture.
Although explicit references about the link between healthcare and culture are not made, social inclusion is correlated to mental health and well-being, as well as to access to culture. One of the key prioritiesof the joint report was to increase the access of the most vulnerable and those most at risk of social exclusion to decent housing conditions, to quality health and long term care services and to special and regular mainstream lifelong learning opportunities, including to cultural activities. The Joint Report on social inclusion was adopted by the Council (EPSCO) on 4 March 2004.

In June 2008, the “European Pact on Mental Health and Well-being”, an intersectoral statement on mental health action in Europe, was launched at the High Level Conference “Together for Mental Health and Well-Being” by the European Commissioner for Health. The document acknowledged the importance and relevance of mental health and well-being for the European Union, its Member States, stakeholders and citizens. They called for action in five priority areas: 1 - Prevention of Depression and Suicide; 2 - Mental Health in Youth and Education; 3- Mental Health in Workplace Settings; 4 - Mental Health of Older People; 5 - Combating Stigma and Social Exclusion. The 2nd priority area, Mental Health in Youth and Education also invites policy makers and stakeholders to promote the participation of young people in education, culture, sport and employment.
The Pact brings together European institutions, Member States, stakeholders from relevant sectors, including people at risk of exclusion for mental health reasons, and the research community to support and promote mental health and well-being. It is a reflection of their commitment to a longer-term process of exchange, cooperation and coordination on key challenges. The Pact should facilitate the monitoring of trends and activities in Member States and among stakeholders. Based on European best practice, it should help deliver recommendations for action for progress in addressing its priority themes.

This study was commissioned by the European Commission and the EU Delegation to China to the Cultural Diplomacy Platform with the objectives of assessing the potentials and challenges for developing a strategic partnership between the EU cultural flagship initiative “European Capitals of Culture” and the trilateral Japan, China, South Korea cultural cooperation initiative “Cultural City of East Asia” (which promotes cooperation in the areas of business, trade and economy, education, culture, environment, disaster management and health). The study focuses on European Capitals of Culture’s cooperation potentials with Cultural City of East Asia in China with some references to Japan and South Korea.
The study is set in the context of the EU-China High-Level People-to-People Dialogue and the development of the EU strategy for international cultural relations. What is the added-value of ECoC-CCEA cooperation? A suitable match between a European Capital of Culture and a Cultural City of East Asia culture can prove beneficial for cultural professionals and institutions in terms of artist mobility, cooperation projects, co-creations, cross-sector networking, capacity-building, branding and consultancy work. It can also lead to new networks, cooperation and cross-fertilisation with other sectors of the two cities, in areas such as the creative sector, tourism, energy and environment, business, rural development, the care sector, education, health and technology. Cooperation between ECoCs and CCEAs can also lead to new networks, cooperation and cross-fertilisation with other sectors of the two cities, in areas such as the creative sector, tourism, energy and environment, business, rural development, the care sector, education, health and technology. The study also acknowledges that, within the ECoC action, culture has proven to contribute to the well-being of citizens and to the prosperity of a city as well as its potential to position itself nationally and internationally.
The Cultural Relations Platform preparing this study is implemented by a consortium of four organisations: the Goethe-Institut Brussels (the consortium leader); the European Cultural Foundation; the International Network for Contemporary Performing Arts and the University of Siena.

The 2008 European Year of Intercultural Dialogue was established by Decision N° 1983/2006/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (18 December 2006). The aim of the Year was to put across a clear message that Europeʼs great cultural diversity represents a unique advantage. The initiative encouraged all those living in Europe to explore the benefits of our rich cultural heritage and opportunities to learn from different cultural traditions. It enabled the EU to make its voice better heard in the world and to forge effective partnerships with countries in its neighbourhood, thus extending a zone of stability, democracy and common prosperity beyond the EU, and thereby increasing the well-being and security of European citizens and all those living in the EU. The European Year was linked to a variety of national initiatives, including some from the healthcare system, such as the Irish Minister for Health, which launched a National Intercultural Health Strategy to promote greater access and inclusion of ethnic minority communities, migrants and asylum seekers to the health service.

The European Disability Strategy 2010-2020 paved the way to a barrier-free Europe, fostering actions supported also by EU funds to make a difference for the life of approximately 87 million persons having some form of disability in the EU. However, persons with disabilities still face considerable barriers in access to healthcare, education, employment, recreation activities, as well as in participation in political life. This Strategy aims to improve the lives of persons with disabilities in the coming decade, in the EU and beyond.
The objectives of this Strategy can only be reached through coordinated action at both national and EU level, with a strong commitment from Member States and regional and local authorities to deliver on the actions proposed by the Commission. The Strategy has a special chapter about improving access to art and culture, recreation, leisure, sport, and tourism. Accessible and inclusive art and culture, sport, leisure, recreational activities, and tourism are essential for full participation in society. The strategy explicitly acknowledges that they increase wellbeing and give everyone, including persons with disabilities, the opportunity to develop and utilise their potential.
According to the strategy document, the Commission invites the European Parliament and the Council to work together and to lead by example in achieving implementation of the UNCRPD both at EU and national levels.