CULT

MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION BY

T HE COMMITTEE ON CULTURE AND EDUCATION (CULT)

Culture clash: In this age of rapid globalisation, cultural practices and identities are increasingly facing the challenge of sustainability. Globalisation has impacted cultural diversity through the influence of consumerism, appropriation of culture and influence of societal values. How can Member States preserve their culture and heritage whilst also being able to move forward and progress within an ever-expanding global market?

A. B. C. D. E. Submitted by: Aliandra Ehrhartsmann (CY), Andrea Ahha (CY), Danae Demetriade (CY), Elisaveta Bobrova (CY), Florentia Loizidou (CY), Irene Tatsi (CY), Maria Hadjipaschali (Chairperson, CY)

The European Youth Parliament,

Deeply concerned by the loss of tangible cultural heritage such as the Sulejman Pasha

Mosque in Albania, due to wars and conflicts,

Keeping in mind that the share of full-time employees in the workforce of the cultural sector varies greatly between Member States 91 ,

Noting with regret that from February 2020, only 0.8% of GDP has been dedicated on cultural services from the total government expenditure in the EU,

Pointing out that the increased rates of immigration and asylum seekers resulted in many foreigners adopting different cultural habits causing them to loose their own cultural identity,

Recognising that the marginalization of less-dominant cultures may lead to cultural convergence or even extinction of a culture such as the case of the Griko dialect 92 ,

91 In the Netherlands only 49% of employees in the cultural sector are in full time employment whereas the number rises to 95% in Bulgaria and 98% in Romania. Only four member states (Malta, Cyprus, Finland and Latvia) have a gap of ten percent between cultural employment and total employment. 92 Griko is a near-extinct variant of Greek and other interspersed elements, spoken in a few villages in Salento (the Salentine plain), in Puglie, and in Calabria.

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Considering that the global market and the international community is dominated by the English language while 128 languages are endangered in the EU including the Regional Minority Languages (RMLs) 93 ,

Aware of the fact that people with tertiary attainment are more than twice a s likely to take part in cultural activities than people with a low educational attainment, according to studies,

Congratulating Denmark and Sweden for exceeding 40% of the cultural participation proportion from the adult population with no more than a lower secondary level of education in activities such as but not limited to: i. attending live performances, ii. visiting the cinema, iii. visiting cultural heritage sites,

Alarmed by the connection between decreased income and participation 94 , the decrease of cultural

Observing the rising phenomenon of cultural imperialism 95 world, in Europe and the Eastern

Expressing its satisfaction with the Treaty of the Functioning of the European Union(TFEU) for its initiation of: i. annually selecting two European Capitals of Culture, ii. dedicating 1.46billion EUR to the EU programme ‘Creative Europe’,

Conscious that the world media are the leading sources of influence on younger generations promoting an americanised way of life;

93 RMLs are languages that are traditionally used within a given territory of a State by nationals of that State who form a group numerically smaller than the rest of the State's population; and. different from the official language(s) of that State. 94 Citizens in the 5th income quartile have a 82.5% participation proportion in contrast to the 46.3% in the first income quartile. 95 Cambridge dictionary defines this term as a ‘culture of a large and powerful country, organisation, etc. having a great influence on another less powerful country’.

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Invites the European Commission to implement and expand directives and initiatives revolving around digital visualisation and 3D scanning of cultural heritage sites such as the

Initial Training Network of Digital Heritage (ITN-DCH) 96 ; Strongly urges the Ministries of Education in collaboration with the educational institutions of every Member State to encourage their students to join educational programs including but not limited to ERASMUS+, allowing for more students to experience different cultures

first-hand; Proposes to the Directorate General of Education & Culture (DG EAC) in collaboration with Ministries of Culture and Ministries of Finance to establish an algorithm based on the Member States’ economy and number of cultural sites per capita to calculate how much funding each country should receive annually from the EU to cover the shortage of

governmental funding dedicated for cultural purposes; Invites the EU Member States’ Ministries of Culture and Transport to invest in social mediation for individuals to learn to respect theirs and other cultures through: a. providing means of transport for the visitation of different heritage sites and/or places of attraction, b. providing funds and cooperating with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for the creation of cultural programs and workshops such as Social Mediation in Practice 97 , c. working with UNESCO on developing and implementing national legislations protecting its states cultural rights and sites;

5. Recommends the reformation of the school curricula to include: a. dialects as an elective lesson; b. poetry and literature in the country’s mother tongue, c. a classical appreciation subject to inform pupils about the country’s heritage, d. mandatory starter lessons of the local language;

96 The ITN-DCH is first and one of the largest Marie Curie fellowship projects in the area of the edocumentation / e-preservation and funded by the European Union. 97 Social mediation is a tool which creates and repairs the social infrastructure of communities for purposes of preventing, tackling and/or rehabilitating conflicts that arise due to intolerances and prejudices such as racism and xenophobia.

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Urges Member States’ Ministries of Culture to invest in compelling arts for promoting the portrayal of culture by: a. utilising cultural sites like Koureion Amphitheatre in Cyprus to hold outdoor theatre and concerts with local artists, b. translating best selling books into multiple languages in order to encourage engagement in each Member States’ mother-language, c. encouraging radio stations to organise cultural nights where traditional

music will be played; Suggests that Ministries of Education in cooperation with schools should educate students on the country’s culture, customs, traditions and history for further appreciation of local culture by: a. promoting more frequent school trips to cultural heritage sites which are partly funded by the EU, b. providing resources to participate in more cultural activities such as museum Booklets that include appealing activities for children which are renewed every two to three months, and 3D presentation of digitised

cultural heritage sites; Urging the implementation of incentives by the Ministries of Culture to increase the number of attendees at cultural locations by: a. providing free or discounted transportation to locals by cooperating with the Ministry of Transportation, b. creating a rewards system aiming to attract children such as free museum booklets or shows,

c. establishing a system of discounted tickets for students throughout Europe; Seeks to promote cultural activities such as theatre and local attractions through social media as well as expand technological platforms of the government using e-booklets of museums that should be made accessible online or hard-copies sold at bookshops, free virtual tours of museums and sites for the general public with selected exhibitions requiring a fee, and platforms such as Instagram and Facebook to increase the popularity of cultural activities through sponsored posts;

10. Asks Member States to promote cultural appropriation by subsidising local businesses and those who sell local goods;

11. Urges the DG EAC to co-fund the enhancement and upgrade of museums and cultural sites to be accessible to people with disabilities by:

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adding ramps in entrances and exits, installing elevators in main areas, providing a wall of information in areas that are not easily accessible, installing reading plaques for the blind, ensuring the availability of an audio presentation rather than text in each hall for deaf people;

12. Requests the DG EAC to further provide EU funding to enhance the marketing and promotion of traditional and cultural activities like museums and festivals in Member

States on a national level through: a. investing in organisations arranging yearly, cultural festivals for local citizens, b. advertising traditional festivals on billboards and as sponsored social media posts, c. collaborating with various celebrities and local artists, d. cooperating with NGOs to conduct events as well as producing reports on the importance of cultural heritage.

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