A final conference summarising the CCPMT project was organised by the following European cultural institutions: Marcel Hicter Association in Brussels, the University of Barcelona, Goten Publishing in Skopje and the Villa Decius Institute for Culture in Cracow. The conference was dedicated to summarising the project and analysing the importance of international cultural cooperation. However, particular attention was devoted to difficulties in funding culture by the European Union, the lack of a clear EU cultural policy, and the impact of the financial crisis on both state and regional budgets.
During the conference, an educational game called “Oracle” was presented. It was created by the experts from the University of Barcelona, Marcel Hicter Association, and Goten Publishing. University students, academics, and culture management specialists were the target audience of this game. The participants played the roles of international consortium members completing a cultural project, which allowed them to develop their management competencies, soft skills, and ability to work in an international team. The game’s plot was inspired by European cultural heritage, Greek mythology in particular.
The game, although interesting, engaging, and enjoyable, required some refinement. The game’s summary provided valuable insights into challenges and hazards which were usually prevalent when working on major cultural projects.
A panel discussion, “International Collaborations in the Field of Culture: State of Art, Perspectives, and Opportunities”, has shown how pessimistic the state of European culture and its prospects for international cooperation look like. It was highlighted that the involvement of the EU in cultural funding was insufficient, the requirements for grant recipients were extremely high, and the range of available grant programmes remained limited. On the other hand, the intellectual value of international cooperation, exchange of experiences, and overcoming cultural barriers was indicated.
The discussion led to the conclusion that the EU was focused on allocating money for the sake of defence rather than culture. The conference revealed both problems and prospects of international cultural cooperation. Also, the “Oracle” game presentation proved to be a valuable learning experience for the participants.
