The Arab countries and Turkey are rarely represented in the cultural sections of the media. Instead, these countries tend to be associated with issues of terrorism, religious fundamentalism, women's rights and development aid. Whenever culture is mentioned, it is normally in relation to the past.
Important questions need to be asked. How do cultural practitioners in the Mediterranean region and their (possible) European partners relate to one another, and what are their expectations? How does their partnership affect the design of artistic projects? What do European cultural practitioners know about contemporary creation in the region?
Cross-Mediterranean cooperation is hampered by several factors, not least the cultural and political premises on which cooperative projects are based. European cultural practitioners engaging in cross-Mediterranean cooperation are often poorly equipped ‘politically'. Of course they need practical tools (database, portals, networks, financial means, etc.), but they also need open, challenging debates with their prospective partners in the region.
For this reason, the ECF and its partners have started a reflection process on the situation of contemporary creation in the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey, and on the political and artistic challenges this situation creates for cooperative projects with European cultural practitioners. The aim is to create the right conditions for an open, informed debate and facilitate genuine cooperation across the Mediterranean, contributing to the ‘intercultural competence ' of the partners involved.
This process follows a strong principle: whereas European experts familiar with the region often talk on behalf of their peers ‘from the other side‘, in this case artists, practitioners and intellectuals from North Africa, the Middle East and Turkey are setting the agenda. They provide their own analysis, ask their questions, give their perspectives on Europe.
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