The FestivalFinder.eu (a)Live - Mediterranean Info Session, scheduled from 3 till 5 September 2021, will be a special occasion to promote the expertise of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region in international partnership. This event will be enriched by the cultural offer of two Italiafestival associates: Mittelfest and Pordenone International Festival of Sacred Music. 

During these days, discussion sessions, insights and talks will be altering together with special occasions dedicated to the promotion of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region's heritage, arts and gastronomic culture.

Italiafestival has set up an institutional panel that will involve the board of the European Festivals Association (EFA), the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Italy.  

Italiafestival together with Mittelfest and Pordenone International Festival of Sacred Music will also organise a Visitor Programme in order to stimulate networking between the executive, the Italiafestival associates assembly, the EFA board and the national EFFE hubs of the European Festivals and the Mediterranean Festivals. The programmes includes thematic itineraries aiming at interweaving the artistic agenda with the cultural legacy and Friulian food-and-wine, allowing visitors and institutions to take part in an unique experience. 

The round tables and public sessions have been livestreamed and recorded. You can find the links to the recordings here below.

Hosted by Pordenone International Festival of Sacred Music

11:30       Italiafestival board meeting (board members only)

12:30      Italiafestival general meeting (members only)

14:00      Lunch

15:00      Round table "Live festivals in Europe: an after Summer outlook", livestreamed on vimeo.com/italiafestival

• Alessandro Ciriani, Mayor of Pordenone
• Tiziana Gibelli, Council member for Culture and Sport of Friuli Venezia Giulia Region
• Barbara Gessler, Head of Unit at the Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture
• Franco Calabretto, International Festival of Sacred Music of Pordenone Artistic Direction
• Eddi De Nadai, International Festival of Sacred Music of Pordenone Artistic Direction
• Jan Briers, President of EFA
• Anita Debaere, Pearle Live Performance Europe Direction
• Darko Brlek, President of The Festival Academy
• Carlo Fontana, President of AGIS
• Francesco Maria Perrotta, President of ItaliaFestival

17:30       Walk in the historic city centre

19:00       Dinner

20:45      Artistic programme by Pordenone International Festival of Sacred Music

Hosted by Mittelfest              

9:00 – 11:00     EFA Board meeting (only for EFA board members)

11:30 – 13:30    First session "A new deal between festivals and tourism institutions", livestreamed on vimeo.com/italiafestival 

Institutional greetings: 

• Roberto Corciulo, President of Mittelfest
• Daniela Bernardi, Mayor of Cividale del Friuli
• Massimiliano Fedriga, President of Friuli Venezia Giulia Region
• Massimo Garavaglia, Italian Minister of Tourism

Panel discussion

• Francesco Maria Perrotta, President of ItaliaFestival
• Carlo Fontana, President of AGIS
• Alessandro Ruggera, Cultural attache'. Italian Ministry of foreign Affairs and International Cooperation
• Antonio Parente, General Director of Performing Arts Unit, Ministry of Culture
• Jan Briers, President of EFA

13:15   Lunch break

14:30 – 18:00    Second session "A new deal between festivals and tourism institutions", livestreamed on vimeo.com/italiafestival.

EFFE Seal Toolkit presentation

• Kathrin Deventer Efa, General secretary of EFA
• Peter Inkei, director of the Budapest Observatory

EFFE Hubs and festivals

• Davinia Galea, EFFE Hub Malta 
• Alexandra Bobes, France Festivals
• Kai Amberla, Executive Director Finland Festivals
• James Mc Veigh, Festivals Edinburgh
• Jovanka Višekruna Janković, EFFE Hub Western Balkans
• Stef Coninx, EFFE Hub Belgium
  
• Colm Croffy, EFFE Hub Ireland 
  
• Ahmed AL Attar, Director of D-CAF Cairo Egypt

Round table: the routes of tourism between cultural policies and institutions

• Moderator Franco Belletti, vice President of Italiafestival
• Antonella Manca, Direction of Culture and Sport Department, Friuli Venezia Giulia Region
• Paolo Petiziol, President of EGTC GO
• Sandro Pappalardo, ENIT (National Agency of Tourism)
• Martina Dlabajova, MEP, SMEs and creative industries
• Walter Zampieri, DG Head of Unit European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA)
• Paul Dujardin, Vice-president of EFA

18:00         Cultural and Touristic programme 

20:00         Dinner and artistic programme by Mittelfest

Hosted by Mittelfest

10:30 - 12:30 EFA collective members and EFFE Hubs meeting

The FestivalFinder.eu (a)Live - Mediterranean Info Session  is organised by the European Festivals Association, in collaboration with Italifestival, Mittelfest and Pordenone International Festival of Sacred Music.

This meeting is organised in the framework of the project FestivalFinder.eu (a)Live Now, a project implemented by the European Festivals Association in partnership with the City of Bergen, Italiafestival, Summa Artium, EURACTIV Media Network and publiq, and co-funded by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union.