The Atelier for Young Festival Managers is an intense, rigorous 7 days training programme addressed at emerging artistic festival directors worldwide. Initiated by the European Festivals Association (EFA), the fifth Atelier will be hosted and co-organised by the Ljubljana Festival from 14-21 October 2012. It will bring together 45 young festival managers and around ten renowned festival directors from all over the world. Applications have to be submitted until 31 May 2012. “The Atelier for Young Festival Managers is about formulating experiences and passing on knowledge to a next generation of festival makers: knowledge about programming a festival, thematically focusing on the very essence of arts festivals – the art and the artist,” explains Atelier Coordinator Hugo De Greef. The Atelier is organised in continuation of four successful editions: in 2006 in Görlitz/Germany, in 2009 in Varna/Bulgaria; in 2011 in Singapore and Izmir/Turkey. 141 young festival managers and 28 presenters from all over the world have participated in this training programme until now. “The Atelier is an annual recurring activity that has established itself as a unique platform for the exchange of ideas, the development of artistic visions and new networks, the only one featuring such a distinguished group of festival leaders and cultural experts,” underlines Kathrin Deventer, Secretary General of EFA. The Atelier LJUBLJANA 2012 follows the guiding motto “The true role of a festival is to help artists to dare, to engage in new projects”, a phrase coined by Bernard Faivre d’Arcier, former director of the Festival d’Avignon, President of the Lyon Biennial and one of the Atelier’s Mentors since the first edition in 2006. Distinguished festival directors including Bernard Faivre d’Arcier (France), Robyn Archer (Creative Director The Centenary of Canberra (2013), Artistic Director The Light In Winter Melbourne, Australia), Hugo De Greef (initiator of festivals and General Manager Bruges European Capital of Culture 2002, Belgium), Nele Hertling (Vice-Chair of the Academy of Arts Berlin, Germany), Jonathan Mills (Festival Director and Chief Executive Edinburgh International Festival, UK) and another eight well selected, renowned festival pioneers from all over the world, being present for at least two full days, will share their experiences with 45 young festival managers. In lectures, one-to-one talks, group discussions as well as intense workshops on case studies, topics such as artistic vision, political and social responsibility, internationalisation, networking, renewal and sustainability will be explored. The Atelier for Young Festival Managers in Ljubljana is co-organised by EFA and the Ljubljana Festival. Darko Brlek, EFA President and General and Artistic Director of the Ljubljana Festival, stresses: “Cultural organisations and academic institutions need to embrace the continuity of professional development in the festival sector. Therefore, we are glad to host the fifth edition of the EFA training programme, especially since we celebrate both the 60th anniversary of EFA and the Ljubljana Festival in 2012.” The Call for Application including the selection criteria, the Application Form and all the information about the Atelier can be found at www.atelierforyoungfestivalmanagers.eu. Please contact atelier@efa-aef.eu for further questions. Download the press release here.