As part of the Danish Presidency, the Danish Minister for Culture Uffe Elbæk is hosting an Inspiration and Dialogue Meeting entitled “Realising and Releasing the Potential of Culture” in Brussels on 6 June 2012, on the topic of the role of culture in a time of crisis. The intention is to discuss the potential of culture in a time with tight public budgets and high unemployment figures. Prior to the meeting in Brussels the Danish Minister for Culture launched the project of Team Culture 2012 where he invited a group of European cultural figures to reflect on whether art and culture can play a role in turning the crisis upside down. The Team Members are invited to find concrete examples to illustrate their thoughts on how art and culture can make a positive impact on our European societies. The examples will be presented at the event in Brussels and will serve as the outset for an open discussion among the participants on the role of culture in a time of crisis. Mr Uffe Elbæk said: “Art and culture have a special ability to foster new ideas and new hope in a time of crisis. We are now embarking on a search for examples of European creativity that are making a difference in society at the moment. What can art, culture and the creative industries do right now? How can we make the most of the innovative power of art and culture to stimulate new ideas in terms of identity, community and economic growth?” ”We are setting a team of 12 Europeans coming from a diverse range of personal and professional backgrounds. We are asking this cultural elite team to both consult their national and professional networks and venture out into Europe to find great examples of art making a difference. At the same time we are asking them to write a manifesto on how the cultural sector can create new energy in the present crisis. The manifesto and the exciting examples will be presented in Brussels in June.” The members of Team Culture 2012 • Benedetta Tagliabue (Italy/Spain): Architect, director of the Miralle-Tagliabue-EMBT Studio in Barcelona. • Efva Lilja (Sweden): Choreographer, Professor of Choreography and Vice-Chancellor at the University of Dance and Circus, Stockholm. • Josephine Green (United Kingdom/Italy/Netherlands): former Senior Director of Trends and Strategy at Philips Design. • Julie Edel Hardenberg (Greenland/Denmark): Artist, Photographer, Writer. • Kathryn Bennetts (Belgium): Artistic Director of the Royal Ballet of Flanders. • Margot Wallström (Sweden): Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict to the UN. • Moukhtar Kocache (France/Lebanon): Art Historian, Curator and former Program Officer at the Ford Foundation. • Neil MacGregor (United Kingdom): Director of the British Museum. • Paul Khera (United Kingdom/Himalaya): Designer, Photographer. • Peter Schneider (Germany): Writer, Commentator. • Stojan Pelko (Slovenia): Film Publicist, Essay Writer and former State Secretary, Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia. • Vibeke Windeløv (Denmark): Independent Film Producer, owner of Windelov Productions.