Every festival today faces the need to justify its existence. Festivals exist in a larger societal framework and have responsibilities, just like individual citizens or large corporations, for the development, openness and well-being of that society. As I travel across Europe, visiting a diverse array of festivals, I see they are all working on connecting the arts and the artists with people. They are bridging various agendas representing a ‘glocal’ struggle that most arts organisations experience nowadays: addressing global issues, engaging local communities, surprising citizens with new artistic discoveries and celebrating cultural heritage – all the while fighting for economic survival. Read the full blog by Kathrin Deventer on Festival Bytes