News

2008-Year of Intercultural Dialogue: EFA submits Entry

7 February 2007

EFA submits Entry on Call for Ideas preparing 2008, European Year of Intercultural Dialogue ‘To make use in an effective way of what festivals offer.’ This seems crucial to us in terms of information, communication, promotion and familiarizing citizens with the theme of intercultural dialogue. ‘Thanks to their immense media exposure and their connectivity to the local environment, festivals are superb instruments to promote and brand intercultural dialogue, to increase the visibility of the year at a local level and disseminate its key messages’. EFA is ready to serve as a multiplier to raise awareness, brand the year, generate media coverage, and also fill the messaging with content, by engaging hundreds of festivals across Europe including EFA members and non-members in the theme of intercultural dialogue. Festivals are wonderful mediators and carriers of messages which go beyond their purely artistic meaning. They are in direct contact with the European citizens every day, from January through to December. Millions of Europeans with the most diverse social backgrounds visit festivals in hundreds of different cities, spanning from Bergen to Athens, from Dublin to Bucharest, from big cities to smaller cities, from capitals to more remote cities. This immense potential in terms of geographical distribution and direct communication should be exploited to a maximum extent. EFA is in the position to not only set up a messaging system within the European Festival community and make it operable across Europe but also to fill the messages with a graspable meaning. A European Festival Charter will reward “festivals of intercultural glory” while at the same time stimulate and engage others to become partner in the Charter. Download the entire entry as well as a list of best practices which EFA has compiled.