UTE - L'Union de Téâtres de l'Europe invites all EFA members to participat in the colloqium organised by the Union of the Theatres of Europe (UTE) and the Teatro Nacional São João, in collaboration with the European Theatre Convention (CTE) and the Relais Culture Europe on 7 and 8 December 2007. Teatro Europa wishes to establish a place of exchange, where to question artists, art managers, politicians and other essential cultural agents from all over Europe on the conditions and limitations of the relationship between the “territories” of contemporary creation within the performing arts,specifically within the theatre, and the public policies developed and established at different levels:local, national and European. This first meeting is the starting point of a process of reflection that should be developed more intensely from 2008 onwards. Following both the publication by the European Commission and the adoption of the Communication on a European agenda for culture in a globalizing world”, and the first European Cultural Forum, which the Portuguese Presidency and the European Commission organised last September in Lisbon, the meeting Teatro Europa, subsequently to the positive results and the conclusions of this Forum, emerges out of the necessity to question, now in further detail, the concrete connections, conditions and challenges in contemporary artistic creation. As the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, recalled in his speech at the Cultural Forum in Lisbon, 2009 will be the “Year for Creativity and Innovation”. Therefore, we wish to inscribe ourselves through this debate in this perspective, so that the cultural and theatre sectors feel included and hopefully actively participate in the preparation of the Year in question. Together with the two major European theatre networks and gathering the experience of almost 70 public theatres from 27 European countries, as well as various associated artists and other partners, Teatro Europa insists on developing and adding up new conclusions to subjects such as the role of culture within a European political project - in and outside its borders – as well as, the construction of a new European citizenship. This has, on the one hand, the aim of studying the conformities of these orientations in relation with the concrete realisations of the various national and local policies; and, on the other and, of throwing on the table new elements of reflection and discussion on elementary themes, such as the freedom of creation; which public policies can best assure and promote artistic(theatrical) creation; what sort of protection exists against all possible risks of culture’s manipulation and against the possible drift towards political strategies centred on «cultural leisure». What specific needs will the public policies have to keep in mind when defining each sector, in order to better guarantee the survival, the diversity and the development within the field of artistic creation? A field, where the interests connected with the developments of the cultural industries seem to take over more and more space, where the concept “creativity” has gradually become closely connected with economical challenges rather than cultural ones. Nevertheless, this is also where the development of a «knowledge based society», in its relation with the Lisbon strategy, shall be based, first of all, on a «society of consciousness». During two days, philosophers, artists, cultural operators, researchers and policy makers will gather around three round tables to put in question the space of artistic creation within current contemporary society in order to build on the idea of a strong and shared Europe. The role of public policies at a local, national and European level shall be questioned therefore to sustain and protect the freedom of creation from the imperatives of the market economy. The aim is to speak of Culture and economy and not of economy and culture, and at last, to let the artists speak so that they involve us in their day-to-day experience, share their difficulties, their successes and show their consciousness about their role, their responsibilities, within contemporary society. For more information: Project management: Valeria Marcolin, responsable communication, Union des Théâtres de l’Europe, at 0033 1 75 00 09 10/14 José Luis Ferreira, directeur exécutif de « Portogofone », au 00 351 22 339 30 38 and here.