On Thursday the 7th of October 2010 at 6pm, Culture Action Europe - the umbrella advocacy organisation for the arts and culture in Europe - will launch the large-scale campaign “we are more”. As well as mobilising Culture Action Europe's membership that covers over 100 members and 50.000 arts and culture players across Europe, the campaign will seek to mobilise everyone who cares about culture in Europe. The campaign launch will be hosted by BOZAR Centre for Fine Arts in Brussels, in the presence of the European Commissioner for Culture Androulla Vassiliou and campaign ambassadors Marie Daulne (BE) and Péter Forgacs (HU), as well as a personalised address from the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso. The “we are more” campaign, that will run until 2013, calls on European decision-makers to strengthen the recognition of the role of arts and culture in the development of our European societies, by explicitly supporting culture in the upcoming EU political negotiations on the 2014-2020 budget. The campaign objectives focus on improving the quality and quantity of support that the sector receives from 2 key EU policies (the Culture Programme and the EU cohesion policy). The aim is thus to increase support for cultural activities that will affect all European inhabitants and stimulate their participation in and enjoyment of the arts in the next ten years, whether at local, regional, national or European level. The name “we are more” sends a positive message that communicates the multiple ways in which individuals, communities and arts organisations do more and contribute more than is superficially apparent. - "We believe that it is necessary to go beyond the hesitation and fear stemming from the current crisis, and to re-imagine public investment to contribute to developing human, cultural and social capital - Europe's most precious assets", says Culture Action Europe's President Mrs Mercedes Giovinazzo. On Friday the 8th of October, the launch of "we are more" will be followed by Culture Action Europe's biennial conference 'The Time is Now!'. Centred around the campaign rationale and objectives, the conference conversations will inspire, argue and debate what choices we make now, and how they will alter the landscape of future EU policies for culture. More than 350 participants from all over Europe have registered for this year's conference that will be hosted by the KVS. The campaign launch will be hosted by BOZAR in Brussels on October 7th 2010. Doors open at 6 pm. The campaign website wearemore.eu will go live at the same time. If you would like more information about the we are more campaign, or to schedule an interview with the Culture Action Europe President Mercedes Giovinazzo during the campaign launch, please contact Campaign Co-ordinator Emma Ernsth on T +32 (0)-534 40 02 or emma.ernsth(at)cultureactioneurope.org. More information at www.cultureactioneurope.org and at http:www.wearemore.eu