Did you know that whilst the EC proposes to cut the majority of the EU programmes in the next budget they propose to increase the budget for the culture and education programmes? The EC believes that increasing the investment in culture, heritage and the arts will help get Europe back on its feet, but many Member States of the European Union oppose this increase. You can help change their mind by signing the “we are more” petition:

you can find the petition HERE

The “we are more” campaign promotes culture, heritage and the arts, together with education, social cohesion and environmental sustainability, as key areas in which the EU has to make more bold investments if it wants to reach its growth objectives and Europe to remain a thriving democracy in the future.

The two campaign demands are:

A bold and daring Culture Programme for the period 2014-2020 that will fund cutting edge artistic and cultural experimentation around our common European concerns and aspirations. A programme that will support innovative cultural co-operations, and experiment with new artistic, intercultural, social and economic models.

An increased and more explicit support to culture, heritage and the arts in the EU Regional Development Fund dedicated to cohesion and local and regional development, with the building of human, cultural and social capital, sustainable development, social inclusion, cultural participation and enhanced citizenship and governance as objectives.

The “we are more” campaign is set up by Culture Action Europe, a coalition of more than 100 organisations and many artists across Europe, in strategic partnership with the European Cultural Foundation. It is an open source advocacy tool that encourages you and your supporters to get involved and stand up for increased support to arts and culture in the policies and programmes of the European Union. wearemore.eu/

Manifesta Foundation is Ambassador for European Culture within the framework of the EACEA Culture Programme 2007 – 2013.