Please note that updates may occur until the start of the event, so we recommend checking the program periodically for the latest version.
Thursday, July 2nd
Sessions available online via Zoom are marked below each session description.
16:30 – 18:00 | Culture for People, People for Culture
A panel on cultural democracy and the role of European policy making in support of cultural institutions to become more inclusive.
Projects like Training for the Contact Zone (TCZ) and the notion of cultural institutions as “contact zones” highlight the need to discuss what cultural democracy really means in practice. Beyond engaging more people to enjoy and participate in cultural life, they highlight the challenge of bringing together diverging and contested (hi)stories in a space of dialogue and dissent, as well as the ability to hold tension and create new narratives that we cannot yet fully comprehend.
The panel will discuss upcoming opportunities in policymaking and how inspiring practices across Europe — such as those developed through TCZ — can inform future policies and funding opportunities to support urgently needed transformations.
Moderated by Lars Ebert, Secretary General, Culture Action Europe
Panelists:
- Angelos Agalianos, Senior Policy Officer, European Commission (DG EAC)
- Alexandra Xanthaki, UN Special Rapporteur on Cultural Rights
- Carmen González Gómez, Permanent Representation of Spain to the EU
- Barbara van Lindt, Director, KAAI Theatre
Available online via Zoom, including audience Q&A
18:00 – 19:00 | Evening Reception
Friday, July 3rd
09:00 – 09:30 | Arrival, Coffee & Living Archive
Begin the day by exploring stories, methods, and reflections emerging from the TCZ trainings through a living exhibition of practices from across Europe.
09:30 – 10:25 | Step into the Contact Zone
Through a series of facilitated exercises, participants will meet one another, share experiences, and establish a common framework for the conversations ahead.
Facilitated by Carina Moutinho and Fernando Almeida, Pele together with Kerem Çelikoğlu, Culture Action Europe
10:25 – 10:30 Welcome Words
Available online via Zoom
10:30 – 11:00 | From Practice to Proposal: A Roadmap Manifesto
Grounded in the experiences, tensions, and reflections emerging from the project, this session introduces a collective vision for how Contact Zone practices can inform future cultural policy, institutional practice, and public life. Moving from lived experience to broader proposals, the session opens a conversation on what kinds of support structures, alliances, and cultural shifts are needed today.
With Marie-Heller Soignet, Human Platform, and Luiza Moroz, Culture Action Europe
Available online via Zoom
11:00 – 11:15 | Inside the Training
A short introduction to the TCZ methodology, offering participants insight into the principles, tools, and experiences that shape the Contact Zone training approach.
With by Micol Manunta, H401
Available online via Zoom
11:15 – 11:30 | Break
11:30 – 12:30 | Learnings from the Field
What happens when a curriculum on dialogue, mediation, contested narratives, and heritage is tested in practice? This session presents several field notes from the TCZ trainings, combining trainer reflections and concrete examples to explore what changed when the methodology met local realities.
Facilitated by Adi Levant, Etz-Hayyim Synagogue.
With contributions from:
- Micol Manunta, H401
- Hédi Turai, Human Platform
- Carina Moutinho, Pele
Available online via Zoom
12:30 – 14:00 | Lunch Break
14:00 – 16:00 | Where Does the Contact Zone Live?
Through a participatory session, participants are invited to explore how Contact Zone approaches resonate across different sectors, organisations, and contexts. Moving between small- group conversations and collective reflection, the session creates space to exchange experiences and imagine how these practices might take root in different fields and communities.
Facilitated by Roberto Gómez de la Iglesia, Conexiones Improbables
With contributions from:
- Brikena Xhomaqi, Lifelong Learning Platform
- Sergio Servellon, Network of European Museum Organisations
- Ioana Crugel, Association des centres culturels de rencontre (ACCR)
- Robert Kieft, European Spaces of Culture at EUNIC
- Marco Fiore, MCA – Michael Culture Association
- Maria Hansen, ELIA
Hybrid session: on-site and online participation
16:00 – 16:30 | Break
16:30 – 17:30 | How Do We Make Structural Change?
What needs to change for Contact Zone practices to become recognised, supported, and embedded more widely? Connecting grassroots experiences with adult education, policy, funding, and institutional perspectives, this session explores the conditions needed for long-term cultural change.
Contributors:
- Het Geluid Maastricht, Romy Roelofsen and Gable Roelofsen
Benjamin Caton, Decolonial Indonesian Dutch Commemoration
Available online via Zoom
17:30 – 17:45 | Closing Reflections
A moment to gather final reflections and close the day together.
Facilitated by Lars Ebert, Culture Action Europe
Available online via Zoom
17:45 – 19:00 | Closing Reception
