Brussels, 16/11/2010 (Agence Europe) - The next session of the “Education, Youth, Culture and Sport Council” will take place on 18 - 19 November in Brussels, under Belgian presidency. The agenda is a full one and conclusions are expected in each of the different sectors.
The session will open up on Thursday morning on culture and audiovisual subjects, under the chairmanship of Minister La Fadila Laanan. The Council will adopt the European Union action plan in the domain of culture for the next three years. The following priorities have been established: cultural diversity, the intercultural dialogue and accessible and inclusive culture, the cultural and creative industries, skills and mobility, cultural heritage including the mobility of collections, culture in external relations and statistics on culture. Ministers will also adopt conclusions on the role of culture in the fight against poverty and social inclusion, as part of the European Year against Poverty and Social Exclusion (2010). Member states are invited to consider developing further cultural and artistic programmes (factors of social inclusion for people experiencing precarious living conditions). The Council will also begin a discussion on the progress achieved with regard to the European heritage label for which most of the blockages existing on this question have now been removed. So far, there are still two stumbling blocks: the question of where funding will come from in 2013 and the institution that will designate which sites will receive the label. Finally, the Council will officially designate Mons in Belgium as one of the two European capitals for culture in 2015. The European Parliament's education and culture committee adopted its opinion on 27 October in this regard, before the adoption planned for the December plenary session (EUROPE 10250). In the audiovisual field, ministers will adopt conclusions on European cinematographic heritage. The conclusions will focus on two subjects: the transition from the analogical era to the digital epoch, as well as the link between funding policies for cinema and cinematographic heritage. Conclusions will also be adopted on the opportunities and challenges contained in the digital era for European cinema. In the draft text, the urgency of shifting to digital cinema is underlined, as well as public policies that should help support this transition. Cultural and audiovisual factors involved in the digital strategy will then be tackled during the orientation debate.
Thursday afternoon will focus on sport, under the chairmanship of Minister Philippe Muyters. Two series of conclusions will be adopted for this sector. The first will involve the role of the EU in the fight against doping at an international level, and the second will be about sport as a source and lever for proactive social inclusion. In the fight against doping, the draft conclusions reaffirm the necessity for EU member states to coordinate their positions upstream from World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) meetings, in relation to existing Community provisions, particularly those related to the free movement of sportsmen and women and the protection of personal data. With regard to the question of sport as a proactive lever for social inclusion, the draft conclusions distinguish three priorities for obtaining these objectives: access to sporting activities for all citizens, better use of sports potential in creating social fabric, social cohesion and inclusive growth, as well as the transnational exchange of strategies and methods. The Council will also put in place a structured high-level dialogue with actors involved in the sporting arena and will produce a resolution to this end. Ministers will also proceed to an exchange of views on social inclusion in sport.
The day session on Friday will focus on education and youth, under the chairmanship of Minister Pascal Smet. In the education field, the Council will adopt several series of conclusions. Firstly, on the subject of enhanced European cooperation in professional teaching for 2011-2020, as a direct part of the so-called “Copenhagen” process, the objective of which is to encourage a greater take-up of the opportunities provided in professional learning schemes. An informal ministerial meeting takes place every two years to measure what progress has been accomplished. The next meeting of this kind will take place on 7 December in Bruges and the discussions will be guided by the conclusions adopted during the present Council. The Council will also adopt conclusions on “Youth in Movement”, the Commission's flagship initiative contained within the EUROPE 2020 strategy and which aims to free up the potential of young people towards achieving smart, sustainable and inclusive growth in the European Union. The Council is expected to give a very warm welcome to this new initiative. Ministers will also adopt conclusions on improving basic skills as part of the European cooperation framework for schools in the 21st century. Based on the observation of deteriorating basic skills (reading, mathematics and science), the draft conclusion emphasises several areas requiring greater attention in order to raise standards, particularly with regard to how programmes are devised, promoting an interest in reading and the impact of new technologies and the gendered dimension. Finally, ministers will for the first time adopt conclusions on education as part of sustainable development, in an effort to respond to the observation made in the 2009 report on the EU strategy in favour of sustainable development. This report highlighted the need of promoting lifelong training, education about sustainable development and raising awareness. Ministers will close with an exchange of views on the role of education in the fight against poverty, inequality and social exclusion.
With regard to questions related to youth, ministers will adopt conclusions aimed at facilitating youth access to culture. Conclusions will also target European and international political agendas in the area childhood, youth and children's rights. The Council will also adopt a resolution on socio-educational animation. This text recognises the crucial importance of animation in terms of non-formal learning and encourages member states to give this tool greater importance. The session will close with a public debate on “urban” youth and Europe. Ministers will debate problems related to social inclusion of young people in poor urban areas and the violence that can grow out of crisis situations. (I.L./transl.fl)