Brussels, 01/10/2007 (Agence Europe) - A new Eurobarometer survey published on 27 September has revealed that two-thirds of Europeans feel that they share elements of a collective culture. Nearly nine out of ten Europeans say that culture, cultural exchanges and intercultural dialogue should have an important place in the EU. The survey was carried out during the spring and covered 26,000 citizens throughout Europe from a wide variety of backgrounds. It was presented at the first European Culture Forum in Lisbon on 26 - 28 September 2007, which brought business, cultural operators and policy makers together to explore the importance of culture.
The main findings of the survey are as follows: 1) a very large proportion of Europeans (89%) perceive a greater need for 'culture' to be promoted at EU-level; 2) 88% feel that cultural exchanges are important, and they call on the European Union to facilitate cultural exchanges for Europeans, and so promote intercultural dialogue; 3) 77% of Europeans feel that culture is important in their lives; 4) 76% of the respondents consider that Europe's cultural diversity is the defining characteristic of Europe, and that this diversity actually helps to increase the impact of European culture; 5) 67% of Europeans consider that when compared with other continents, the European countries have a lot of cultural aspects in common; 6) 58% of respondents were positive about the effects of globalisation on European culture, saying that it will give new dynamism to European culture, thereby extending the influence of Europe in the world; 7) education and culture is considered important in promoting understanding among Europeans. In this context, 56% of the respondents state that foreign language teaching in schools would help the Europeans know each other better, and 41% consider that the intensification of exchange programmes for the students and professors would have the same effect.
The European Commission is pleased to announce that these survey results give clear support for its recent policy statement, in the form of the communication on a European agenda for culture, in which member states were encouraged to recognise the importance of culture. For further details of the results of the Eurobarometer survey on the cultural values of Europeans please see: (http: //ec.europa.eu/culture) and (http: //ec.europa.eu/culture/eac/sources_info/studies/eurobarometer_en.html). (il)