Cultural Differences

Publication: EUROPE-CHINA CULTURAL COMPASS

This post comes to you from Cultura21

Orientation for Cultural Cooperation Between China and Europe

Free download link at the end of this post !

As a result of the project EUROPE-CHINA CULTURAL COMPASS, a publication is now available, addressing the question of intercultural communication and cooperation. In the framework of an ongoing dialogue between China and Europe, the project was generated from an initiative by partners of EUNIC (European Union National Institutes for Culture) in China, the Goethe-Institut, the British Council, and The Danish Cultural Institute.

Alongside with a glossary with selected intercultural key-vocabulary, the Compass includes  knowledge about the way of working and the cultural background of both countries.

It is intended to make a contribution to the understanding of cultural differences in order to facilitate and improve the cultural cooperation and is targeted both at European and Chinese readers. Exchanges and co-productions between European and Chinese practitioners in all fields of creative culture are supposed to be fostered.

The publication EUROPE-CHINA CULTURAL COMPASS can be seen as an essential tool for further collaboration and as a prelude to the coming Sino-European Year of Intercultural Dialogue. It makes relevant perspectives for cultural cooperation available for European and Chinese stakeholders serves as a knowledge base for cultural managers and players.

Instead of intending to be a ready-made toolkit, it is rather aimed to give an impulse for further exchanges of experience.

EUROPE CHINA CULTURAL COMPASS was commissioned by EUNIC (European Union National Institutes for Culture).

You are able to download the publication for free here:
http://www.eunic-online.eu/node/445

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Cultura21′s international network, launched in April 2007, offers the online and offline platform for exchanges and mutual learning among its members.

The activities of Cultura21 at the international level are coordinated by a team representing the different Cultura21 organizations worldwide, and currently constituted of:

– Sacha Kagan (based in Lüneburg, Germany) and Rana Öztürk (based in Berlin, Germany)
– Oleg Koefoed and Kajsa Paludan (both based in Copenhagen, Denmark)
– Hans Dieleman (based in Mexico-City, Mexico)
– Francesca Cozzolino and David Knaute (both based in Paris, France)

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Success for New Life Copenhagen Festival during COP15

Success for art festival during COP15

NEW LIFE COPENHAGEN was a great success and expects to continue during COP16 in Mexico

During COP15, the untraditional art festival NEW LIFE COPENHAGEN has hosted the free hospitality of more than 3.000 climate guests from 108 different nationalities. Activists, grassroots, scientists, diplomats and delegates have lived on couches and in guest rooms in Danish homes for the past two weeks. This vast cultural meeting makes NEW LIFE COPENHAGEN the largest free private housing project worldwide in relation to an international summit or conference.

The social success of the summit

The organizers behind the project, Wooloo.org, is very satisfied with the outcome. The large cultural meeting went by and large without problems, and the reactions from the participants have been overwhelmingly positive.  Wooloo.org states:

Most of the hosts chose to spend a lot of time with their guests. The hosts showed them Copenhagen, discusse climate politics, cultural differences, food and so much more. They sat and talked all night, and the younger participants went out at night – some of them even started dating. Others have already made plans to visit their guests in their home country next year.

A social experiment

The objective of the art festival was always to create something more than a free hospitality project. Wooloo.org says:

Instead of inviting artists to create art pjeces for a traditional museum, we have chosen guest hospitality and meetings between people as our exhibition platform. The purpose of the festival is to create a foundation for new ways of living together. Individual solutionas are not enough. As a society we need to live of lives radically differen if we are to succeed with the climate changes.

With this objective as a starting point, the artist group Superflex asked participants to make an absurd choice to decide if they wanted a climate-friendly death if they were to die during the summit. Signa made a special guest- and host book for all participants where particpants could evaluate each other’s lifestyle patterns, and the activist duo The YesMen encouraged everybody to take a pledge to never drink Coca-Cola again.

The success continues in Mexico

Already now, the world is looking ahead to the next climate summit in Mexico (COP16). And the organization behind is already very positive about implementing NEW LIFE as a way of welcoming climate guests and once again examine new ways of living together by the hand of a series of challenging choices and happenings developed by Wooloo.org and other artists.

NEW LIFE COPENHAGEN is the largest private and free accommodation project worldwide ever in relation to an international summit. NEW LIFE COPENHAGEN is funded by the Danish Arts Council, Nordic Culture Point, the Danish Arts Foundation, the City of Copenhagen, People’s Climate Action, Tryg Vesta and the Danish Society for Nature Conservation.

For more information:  www.newlifecopenhagen.com / www.wooloo.org