The ENCATC Talks were launched on 8 May 2020 at the initiative of ENCATC Member Avril Joffe from the University of the Witwatersrand. This project aims to offer the cultural management and policy community a virtual space to exchange practice, methodology, ideas and projects proposals.

The Art Talks bring together international artists and cultural and creative professionals—especially from the art market—for dynamic, in-person discussions on current trends and challenges in the cultural and creative sectors. Often held alongside major art fairs or as part of the ENCATC Culture Happy Hours, these gatherings foster meaningful exchange, fresh perspectives, and valuable connections. Each session concludes with networking moments, creating a vibrant space for dialogue, collaboration, and community building across the global cultural landscape.

Established in April 2020, the ENCATC Think Tank is a cross-sectoral and transnational platform that brings together representatives from EU cultural networks and European and international institutions, as well as cultural professionals, academics, and researchers. Functioning at the intersection of research, policy and practice, it aims to produce evidence-based outputs designed to inform and support multi-level policy development, from local to European and international levels. By encouraging strategic knowledge exchange among networks and researchers, the ENCATC Think Tank promotes innovation through shared data, common indicators, and joint research methodologies.

Cultural Happy Hour is ENCATC’s flagship initiative designed to bridge the long-standing gap between European cultural networks, EU institutions and Brussels’ local arts and cultural ecosystem. Since 2013, these informal yet strategic gatherings have created a shared space for professionals from across Europe to connect, exchange, and build partnerships — breaking institutional silos, increasing access to European cooperation and funding, and strengthening cultural collaboration across borders.

This working group aims to improve academic standards and quality of education by breaking stereotypes, understanding “otherness”, and embracing diversity in education. The goal is to lead to innovative approaches in managing creative projects and new working opportunities for graduate students, keeping in mind the economic, social and academic impact of internationalisation to extend beyond personal growth and contribute to the advancement of the arts and culture field as a whole. This working group will convene each year through 4 online webinars and one meeting in presence. One of the outcomes will be the production of a toolkit for the internationalisation of culture programmes including a list of best practices at the end of 2026, to be updated in 2028, and similarly an article each for the annual Policy Tracker in 2026 and 2028.