2017 Congress Proceedings

The 24th ENCATC Annual Conference “Cultural Management Education in Risk Societies – Towards a Paradigm and Policy Shift?!” took place in Valencia, Spain, from 5-7 October 2016. This major international event brought together more than 140 academics, researchers, professionals from the cultural sector, policy makers, artists, students and media from over 30 countries to debate about the new paradigm and policy shift needed on cultural management and policy to face today’s risk societies.

Globalisation, technology, climate change, financial instability, and social inequality were among the challenges and uncertainties analysed and debated by the delegates during the conference and thus from a cultural policy and management perspective. To address and react to our risk realities, it is crucial to bridge influencers in policy, economics, the environment, culture and society. Creators, cultural managers, producers, entrepreneurs and leaders have the imagination to envision creative synergies among the different sectors and key players. Threats also mean that within the cultural sector there must be a continual reinvention and new ways to operate. In education and training, universities need to evaluate how and what is taught to tomorrow’s cultural managers to equip them with the skills and attitude to take on the tough questions and obstacles they will surely encounter. The research community should also be highly attuned to the trends and questions needing their attention and analytic eye.