We can no longer put off re-thinking the economic structures that have been producing, financing and funding culture up until now. Many of the old models have become anachronistic and detrimental to civil society. The aim of this document is to promote innovative strategies to defend and extend the sphere in which human creativity and knowledge can prosper freely and sustainably.

The FCForum brings together key organisations and active voices in the spheres of free/libre culture and knowledge. It responds to the need for an international arena in which to put together and coordinate a global framework for action.

Standing up to the powerful lobbies of the copyright industries, the FCForum is a space for creating tools and strengthening civil society in regards to the creation and distribution of art, culture and knowledge in the digital age.

In the five years since the Cultural Leadership Programme (CLP) was established it has succeeded in raising the profile of leadership development across the arts and wider cultural and creative sector to create an important and enduring legacy of leadership capability that goes far beyond its original objectives. Now, in consideration of todays rapidly changing environment, where the Arts Council is operating with an overall cut to grant in aid of 29.6% and arts organisations are looking to extend their roles and responsibilities within the wider cultural landscape, it has been decided that the Cultural Leadership Programme will close in March 2011.

I will soon be teaching a new course called Arts Entrepreneurship here at Drexel. I've been preparing for this on and off since last summer. In addition to reviewing literature and current thinking on the topic I have been looking at offerings in various higher education locations, especially those with a music focus.

There appears to be some confusion regarding just what arts entrepreneurship means. Some researchers have been able to identify 2 distinct tracks, or types of entrepreneurship. One relates to enhanced student preparation for careers or potential careers after graduation. The other mirrors "true" entrepreneurship, the creation of new ventures and enterprises. It appears to me that too much emphasis is being placed on the former definition here, not the latter.

The present trend in the politicization of American public education through the demonization of teacher's unions, the closing and "restructuring" of schools that are replaced with or encroached upon by charter schools, and the emphasis on high-stakes testing as a way of measuring student progress is increasingly marginalizing good teaching and good learning. This trend is most common in many "low-performing" public schools, many of which have multiple reasons for low student achievement that are only tangentially connected to their educational experience.

Hosted by the Sinfonia ViVA the 26th ABO annual conference in Derby (Midlands) from February 16 -18 with many representatives from British orchestras discussed their future. These are dangerous times for arts organisations, but the annual conference is grasping the nettle and looking at how its members can ride with the punches, wrote Andrew Stewart in the conference magazine. Arts Council of England is to be expected announcing its cuts end of March 2011 which will mean some "bloody" decisions.

Gerald Mertens (German Orchestra Association) reports on the ABO annual conference 2011.

Rocco Landesman, Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, announced that a grant of $20,000 has been awarded to support the creation of the 6th edition of The Fundamentals of Arts Management, the Arts Extension Services signature book used by 45% of the colleges and universities that teach arts management courses. The project is one of 1,057 recommended for a grant as part of the federal agencys first round of fiscal year 2011 grants. In total, the Arts Endowment will distribute $26.68 million to support projects nationwide.

Founded in 1973, Arts Extension Service (AES) is a national arts service organization housed at the University of Massachusetts Amherst with a mission to develop the arts in communities and community through the arts with professional education for arts managers, artists and civic leaders.An independent agency of the federal government, the NEA advances artistic excellence, creativity, and innovation for the benefit of individuals and communities. NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman said, I continue to be impressed with the creative, innovative, and excellent projects brought forward by arts organizations across the country. Our grantees are not only furthering their art forms but also enhancing their neighborhoods by making them more vibrant, livable, and fun."

The DeVos Institute of Arts Management Internship Program provides valuable on-the-job instruction for current college students (juniors and seniors) and recent graduates pursuing careers in arts management. Interns enjoy close working relationships with experienced arts management professionals, hands-on work opportunities, weekly seminars, and an integrated blend of independent and collective learning experiences. Internship placements, in departments throughout the Kennedy Center, are full-time and last three to four months depending on the program semester.

Program dates and application deadlines:

Dame Liz Forgan, Chair of Arts Council England (ACE) and Alan Davey, Chief Executive of ACE, were forced to defend their organisation at the latest evidentiary session of the Select Committee on the funding of Arts and Heritage. They were accused of bringing ACEs budget cuts on themselves through wastage and mismanagement, but both Forgan and Davey offered a robust defence: Davey claimed that ACE has probably done best out of the quangos that the DCMS funds, weve done better than Sport England and National Heritage. He rejected the assertion that ACE had got a raw deal from the government. Forgan agreed, saying our settlement should not be seen as a punishment for failing in our duty.

Nowadays, there are heavy demands on museum executives. They are supposed to open up the design of the institution of the museum while preserving all its complexity, break up obsolete organisational structures and hierarchies, and change institutional cultures. But what strategies can executives employ to successfully implement the necessary change processes and at the same time actively involve employees, stakeholders and visitors? What are the success factors for an organisational and social transformation and what key competencies are needed to be a successful leader? We would like to deal with the basic principles of leadership under the conditions of the organisational and social change of museums and show the way to a reflective practice in training sessions and discussions tailored to the needs of participants and supported by renowned practitioners.

The Culturelink Network invites you to participate in the research study "Encouraging Private Investment in the Cultural Sector" that IMO, Culturelink's focal point, is currently undertaking on behalf of the European Parliament (see letter of confirmation, PDF, 78 kB). Please respond to a short questionnaire that has been designed in order to pool your knowledge and experience, as insights learned through this exercise will bring benefit to all those in Europe that are working on enhancing the cultural sector.

Currently there is no precise picture of how different EU member states encourage private funding of culture and what the financial consequences of their policies are. The absence of common understanding of basic terms, the diversity of national approaches, as well as a lack of relevant data, at EU and Member State level, make the discussion of the importance of private financing of arts and culture difficult. This means that currently it is hardly possible to properly assess and understand the socio-economic aspect of the encouragement of private funding in the cultural sector.

As museums argue their case for sustainable funding in an increasingly challenging economic climate, the requirement to prove their value will be rigorous. But the concept of value is an evolving one and developing an evidence base is a challenging task. This article examines the concept of value as an emerging phenomenon, how we describe the value of museums and what evidence we have to support our claims. It uses recent literature and research in the UK and Australia.

June 10th 15th, 2011

With this international study tour for young choral managers, the competition team is offering a chance to combine the musical impressions and experiences gained during the competition with an intensive seminar on how to organize such an event.

The work in a small and effective group of 8-10 people, the observation of the competition, the direct contact to its director and manager and the possibility to talk to the staff and to have a look back stage are an excellent opportunity for young organizers.

The first edition of the Culture Conference - Conference of Spanish Cultural Professionals and Organisations, launched by the Spanish Federation of Cultural Management Associations (FEAGC), was held in Madrid on 17 December. The meeting involved the discussion and adoption of a ''Covenant for Culture'', resulting from the contributions of over 40 organisations of culture professionals, which presents recommendations in the field of cultural policy and sets the commitments of the cultural sector as regards the challenges of contemporary society.

Ever since jotting down a few observations on theaters crappy business model, Chris Ashworth found himself mildly obsessed with finding a solution to the problem of funding theater.

Creative, cultural and innovative industries offer unique opportunities for sustainable economic development in Pacific island countries, but initiatives to promote their development must be included in National Development Plans, says the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat.

Speaking after a four-day Regional Consultation on the Cultural Industries, the Secretary General of the Forum Secretariat, Tuiloma Neroni Slade said that these industries could be developed from the traditional knowledge and rich cultures of the Pacific islands.

In order to set up a meeting point between cultural agents working in Latin America, several professionals, organisations and academic institutions from this sector have launched the Latin-American Network on Cultural Management (RedLGC).

The Cultural Human Resources Council (CHRC) in Canada, along with the Nordicity Group, are evaluating the impact of digital technology on the cultural sector.

The council want to encourage you to participate in the discussion of the impacts of digital technology that are rapidly changing the way cultural content is created, produced, distributed, marketed and consumed.

We have decided to focus this jubilee issue on one continent that unfortunately receives too little attention: Africa. There are not many people from Africa who read our newsletter, and of course there are many reasons for this. First of all, it is difficult to find authors and editorial contributions from this region and therefore we have been unable to offer much to the major role players in the African cultural sector. Add to this the language barrier. In many African countries, French, alongside the regional language, is spoken, and as our web resources are provided in English and German, we have been unable to cater directly to this. Another reason lies in the fact that there is simply a lack of infrastructure, both culturally and technically. There are few festivals, as well as theatrical and musical groups, which have access to the Internet. This will have to be a goal for the years to come, and in our opinion aid organizations must focus their efforts on access to education and information.