As the European Cultural Foundation explained, Brexit is a symptom and not a cause and we need to consider it as a “igniting moment in time that creates a new positive sense of urgency and forges a renewed commitment to building and and strengthening shared European cultural spaces, of which the UK has always been and will always be part.”
For this reason Brexit is not something happened on the 31st of January that we can afford to forget fastly.
We are convinced the ongoing political and institutional alienation between the United Kingdom and the rest of the EU must not lead to a more cultural and societal separation, neither in the UK nor in other European societies. We want to look beyond the institutional realities and emphasise the importance of relating to each other in person, through both everyday encounters: at work, while travelling, in libraries, cafés and pubs, and also online interaction.
True cultural exchange and European experiences can counter the widening gaps between people and can help to overcome political divides. We believe in an open, democratic and inclusive Europe. Culture plays an important role in that, as the space for exchange and dialogue about differences, and the goal is to unearth frictions – we don’t need to all agree but we do need to talk to each other.
Based on our experiences, long-standing cooperation and broad networks, we are committed to creating even more European sentiment, through shared European experiences and more European exchanges. For all Europeans: in the countryside or in cities, living in the East or in the West, in the North or the South, born here and arrived here. We need to work, learn and live together. Everyday. And from now on harder than yesterday.”
Citizens, socially engaged practitioners, opinion makers, cultural workers and representatives of institutions, join us in co-shaping a European cultural space!
Source: European Cultural Foundation
