L-R: Simonas Kairys, Lithuanian Culture Minister; Lina Mendoni, Greek Culture Minister; Catherine Magnant, EU Commission; Sam Tanson, Luxembourg Culture Minister; Roselyne Bachelot-Narquin, French Culture Minister; Ambassador Claire Lignières-Counathe;
Credit: MCULT
On Monday 4 April 2022, Luxembourg's Minister of Culture, Sam Tanson, participated in the Council of the European Union (EU) of Ministers of Culture.
With the Council taking place exceptionally in Luxembourg, EU Culture Ministers resumed the discussions begun at the beginning of March 2022 on the subject of the measures (to be) adopted in support of artists and creative professionals and Ukraine's culture scene.
Joining his EU counterparts by videoconference, the Ukrainian Minister of Culture, Oleksandr Tkachenko, once again delivered a poignant testimony to the current situation in Ukraine. Launching an insistent call to support his country and to react together as Europeans united by values, he deplored the disinformation spread by Russian media channels, as well as the instrumentalisation of culture and artists in support of Russian propaganda and the destruction of Ukraine's cultural heritage.
During their discussions, the ministers highlighted the many initiatives and mobilisations observed at the national level, by both public and private cultural actors. They also agreed on the need to centralise this information via a single portal at the European level, to mobilise existing European instruments and to provide additional funding, in particular for the reconstruction of cultural heritage, in coordination with other international forums. Luxembourg's Culture Minister Sam Tanson supported these proposals and drew particular attention to the need to fully involve all levels of government in Ukraine.
The Council also adopted conclusions on strengthening intercultural exchanges through the mobility of artists and cultural and creative professionals, as well as through multilingualism in the digital age. The ministers approved a text called "Building a European Strategy for the Cultural and Creative Industries Ecosystem".
On the sidelines of the Council, Minister Tanson met her Lithuanian counterpart, Simonas Kairys, for an exchange focusing in particular on the European Capital of Culture projects, Kaunas 2022 and Esch2022. She also met with the French and Greek Ministers of Culture, Roselyne Bachelot-Narquin and Lina Mendoni, respectively. The visiting Culture Ministers had the opportunity to learn more about the general concept of "Remix" as part of the Esch2022 project during a presentation in Esch-Belval. They then took part in a guided tour of the exhibitions currently in progress at the Möllerei and Massenoire buildings, which deal with eminently cultural subjects relating to the construction, deconstruction and reconstruction of identities in Europe and in the Minett region.
