Culture and Creativity as vectors factors of Development

At the initiative of the European Commission, a Colloquium on Culture and Creation, factors of development, is organised in Brussels on 2-3 Avril 2009. Colloquium on Culture and Creation, factors of development Open to a large public, intends to gather 500 cultural and development professionals, as well as policy-makers, from ACP and EU countries and to create a true platform for debates, analysis and exchanges of views, in order to identify new solutions that could substantially strengthen future EU actions in the fields of culture and development. This initiative stems from the implementation of the European Agenda for Culture and more specifically its third objective: the promotion of culture as a vital element of the international relations of the EU. As a Party to the UNESCO Convention on the protection and promotion of the diversity of cultural expressions, the European Community, alongside the EU Member States, is committed to making cultural diversity an essential element of its external action and to developing a new and more active cultural role for Europe in international relations, notably with regards to developing countries.