Festival Cities and Regions
Arts and the artists are the matrix of each festival.
As is the city and its community.
There is no community without the arts. For whatever non-explainable reason...
Festivals and cities are Siamese twins. The need to experience the arts and culture together, the need to assemble motivated societies – urban and regional communities alike – to join together in celebration of life and creativity.
The European Festivals Association (EFA) is convinced about the importance of mayors and decision makers on the local level. We are equally convinced about the importance of the relation and collaboration between a city and its arts festivals. We also assume in our long standing collaboration with 'A Soul for Europe' that a city together with its festivals has a task to fulfill for Europe since we believe in the creative power of art and culture to strengthen the possibilities and willingness of citizens to become active in the future development of Europe.
Why?
Festivals and cities need to connect with each other in order to give their communities a temper, a spirit, a face, a soul.
Festivals makers and cities have the role and responsibility to enable encounters between the arts and people and between the people.
The EFFE Seal is a concrete committing engagement signed by cities for close collaboration with their festivals.
What?
The EFFE Seal is a project developed in the frame of FestivalFinder.eu (a)Live Now by EFA and seven cities - Belgrade, Bergen, Edinburgh, Ghent, Krakow, Leeuwarden and Ljubljana - and their stakeholders.
It is part and a concrete result of the Festival Cities Initiative. The first meeting was held in Ljubljana in 2018 with the launch of an EFA-Eurocities Declaration, followed by meetings in Lisbon, Brussels and Berlin with 'A Soul for Europe' in 2019. In 2020 a series of 5 interactive webinars between various festivals and cities networks where organised. These were the Festivals Cities conversations that led to the launch of the EFFE Seal during the Arts Festivals Summit in Yerevan (see our press release here).
The major principles of the EFFE Seal are the following:
- Seal a closer collaboration between festivals and their cities
- Support arts festivals in the cities
- Engage cities with their festivals in ‘conversations’ and ‘encounters’
- Create structured dialogue platforms between festivals and politics
How?
The EFFE Seal invites cities (organised and administered local territories, which may also be regions) to be recognised for their contribution and collective process with their festivals community.
It enables the development of exchanges between different layers including cities, audiences, artists, and other involved players, based on a joint action plan and a common set of values.
The Seal establishes a community of cities and their festivals that share these ambitions and features and stimulate others to join.
It is resulting in the development of an action programme on topics on which the community wants to exchange and work. Indeed, collaboration between a city and its arts festivals can unfold festivals’ potential in tackling the most important concerns of our era (climate responsibility, social inequalities, humanitarian crises, crises of representative democracy etc.).
For Robert Piaskowski, responsible for culture at the municipality of Krakow, “cities are mirrors of festivals and vice versa,” organically interdependent, providing language and awareness about diversity with the potential of accelerating processes important for cities. “We don’t believe festivals are only fireworks or some events over the year, but they are national social movements for change,” he said during the launch of the EFFE Seal in Yerevan. See the full power point presentation here.
Environmental Sustainability
The topic of environmental sustainability has been identified as one of the most pressing topics by the EFFE Seal stakeholders.
Krakow published an e-catalogue of best practices, launched under the "Festivals for the Climate" initiative, collecting inspiring actions taken by diverse festivals, aimed at environmental conservation, sustainable development and social inclusion. Following the example of Krakow, the EFFE Seal signatories’ cities and regions decided to gather the most notable experiences, needs and experiments of festivals in relation to the challenges of environmental sustainability (and in relation to their cities). This compilation was published in 2024 and presented in the framework of the Berlin Conference, It contributes to the European discourse on the role of festivals in relation to environmental sustainability. With this first action, EFA and the cities aim to test a format that can serve to carry deeper research to explore festival policies in EFFE Seal territories to understand how festivals are valued across policy areas and feedback this to the European Union policy level.
For Whom?
Cities and regions are recipients of the EFFE Seal in recognition of their achievements towards their festivals as well as in commitment to future collaborations.
Have a look at the video explainer: the Seal, for whom?
Cities are creative centres. They are the place where civil society has its chances to take responsibility, to cooperate with the political decision-makers on many different levels and to develop social innovation and active citizenship. The power of innovation and culture as a motor for dialogue with partners of various disciplines and citizens is immensely strong in a city.
The EFFE Seal will help cities associate and integrate their development and image to a strong cultural commitment.
Ragni Stoltenberg (advisor at the department of culture of Bergen) said during the launch of the EFFE Seal in Yerevan: “Cities and festivals need to connect with each other. The community will gain a soul, unparalleled experience or understanding of something greater than themselves”.
The Seal helps to present the members as festival cities, and being associated with vibrant locations and creative hubs and offers an additional dimension to the city brand. It improves then adherent cities’ cultural profiles. Moreover, the EFFE Seal is one more anchor from cities to the common European project, granting them more visibility on the European cultural scene.
On the conceptual level, familiarity with peers in the network helps to define the city’s own festival strategy.
On a short term practical level, festival schedules, logistics and marketing can be adjusted better.
From a global perspective, festivals can be a resource in the realisation of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Mateja Demšič, Secretary for Culture for the city of Ljubljana presented their view on the EFFE Seal (see her power point here).
Some of the signing cities provided concrete testimonies on what the EFFE Seal means for them and their festivals community. This is reflected in an article published by Euroactiv that you can find here.
Watch the session dedicated to the Launch of the EFFE Seal for festival Cities and Regions at the Arts Festivals Summit on 13 of September 2022 in Yerevan.(Start watching in minute 35:29 for the EFFE Seal Launch)
Continual Process
The moment together during the Arts Festivals Summit 2022 in Yerevan gave the 7 steering group cities (Belgrade, Bergen, Edinburgh, Ghent, Krakow, Leeuwarden and Ljubljana) a strong sense of urgency and need to go on being in touch with each other and work together on the implementation of the EFFE Seal. For this reason, a Festival Cities Steering Group is created in order to establish and implement an action plan.
After its launch during the Arts Festivals Summit 2022 in Yerevan the cities of Birgu (Malta), Cividale del Friuli (Italy) and Yerevan (Armenia) joined the founding cities and signed the EFFE Seal on that occasion. During the Arts Festivals Summit 2023 from 23 to 26 April in Peralada and Girona, 8 cities signed this initiative and committed with its principles: Aveiro (Portugal), Girona (Spain), Marneuli (Georgia), Peralada (Spain), Sagarejo (Georgia), Tartu (Estonia), Varna (Bulgaria) and Veliko Tarnovo (Bulgaria). During the last Arts Festivals Summit 2024 from 12 to 15 May on the island of Usedom, 11 new cities and regions signed the EFFE Seal: Region of Gozo (Malta), Region of Olomuc (Czechia), Region Västra Götaland (Sweden), City of Greifswald (Germany), City of Kutaisi (Georgia), City of Martina Franca (Italy), City of Miedzsyzdroje (Poland), City of Ostseebad Heringsdorf (Germany), City of Pristina (Kosovo), City of Prizren (Kosovo), and City of Wolgast (Germany).
The next signing session is planned to take place during the Arts Festivals Summit in Edinburgh from 27 April until 30 April 2025, hosted by the Edinburgh International Festival, Festivals Edinburgh, and the City of Edinburgh Council.
Cities are welcome to join our process at any time. During a dedicated press conference, the ones joining during these months will sign the EFFE Seal for Cities and Regions at this occasion.
Interaction
If you like to know more about the EFFE Seal, please write to Ana Benavides Otero at email hidden; JavaScript is required
The EFFE Seal is part of the broader ambition of EFA to bring arts under the permanent attention of audiences worldwide. EFFE stands for Europe for Festivals, Festivals for Europe. The EFFE Label is the ongoing recognition scheme that rewards festivals’ engagement towards this goal. FestivalFinder.eu is the website that offers all information about the EFFE Label and Seal in an accessible way.
More about the EFFE Seal for Festival Cities and Regions life across Europe will be shared regularly.
The Festivals Cities conversations
The Festival Cities Initiative organised a series of five interactive webinars between various festivals and cities networks on joint responsibilities and possibilities to think about the future of our shared public spaces, communities celebrations and cultural life with/after corona.
EFAcast - City of Tartu
In this episode, Simon Mundy meets Maarja Liba, Director at Tiigi Seltsimaja, and Kristiina Avik, Head of Culture at the Department of Culture, Tartu City Government.
EFAcast - City of Leeuwarden and Arcadia
In this episode of the EFAcast, Simon Mundy meets Sjoerd Bootsma, Artistic Director of Arcadia, and Hein Kuiken, Alderman of Culture of the Municipality of Leeuwarden