A migrant radio programme, a mobile application offering employment opportunities to refugees, a package of educational resources on cultural rights… These are just a few of the 50 innovative ideas trying to address the challenges of Moving Communities in Europe that will be presented in Madrid during the third edition of the Idea Camp from 1-3 March 2017.
Co-produced by the European Cultural Foundation (ECF), the City of Madrid and the Spanish cultural organisation Platoniq, the 2017 Idea Camp will bring together thinkers and professionals from fields as diverse as culture and the arts, architecture, anthropology, social activism and the media.
Candidates were invited to submit ideas about how to challenge undemocratic practices and to amplify voices that are excluded from public debate and decision-making processes. After receiving more than 600 applications from 54 countries across wider Europe, ECF selected 50 Idea Makers who will meet to share, feed and develop their ideas in the Madrid-based Daoiz and Velarde cultural centres, and Medialab-Prado – an institution that has welcomed ECF residencies since 2016 and has been awarded the 2016 ECF Princess Margriet Award.
Inspiring ideas
According to Katherine Watson, ECF’s director, “Madrid is an ideal city for developing citizen-driven ideas that offer cultural responses to deep challenges and crises. The goal is a society that is more equal, more sustainable and shows greater solidarity.”
At the end of the 2017 Idea Camp, participants will be invited to present a concrete plan to deepen the research of their ideas. A total of 25 proposals will be selected to receive an R&D grant of up to 10,000 euros each.
About Idea Camp
Idea Camp is a three-day collaborative workshop organised within the framework of Connected Action for the Commons – a network and research programme promoted by ECF and co-led by ECF and six European cultural organisations: Culture 2 Commons (Alliance Operation City, Clubture Network, Right to the City (Croatia); Les Têtes de l’Art (France); Krytyka Polityczna (Poland); Oberliht (Moldova); Platoniq (Spain); and Subtopia (Sweden).
Parallel programme: representatives of cities
The 2017 Idea Camp has also been designed as an opportunity to promote change and renewal in political, economic and media circles. In parallel with the Idea Camp, the Madrid City Council, ECF and the Connected Action for the Commons network have organised the Innovative City Development meeting, which will involve municipal representatives who are using participatory methods in their management. Representatives from Poland, Spain, Greece and Moldova will exchange ideas on the management of cities as Commons, as well as meeting with the Idea Makers.
For more information:
ECF: Friso Wiersum – [email protected] (Tel +31 647 158535)
Platoniq: Lydia Aguirre – [email protected] (Tel: +34 677 995140)
City of Madrid: Ana Sánchez – comunicació[email protected] (Tel: + 34 679 431045)