Faced with ecological emergencies and the threats of lasting climate change, culture is mobilizing and wants to play its part in this common fight. During the culture forum of the Eurocities network, organized in Lille (Nord) at the end of the week, around twenty European cities signed an appeal for a culture that is more accessible to all and less polluting.
In the face of intensifying climate change, the real effects of which are more and more evident, the signatories recognize that it is high time to act and commit to a program to modify the habits and behaviors of the cultural sector. . The text, unfortunately, badly written, written in bureaucratic Newspeak, suffers, despite its good will, from being steeped in hollow and boilerplate concepts which at times discourage reading it to the end, as certain articles are agreed. Nevertheless, it is appropriate to take note of the formal commitment of the players in this sector, who have noted the date of 2025, set by the experts of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), beyond which man’s damage to the environment could become irreversible.
Materials, natural spaces, mobility…
The signatories of this call commit to 16 points that cultural events must respect. Preserve resources, in particular by promoting the reuse of materials, via the circular economy. Respect natural spaces in the city. Rethink mobility, by limiting and streamlining travel. Relocate activities. Promote local exchanges and short circuits. Make a reasoned use of digital. Train in the challenges of ecological transition. Correct all the barriers to access to culture.
Obviously, this solemn appeal does not dispense with general principles, which have been constantly recalled for ages, such as the development of cultural and artistic diversity, the guarantee of gender parity in cultural policies which must henceforth to integrate “gender issues”, increasing citizen participation. So many old moons, regularly agitated, the effects of which are slow to be noticed but which it is good to recall systematically to clear your conscience. To be continued, then…