‘What Can Culture Do?’ Roundtable in Brussels

We co-organised a ‘What Can Culture Do?’ roundtable in Brussels with the Brussels Institute for Geopolitics (BIG). This event is part of the ‘What Can Culture Do’ tour, a series of listening sessions across Europe organized by our Foundation to prepare for its strategic plan for 2025-2030. These sessions aim to gather insights, expectations and hopes from a diverse European community, discussing how culture can address current challenges. In Brussels, high-level participants, explored culture’s role in advancing Europe’s strategic response to geopolitical issues.

The tour focuses on four guiding questions: What can Culture do? What can Philanthropy do? What is the #1 challenge in Europe for the upcoming years? And what can we do together? Amongst the participants in Brussels were Luuk van Middelaar (Director, BIG), Lars Ebert (Secretary General, Culture Action Europe), and Georg Häusler (Director for Culture, Creativity, and Sport in the European Commission, DG EAC). The discussions were enriched by an input paper from BIG and contributions from representatives of ARTE, the Boghossian Foundation-Villa Empain, BOZAR, the House of European History, Kunstenfestivaldesarts, WIELS, and Writers Festival of Belgium. This gathering provided a platform for diverse voices to share their perspectives on the most pressing challenges and opportunities in the cultural sector. For more information about the Brussels event please click here.

The ‘What Can Culture Do’ tour exemplifies our commitment to fostering a collaborative space for critical debate and strategic thinking. By engaging with partners, friends, grantees, and others across Europe, we aim to shape a comprehensive and forward-looking cultural strategy.