The academic congress aims to facilitate a meeting between all kinds of stakeholders who do research into cultural rights and, above all, the exchange and transfer of knowledge with society. The spaces for collaboration between research and action, the presentation of research and projects in various categories will be reinforced.

Our baseline is the idea that cultural rights are vital for exercising full democracy. We also understand that a new cultural rights “charter” cannot be effective without progress in the political, economic and territorial aspects of democracy.

The academic congress will therefore tackle three main questions:

• Are cultural rights necessary?: what public, cultural problems and conflicts demand and justify the implementation of these rights?
• Are cultural rights of fundamental importance, and for whom?: in what way do they tackle the universal needs of the general public and the specific needs of various communities and groups?
• How do we achieve the realisation of cultural rights through collective policies and actions, in both official and community spheres?

Call for proposals

This campaign is aimed at individuals and groups who carry out research into cultural rights, in both the academic sphere (universities, research centres, etc.) and in community and private organisations and bodies (including associations, cooperatives and foundations). The idea is for the congress to be a plural, diverse space with regard to the type of stakeholders and research methods. Participation is free of charge and there is no enrolment fee.

Anyone interested should send their proposals in the form of an abstract/summary of their research, with a maximum of 300 words, using this form.
Your proposal can be written in Catalan, Spanish or English.

You may present current or previously undertaken research. The proposals must fit into one of the following areas tackled by the congress:

1) Cultural participation and work. In as far as they are two sides of the same coin, this area deals with the conditions that affect the right to participate in the city's cultural life and the right to work in the cultural sector under decent conditions. Possible themes:

• Right to cultural access, creation, training, expression, communication and production.
• Legal frameworks and standards concerning the right to work in the cultural sector (artist statute, laws on cultural rights, etc.).
• Professional and living conditions for artists and cultural professionals.
• Governance and the right to participate in the formulation, implementation and evaluation of cultural policies.
• Inequalities concerning gender, class, age, territory, origins, etc., in terms of cultural participation and work. Also from an intersectional perspective.
• Individual, community and social benefits of cultural participation.
• The impact of the various forms of participation on cultural life: from receptive participation to new co-creation spaces.

2) Diversities. An area that tackles the diversity of identities, such as gender, sexual, ethnic, linguistic and origin identities, among others, which are provided for in cultural rights, as well as existing structural barriers that prevent various subjectivities from effectively exercising these rights and freely experiencing this diversity in the present-day context. Possible themes:

• Feminist cultures and the cross-cutting nature of equality.
• Historical memory and the diversity of memories.
• (Re)thinking collective memory from the subordinated perspectives of gender, ethnicity or race, sexual identity and orientation, skills and territory.
• LGTBI-phobia, racism and discrimination in cultural practices.
• Diverse and inclusive public spaces. The cultural representation deficit of “diversity” in public spaces.
• Culture, cultural policies of the far right and their exclusion practices.
• Diversities in communication spaces (from the traditional media to new social communication networks).

3) Communities. This tackles the various ways of exercising cultural rights collectively, analysing the opportunities and challenges of experiencing culture in a community. Possible themes:

• Community cultural action and management.
• Education and mediation in the arts and cultural expression.
• Open media and cultural expression.
• Culture, social welfare and community health.
• Culture and sustainability.

4) Digital rights. An area that tackles the relationships between cultural and digital rights, in terms of participation in cultural life and in relation to aspects concerning the digitalisation of culture. Possible themes:

• The concentration of digital cultural production and the platforming of culture.
• Digitalisation, cultural diversity and the promotion of Catalan culture.
• The digital divide, minority languages and cultures.
• Opportunities and inequalities in regard to access and participation in digital culture.
• Digital heritage and memory.
• The digital environment as a public space and creative freedom.
• Digital radio and audiovisual spaces.
• The digitalisation of cultural and creative industries and funding for cultural projects.

Evaluation of the proposals and the mode of presentation during the congress

The congress’ scientific committee will evaluate and select the proposals and subsequently contact the interested parties. 

When sending in proposals, applicants must opt for one of the following modalities for presenting their research during the congress (although the committee may suggest changes in this regard):

• A brief text plus an oral presentation during the congress. For the selected proposals, the text must be 1,500 words. The format of the communication or presentation may be a round table, collaborative methodologies or an artistic representation of the research.
• A poster to be presented during the congress. Certain time slots and spaces will be reserved so that the people responsible for the selected research projects can present their posters and interact with the rest of the public.
• A video-summary of the research (maximum 7 minutes long) to be screened during the congress. There will be a specific space with optimal conditions for screening.

Key dates

• 15 July: deadline for presenting proposals.
• 7 September: proposal selection results.
• 17 October: the deadline for presenting brief texts, posters and videos.
• 17-18 November: the congress.

Scientific committee

Antonio Alcántara (La Perifèrica and University of Barcelona)
Nicolás Barbieri (International University of Catalonia)
Özgür Güneş Öztürk (Col·lectivaT SCCL)
Joaquim Rius (University of Valencia)
Anna Villarroya (University of Barcelona)