Location: The Hall - Bradford Arts Centre | Venue Information
Address: St Peter’s House, 1 Forster Square, Bradford, BD1 4TY

Captions are available for this session.

In our opening session we welcome you to Bradford and dive straight into our discussions on cross-border collaboration - from the UK’s nearest European neighbours to wider international partnerships.

In July 2025 the European Commission presented its proposal for the new Multiannual Financial Framework that will define the European Union’s long-term budget for the period 2028-2034, which included funding increases and restructuring of programmes for culture.

At the same time, the Commission is currently finalising the Culture Compass for Europe, which will guide the EU’s strategic approach to cultural policy, including integrating it more fully as a cross-cutting priority within the Union’s policies on democracy, security, competitiveness, societal resilience, innovation and international partnerships.

We will hear from Judith Videcoq, Creative Europe Head of Unit, about the latest developments and what they mean for EU cultural policy and its place in international relations and relationships.

And three cultural leaders will present bold ideas about possible futures, focusing on disability, linguistic diversity and whether there could ever be a global Creative Europe.

The keynote will be livestreamed via Howlround on this page.

Speakers:

Judith Videcoq, Creative Europe's Head of Unit, Belgium
Einir Sion, Arts Council of Wales, Wales
Tanja Gavrilović, Cultural Advisor & Manager, Serbia/ex-Yugoslavia  
Ben Evans, Project Director, Europe Beyond Access, United Kingdom 

Shanaz Gulzar, Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture, UK
Peter Glanville, Farnham Maltings, UK
Ása Richardsdottir, IETM, Belgium