Below is an article published by UNPO:

Convened by the Centre Maurits Coppieters, the authors of a recent report, ‘The Case for a Cultural Footprint: Protecting and promoting cultural diversity in Europe’ presented their work in an exchange chaired by Günther Dauwen (Secretary-General of the Centre Maurits Coppieters) and featuring Johan Häggman (European Commission) and the office of François Alfonsi (Member of the European Parliament).

Presenting their research, Elna Roig spoke first of the importance cultural diversity had in supporting and sustaining innovation in society.  There was also a need to judge the intergenerational equity of cultural resources and capacities, drawing on the thinking associated with the ecological footprint methodology.  Sustainable and structural development were both highly contingent on culture Ms. Roig noted as a key theme in her presentation.

There was a strong interconnection between political, cultural, and economic development Jordi Baltà, co-researcher of the report, noted.  The next steps would be to see how the report’s conclusions could be developed.  This would include investigations into the positive and negative aspects that could be associated with the ‘footprint’ concept and how ‘win-win’ policies could be devised to support cultural diversity.

Remarking on the work, Johan Häggman believed it “should be read by all decision-makers” and could be the basis for positive action, and Ana Maria Garcia (Network to Promote Linguistic Diversity) supported the need to see linguistic diversity “not only protected but promoted” while Andrew Swan (UNPO) noted the important role of interaction between cultures and believed there was a need to bridge statement and implementation on many questions of culture in the EU.

The office of François Alfonsi MEP, who will be co-president of the European Parliament’s Intergroup for Traditional Minorities, National Communities and Languages from January 2012,  expressed the hope that this tenure would include a study into the economy of cultural diversity and the opening of funding lines to so-called ‘non-official’ languages of the European Union – moves that had already begun.

Note: To download a copy of ‘The Case for a Cultural Footprint,’ please click here.