FESTIVALS AGREE THEY HAVE A ROLE TO PLAY IN BRINGING DOWN BARRIERS…

On 20 October 2010 in Brussels, the European Festivals Association (EFA) organised a participatory session “Festivals: Open Doors. Open Minds. Build Societies!” in the frame of the EU Forum “Building together a society for all”. The role of festivals in social developments was the central topic debated. Participants agreed: It is key that barriers to access the arts are removed as much as possible. In their very essence and with their manifold activities festivals are able to provide access for all kinds of audiences, making space and time available for a real encounter between arts/life, artists and audience. Most importantly, festivals offer artists a platform to challenge the audiences, to change their minds, to offer them different perspectives of life, to propose to them imaginary worlds, to increase their understanding of the other.