What they say about “A Soul for Europe”
The EU has reached a stage of its history where its cultural dimension can no longer be ignored. .... Europe is not only about markets, it is also about values and culture. If the economy is a necessity for our lives, culture is really what makes our life worth living.
José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission
You don't fall in love with an internal market.
Jacques Delors, Former President of the European Commission
I am quite sure that Europe already has a soul, but does Europe have a heart, Commissioner?
Bronislaw Geremek †
Europe is not taking advantage of its emotional potential! Who loves his (or her) country on account of its politics or its economy? No one! ... These young people now suffering from a "European withdrawal" will one day turn against European policy makers with the harsh and bitter reproach: Why did you allow a whole generation to get bored of Europe?!
Wim Wenders, Film Director
Today’s twentysomethings are eager to change the world, but they won’t manage unless they can develop and apply their own tools. Coolpolitics' answer to this is a series of debates at pop festivals between artists and politicians which are broadcasted on MTV. Thousands of young people attend such debates. And that doesn't even include MTV's viewers.
Farid Tabarki, Director of CoolPolitics Research
The European Union cannot possibly take the place of the United States as the leader of the world. But it can set an example for the world in international cooperation both within its own borders and beyond. ... The prospect of membership has been the most powerful tool in turning candidate countries into open societies. As a result, the European Union has already been serving as an inspiring example although most people in the European Union do not realize it.
George Soros, Chairman of the Open Society Institute
One does not become a German. As a migrant, one remains an Iranian, a Turk, an Arab, even in the second and third generation. However, one can become a European. One can declare oneself a European, because Europe is a community of will and not the name of a religion or an ethnicity.
Navid Kermani, German-Iranian writer
Uncertainty is the luxury of a responsible citizen ... Culture can help you to overcome it. You have to decide whether you want to remain a complaining voter or a responsible European citizen.
Steve Austen, Cultural entrepreneur and co-founder of “A Soul for Europe“
The initiators of “A Soul for Europe” started this project because they feel responsible for Europe. If there is something which is common between the top-ranking personalities who initiated “A Soul for Europe“ and the young generation involved in the Strategy Group then it is the personal responsibility of engaged citizens.
Yuriy Vulkovsky, Executive Director of Altera Foundation
Culture is the basis of our value system and it is also a prerequisite for the economics on national and European level.
Roland Berger, Chairman of Roland Berger Strategy Consultants
Culture is not a space devoid of politics. Culture is not a Garden of Eden for intellectual and artistic elites. Culture is our way of living as humans. It teaches us to coexist in a humane way. Indeed, it is the essence of what politics is all about. That is why it belongs on the front pages of our media and should occupy an important place on the agenda of the Parliament, Council and Commission of the European Union.
Richard von Weizsäcker, Former President of the Federal Republic of Germany
What we have here is more than just a problem of communication in both directions, explaining and listening. It's also about the lack of a European public sphere. Europeans read different newspapers and watch different television channels, usually in different languages. The only publications all may have read are American ones. There are virtually no pan-European media.
Timothy Garton Ash, Professor at the University of Oxford
The European citizens live in parallel media universes, in different information worlds. This leads to fears and misunderstandings that reduce cross-border confidence, empathy and solidarity. The solution would lie in intensifying the dialogue between the national public spheres by means of international media networks on the Internet.
Gabriella Gönczy, Journalist
The “No” in France, the Netherlands and Ireland showed clearly that there is no relationship between Europe and the citizens. We need to make sure that Europe does not become a boring organization that no one is interested in. We need new communication paths and co-operation models between the civil society and the European institutions, national governments and other authorities.
Nele Hertling, Co-founder of "A Soul for Europe“
Complaints about the EU's remoteness from the citizens are not sufficient. Also the citizens have to take an active part in the project EU.
Dieter Berg, Chairman of the Board of the Robert Bosch Foundation
Compagnia di San Paolo has joined the “Soul for Europe” Initiative since its beginning, as it believes that cultural assets and shared experiences can foster the idea of European citizenship. Compagnia, one of the biggest Foundations in Europe based in Turin, has a strong tradition in supporting initiatives at international level in partnership with other actors from the non-profit sector aimed to improve the role of civil society in the development of European cultural policies and in the building of a European Union based on civil and cultural values.
Dario Disegni, Head of Cultural Affairs of Compagnia di San Paolo
The European Union is not only a union of sovereign States, but also a union of people which share a common supranational European citizenship. In the quest to find the balance between these two dimensions of European integration, the European cultural dimension could emerge as a catalytic element.
Emílio Rui Vilar, President of the Board of Trustees of the Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian
The EU culture programme is funded by 0.7 cents per capita, per year, but we need 70 cent per capita, per year, and we should do everything to at least approximate this demand in the budget.
Doris Pack, MEP and Chairwoman of the European Parliament's Committee on Culture and Education
That the European Union feels obliged to function, so to speak, as Europe’s biggest citizens’ service provider is a big step forward. But to become a true European community, we need a community not FOR Europeans but OF Europeans.
Volker Hassemer, Chairman of Stiftung Zukunft Berlin and co-founder of "A Soul for Europe“
Can film do something for a new identity, a new soul of Europe? Of course it can. It can do a lot. It can even do most of it, because it shows the European people how different they are. It shows their diversity, the cultural wealth which is the true European value. And if film can do this by evoking an interest for it, it can make a contribution towards Europeans getting to know and to love the voice and the face of each other.
István Szabó, Film Director
Our European cultural identity can be described in such a way that our different cultures are respected and accepted, and the differences endured. If we do so, then we respect each other as Europeans and can build up confidence. In the end, culture is a foundation for peace. Culture describes the way people deal with each other and get on with each other.
Hans-Gert Pöttering, MEP and Former President of the European Parliament
The “A Soul for Europe” Initiative launched a new process, centred on cultural promotion, exchange and inclusion and dedicated to understanding of our European identity. Culture is a powerful instrument for development of individual and society. Culture and education support democratic and economic reforms. They are at the heart not only of national but also of personal success.
Meglena Kuneva, EU Commissioner for Consumer Affairs
Indeed, we need to learn from the grass-roots. That is why we have asked the civil society to send us their ideas for the initiatives ... We believe that learning from best practices is essential.
Jan Figel', EU Commissioner for Education, Training, Culture and Youth
Why is there a discrepancy between what we can be proud of in Europe and what you really hear on the ground amongst the people about Europe? ... Even when we think about the very word Europe and when we think about what's in it, it has to be a project for the citizens and not just a project for the elite.
Jo Leinen, MEP
Lot of European cities are now seduced by the idea of the creative city and they try to develop this model. Creative cities attract talents. When they attract talents, they also attract business and attract tourists. The Creative City is a new model to develop European cities and regions.
Susana Marques, Director of Setepés
What we like to simplify in economics should rather be diversified in culture.
Andreas Georgi, Member of the Board of Managing Directors, Dresdner Bank AG
