Skip to main content
Culture and Creativity home page Culture and Creativity home page

Culture and Creativity

Offentliggjort:  5 Dec 2022

Report indicates culture should be integral part of the EU’s health strategy

The CultureForHealth Project published its report on the positive impact of culture on health and wellbeing.

The CultureForHealth Project aims at stimulating a policy change in the EU, by bringing closer the Union’s health, cultural, and social policies. The project is co-funded by the European Commission.

The report identifies existing literature on the role of the arts and culture in healthcare, by detecting key concepts, focus points, and current gaps. The findings inspire policy recommendations and uncover the prospective challenges the EU is called to tackle, by suggesting targeted policy measures.

Art is beneficial to our health

The report illustrates that creating art itself and participating in cultural activities is beneficial to our health and productivity. The benefits include, among others:

  • improvements to quality of life
  • general and psychological wellbeing
  • development of cognitive, emotional, and social skills

The study’s key message is that culture ought to be an integral part of the EU’s health strategy. Advancing research on this subject and increasing investments in prevention and health promotion with the support of culture is critical to fostering welfare in individuals and communities across the EU.

The evidence shows that the arts and culture are valuable contributors to this purpose, and that their positive effects can help building resilience and comfort in societies.

Seminar on culture as a driver for health and wellbeing

The study’s findings were anticipated at the European Commission’s seminar “Culture: a driver for health and wellbeing in the EU”, which took place at the European Parliament on 16 November 2022 in the presence of European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, Mariya Gabriel.

The seminar emphasised that mental health and citizens’ wellbeing are amongst the EU’s primary concerns. Additional efforts are needed, by putting the arts and culture to the core of future projects inspired by the EU-funded pilot actions introduced during the high-level event.

Offentliggjort:  5 Dec 2022