A new push for European democracy
One of the European Commission's 2019-2024 priorities
The creative arts as tools for democracy
The European Union’s unique system of democracy invites EU citizens to play an active role in steering their future. Indeed, the push for European democracy is one of the core priorities of the current European Commission (2019-24).
Through its Creative Europe programme the European Commission supports artists, designers, filmmakers, musicians and theatre professionals in a wide range of initiatives that help consolidate and give expression to this precious democracy.
Creative Europe supports the digital arts in offering exciting opportunities to reach new audiences. These have a wider range of ages and socio-economic backgrounds than traditional theatres, art galleries and concert venues. Such new media have the potential to democratise our very idea of what ‘culture’ means to different Europeans.
The rapid expansion of new media also masks potential threats to our democracy. Creative Europe-supported projects also explore this, as the following stories reveal.
Re-imagine Europe
Socially engaged artists use digital arts and transnational collaborations to bring issues that are testing European democracy to new and wider audiences.
The Cleaners
This documentary film explores the fine line between free speech and censorship in social media.
Going behind the scenes it finds tens of thousands of secret ‘cleaners’ viewing thousands of posts daily, deleting hate-speech and violent images. But who decides what is acceptable?