Council of Europe: Conference of Ministers of Culture, Strasbourg

The Council of Europe and the Italian Presidency organised the Conference of Ministers of Culture in Strasbourg on Friday 1 April 2022. The Romanian Minister of Culture, Lucian Romașcanu, together with the General Director of Culturadata, Assoc. Prof. PhD. Carmen Croitoru, who is also a member of the Bureau of the Steering Committee for Culture, Heritage and Landscape of the Council of Europe, represented Romania at this Conference.

The meeting of Ministers of Culture was intended to reinforce the principles and values shared by Council of Europe member states, with a focus on culture, heritage and landscape as strategic assets and key areas of its program, encouraging their cross-cutting contribution to sustainable development policies for the benefit of mankind.

The main themes addressed during the Conference refer to:

• Digital technologies – including artificial intelligence (AI) – and the implications for European standards on the protection and promotion of cultural heritage, such as the Valletta, Faro and Nicosia Conventions of the Council of Europe;
• Challenges faced by creativity, diversity and pluralism related to the AI developments and global digital technology players, and the use of predictive algorithms in the audiovisual industry.

In addition to the Council of Europe’s legal acquis, the Conference was connected to the latest political debates – such as the G-20 Summit of Culture Ministers held in Rome, in July 2021, as well as other relevant activities of international and European bodies.