A report on the condition of culture and ngos in - Kultura Enter

and contradictions related to local cultural development and the promotion ofcreativity can be pragmatically explored. Can EU engagement in Ukraine’s culturalsector and that of the other countries stimulate debate and identify priority needsthrough facilitating inclusive dialogues with all the ‘cultural’ stakeholders? If thisearly stage of the EAP Culture Programme has identified anything clearly it is thatthe need for the main focus of local cultural policies at national, local/regional,and municipal levels to be on the climate and context for culture in order torelease the evident human, cultural, and social ‘capital’ that so obviously exists inthe EaP countries but which is sometimes suffocating and at present cannot beharnessed to modernization and development agendas. Also, vitally important isrecognition that the independent civil society organizations sector and the private/commercialsector in all the countries are weak, while the state/public sector(i.e. the Ministries of Culture) cannot contribute meaningfully to modernizationand development agendas unless it can develop a national strategic partnershipwith strengthened independent/NGO and private/commercial sectors.Unquestionably there is considerable benefit for both the EU Member Statesand for Ukraine if the volume, level, and degree of sophistication of culturalcooperation can be significantly enhanced. EU Member States’ positive experiencein areas such as CCIs (cultural and creative industries), cultural leadershipdevelopment and advocacy to promote culture, and cultural development asa ‘cross-cutting issue’ may be relevant and helpful to Ukraine if it can be effectivelyused. EU experience in cultural research is another potentially important area. Theneed for more targeted policy-oriented research related to the context/climatefor cultural creation, promotion, provision, transmission, access, and participationis needed in Ukraine and elsewhere to replace what is often still Soviet-stylebureaucratic descriptive, rather than analytical, statistics, and information oflimited or dubious strategic planning and management use.It is too early to begin evaluating the Eastern Partnership Culture Programmeand even later it is going to be a question of the extent to which Ukraine andthe other countries are able to absorb and make use of its potential. My personalview is that first EU culture program is mainly about ‘meeting the neighbors’ andhopefully initiating a new, more mature relationship building on the quietly valuablework of the Council of Europe over the past decade or so.4 If in addition to4 Including the Council of Europe’s STAGE project and the ‘Kyiv Initiative’ programs, as well as52 terry sandell