i-Portunus #2: the future of the mobility in Europe
Updated on 11/01/2022
i-Portunus is a pilot mobility scheme co-financed by the European Union under the Creative Europe program and implemented by a consortium led by the Goethe-Institute together with Institut francais (France) and Izolyatsia (Ukraine). In two years of existence, it has supported more than 600 individual artist and cultural professionals, representing about 400 projects, in their mobility at the European level. In their activity report, more than 90% of the grantees said that they would have not undergone the mobility without i-Portunus.
i-Portunus: a tool for testing and experimenting the mobility in Europe
i-Portunus was a unique opportunity to test and experiment the different modalities of mobility at the European scale. After having launched call for applications in a diversity of cultural sectors (visual arts / performing arts (2019) and architecture, literary translation, heritage and music (2020-21), the project is now entering its last phase, in order to address to the European Commission a set of policy recommendations to develop a long-term and sustainable mobility scheme in Europe.
Indeed, in a post-Covid 19 context and with growing ecological concerns, how can we rethink the transnational mobility of artists and professionals in the cultural and creative sector? To try to respond, the consortium gathered, on the occasion of two workshops organized between October and November 2021, about fifty different stakeholders (beneficiaries, host, residencies, networks, national authorities…) to think about the impact of the program and the future of the mobility in Europe.
The discussions were focusing on essential topics, such as environmental responsibility and sustainability, inclusion and accessibility, geographical balance, virtual mobility and hybrid mobility, and networks and host organizations.
i-Portunus’ final event on December 9th
What are the lessons learned from the mobility scheme from the past two years? How to combine sustainable and environmentally friendly mobility while ensuring a European geographical coverage? How to build an inclusive mobility scheme supporting the European diversity?
To conclude this two-years pilot program, the online final event "Mobility of Artists and cultural professionals in Europe: discussions toward a more inclusive, connected and sustainable mobility scheme" was held on December 9th, 2021, with the participation of Mariya Gabriel, European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, as well as major representatives of the consortium, partners and stakeholders of i-Portunus.
