Nobel prize winners, leading European Union officials, cultural icons, and GESAC’s very own Vice President, Jean-Noël Tronc, have written a manifesto that insists leaders put culture at the heart of Europe’s economic recovery in the wake of COVID-19.

The manifesto, which has been published in various leading European newspapers, offers guidelines to achieve a society that “fully expresses its human character”.

It declares that: “Despite its growing importance, culture has not been sufficiently considered as an ecosystem; it remains perceived from a collateral angle.”

Cultural and creative industries (CCIs) was highlighted as one of 14 key ecosystems by the European Commission in the build-up to its Next Generation EU recovery fund.

However, it remains unclear how much funding the sector will receive, and GESAC, along with many other cultural and creative organisations, has expressed our disappointment at the lack of targeted funding for individual creators, who have been hit particularly hard by this crisis.

Read the full manifesto and list of signatories here.