Beskid Culture Congress

Polish culture requires systemic support. How can this be achieved?

Culture plays an extremely important role in the development of modern society and there is no substitute for this. It must, however, receive thorough support. We know how this can be done.

Poland has enormous cultural potential. It lies in the artists, people with a passion and people of culture who create institutions at various levels and who engage in this aspect of ​​life. These are people who as professionals, but often also outside their routine activities, engage in cultural matters. They know that without culture modern societies are unable to develop comprehensively.

So does this mean that culture in Poland is performing so well that it does not need any assistance? Certainly not. It has its shortcomings, it often suffers from organisational deficiencies and is basically underfunded.

One does not need to look far for the answers to the question of how to help Polish culture in a systemic way. These were forged and recorded during the Beskid Culture Congress held in Bielsko-Biała on 21 and 22 March 2024 and constitute one of the elements in the city's bid for the title of European Capital of Culture 2029.

Almost 600 participants engaged in discussions over the current state and the future of culture. Those taking part included creators, academics, cultural animateurs, local government officials, social activists, educators and students. They talked about the role of culture in society, its impact on building identity, effective ways of building participation, financing options, and culture as a source of wellbeing, the last of which is an extremely important issue in the realities of today's world.

The outcome of the discussions was a list of ten postulates which have already been submitted by us to the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. They included organising a round table for Polish culture, constructing an interesting educational system, enabling local governments to better finance cultural institutions by increasing their revenues, and creating a ‘Polish Capital of Culture’ brand as a platform to help capitalise on projects developed by cities participating in the contest for the title of European Capital of Culture 2029.

The complete list of postulates is as follows:

1. Increasing dialogue between the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, local government bodies and non-governmental organisations involved in cultural activities to develop new forms of cooperation, communication and a support system. A ‘Round Table for Culture’ of this sort would be a forum for discussion for new functions and areas in culture. It would also help to redefine the goals for the sector in order to strengthen the integration of communities and eliminate potential areas of conflict and build industrial, organisational and political ‘zones of interest’. In order for this dialogue to be effective and have a real impact on the development of the proficiency of creators, managers and participants, an in-depth diagnosis of access to culture ought to be undertaken, highlighting in particular places where such access is very difficult and determining the reasons why this is so.
2. Enhancing the educational system for culture, in particular in the area of public education, awakening the need to participate in culture, as well as acquiring proficiencies both for understanding and creating cultural content and understanding the meaning and value of public spaces. Also the introduction of regional education as a compulsory core curriculum subject in a manner that is interesting and comprehensible to a modern, young audience, allowing for building a personal sense of identity and a relationship with the so-called ‘mini homeland’.
3. The restoration of income to local government bodies, forfeited as a result of the reduction in personal income tax from 17% to 12%, without reparation, which has led to fewer opportunities to finance cultural institutions, pay staff salaries and develop projects in the culture sector.
4. The creation of a system of social security for people engaged in artistic activities who are not employed under an employment contract.
5. The creation of a ‘Polish Capital of Culture’ brand as an opportunity to implement and capitalise on projects developed by cities participating in the competition for the title of European Capital of Culture 2029. In order for this postulate to be positively received it is necessary to systematically develop a list of goals to be achieved, taking into account the specificity and potential of the cities participating in the project, to define the criteria and selection procedure, to promote the building of a network of intersectoral cooperation, to designate national institutions as partners, to establish methods and mechanisms of financing and to promote the longevity of the proposed solutions, but not to create another discretionary grant system.
6. An evaluation of the effectiveness of the Minister's Programme system and the modification or replacement of the same with other organisational and financial solutions. The restoration of transparency of evaluation criteria and decisions. Scrutiny of the effectiveness of project support in relation to achieved substantive outcomes. Increased emphasis on developing cooperation networks within co-financed projects.
7. An evaluation of the institutions led by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage in terms of their actual contribution to building the potential of national culture and supra-local impact. Discussion of the possibility of formulating an alternative system for creating a list of cultural institutions important as regards building cultural proficiencies at a national level, e.g. by assuming that artistic institutions and selected museums have broader impact and, through determining the appropriate ratios, to co-finance them from the state budget. Institutions such as these run by cities should be treated in a special way, because as a rule they have a broader reach and also serve residents of other administrative areas and townships which do not bear the costs of maintaining the institution and do not contribute to tickets.
8. A redefinition of the role of cultural institutions in the context of a changing society, placing emphasis on co-creation, audience building, networking, and introducing the possibility of financing the activities of cultural institutions from other sections of budget classification and the budgets of other public finance sector units than the organiser. All this with particular emphasis on mental health and health promotion, activities aimed at counteracting social exclusion, environmental and ecology protection, appropriate civic attitudes, public education, especially in the realms of education for culture, activities for the integration of immigrants, etc., so as to build a feeling of wellbeing for residents.
9. The restoration of the option of making tax deductions for businesses to support the activities of cultural institutions.
10. The taking of action to preserve and support the development of crafts, with particular emphasis on artistic crafts necessary for the proper functioning of cultural institutions.