The civil society organization Public ROOM is based in Macedonia and Albania, however, it is active in the whole region and beyond. Our activities and program empower the non-profit sector from the region influence the national cultural policies and intensify the cooperation in the field of culture, arts, design and architecture. We set up and implement programmes and events for professional artist, in order to promote open and democratic societies within the region. Further, we stimulate the creation of a forum for public debate, idea development and realization, and cultural exchange. In cooperation with well established cultural partners PUBLIC ROOM organises and offers training courses in areas not offered by the educational programmes.

MISSION: Creation of a platform which will stimulate the positioning of the cultural and creative sectors as sustainable partners in decision and realization to governmental, non governmental and private sectors’ operational activities.

VISION: We interpret culture as a scope of solutions to problems of living in a specific time and place. Those solutions are distilled over generations to develop and maintain a unique vision of a civilized way of life. Culture is valued as the greatest thing in the universe that we can share with others.

For more info see www.publicroom.org

The European Alliance in the Republic of Macedonia (EAM), in its endeavours and activities, takes as a departing point the basic goal: to contribute to the creation of united and federal Europe, founded upon the respect of human rights, the principles of peace, development and prosperity, upon the democratic values of freedom, solidarity and participation of citizens. The Alliance shall particularly strive to promote the European spirit and ideas in our country, while in terms of action it will be directed at embracing the values and standards of European integration in the country, leading to full and qualified integration of the Republic of Macedonia in the European Union. The fields in which the Alliance carries out its role and objectives are: public and informative activity, research and studies, consultancy, education and training, publishing etc.

For more information see www.eam.org.mk

The civil-society project “A Soul for Europe”, organised by an informal group of independent individuals and supported by five large European foundations, lobbies the political sector and society in general with the aim of using the power of culture to impact the development of European and EU policies. For the initiative, this involves taking advantage of culture in the interest of better social and political development in Europe. “A Soul for Europe” means permeating the non-cultural sectors of politics and society with culture – from foreign policy to economics to social affairs. The idea of “A Soul for Europe” is this: Civil society in the cultural sector bears responsibility not only for the cultural realm; it must also envision itself as having responsibility for the ‘cultivation’ of the overall reality and policies in Europe, and it must develop competence of its own in terms of asserting that. Civil-society protagonists must approach initiatives in order to have a cultural impact on departmental policies and social spheres beyond the cultural sector. For that reason, the initiative has entered into alliances and cooperative agreements with more than 100 civil-society partners in all of the member states and accession countries.

The initiative seeks cooperation with political policy makers primarily at the parliamentary level; yet it has also appealed directly to Commission President José Manuel Barroso. A Steering Committee, which is chaired by the President of the European Parliament, Prof. Hans-Gert Pöttering, and includes the EU Commissioner for Culture, Ján Figel´, as well as influential members of the European Parliament, provides the link to the European institutions. For more information see The civil-society project “A Soul for Europe”, organised by an informal group of independent individuals and supported by five large European foundations, lobbies the political sector and society in general with the aim of using the power of culture to impact the development of European and EU policies. For the initiative, this involves taking advantage of culture in the interest of better social and political development in Europe. “A Soul for Europe” means permeating the non-cultural sectors of politics and society with culture – from foreign policy to economics to social affairs. The idea of “A Soul for Europe” is this: Civil society in the cultural sector bears responsibility not only for the cultural realm; it must also envision itself as having responsibility for the ‘cultivation’ of the overall reality and policies in Europe, and it must develop competence of its own in terms of asserting that.

Civil-society protagonists must approach initiatives in order to have a cultural impact on departmental policies and social spheres beyond the cultural sector. For that reason, the initiative has entered into alliances and cooperative agreements with more than 100 civil-society partners in all of the member states and accession countries. The initiative seeks cooperation with political policy makers primarily at the parliamentary level; yet it has also appealed directly to Commission President José Manuel Barroso. A Steering Committee, which is chaired by the President of the European Parliament, Prof. Hans-Gert Pöttering, and includes the EU Commissioner for Culture, Ján Figel´, as well as influential members of the European Parliament, provides the link to the European institutions.

For more information see www.berlinerkonferenz.eu

The Felix Meritis Foundation. European Centre for Arts, Culture and Science, Amsterdam The European Public Space in Amsterdam For over two hundred years Felix Meritis has been a symbol of debate and cultural engagement. It is a place for inspiration, contemporary expression and education. It is a necessary public space for Europe that connects the worlds of creativity, politics, intellectual debate, politics and business. It focuses on linking (young) people from throughout Europe and engaging them with the finest minds in European life.

As European Centre for Arts, Culture and Science, Felix Meritis is a permanent home for education, the humanities and European networks. It hosts many organisations and projects in the forefront of making Europe's civil society a reality. The Amsterdam-Maastricht Summer University has become one of the finest institutions for extending the knowledge of young professionals in directions beyond mainstream university courses. (www.amsu.edu) Gulliver Connect is an international work placement programme which matches the demand of cultural institutions for imaginative young professionals with some of the brightest emerging talent. (www.gulliverconnect.org) Dare2Connect, a programme developed in co-operation with SICA (Stichting Internationale Culturele Activiteiten) bringing the best practices of international cultural policy and cultural practice to the public. (www.dare2connect.nl)The People Network, a project mapping the personal stories of contemporary citizens in Europe for the purpose of developing various transnational activities. Forum Amsterdam brings together business, creative industry, politicians from the Netherlands and young opinion formers from Europe, to discuss the most challenging issues of contemporary society.

Felix Meritis co-produces various projects abroad such as Kuhnya, the first independent, public centre for international cooperation, expertise and discussion in Novosibirsk, Siberia. Kuhnya offers public debates, innovative community projects, as well as an annual Spring Academy for an audience of creative professionals, socially active business leaders and citizens in professional communities in Novosibirsk and the whole Russia (www.kuhnya.nsk.ru).

Felix Meritis co-produces numerous Forums across Europe (e.g.: Amsterdam, Zagreb, Istanbul, Porto, Sofia, Tbilisi and Belgrade) and has been involved in the “Etats généraux de la jeunesse” 2005 in Brussels. Felix Meritis strives to be the creative accelerator for Europe. Under its motto: “Connecting Cultures” Felix Meritis’s role is multifaceted: stimulating, initiating, facilitating, examining and co-producing as an organization that is simultaneously thought of as strongly Amsterdam, Dutch, European and Global. More information: www.felix.meritis.nl