Its mission is to “make a tangible impact on civil society, citizen initiatives, public opinion and policy proposals to combat the fragmenting forces jeopardising peace and social progress in Europe”.
[2] The European Cultural Foundation was set up in Geneva in 1954 by the Swiss philosopher Denis de Rougemont.
[citation needed] From the start, ECF focused on implementing a European grants programme, based on the idea of putting culture at the intersection of education, social sciences and history.
[8] Between 2013 and 2017, ECF worked in close collaboration with cultural organisations in Croatia, France, Poland, Moldova, Spain and Sweden as part of the Connected Action for the Commons network[9] this has led to a series of Idea Camps in France, Sweden and Spain,[10] inspiring several special editions of Eurozine.
The award served to encourage talented researchers to address issues, relevant to Europe, in the academic field of cultural policy studies.
Laureates include Nina Obuljen Koržinek (elected Minister of Culture in the Government of Croatia in 2016), Sophia Labadi, Claire Bullen, Davide Ponzini, Aleksandar Brkić, Christiaan De Beukelaer, and Višnja Kisic.
It set out to support a European network of arts and cultural organisations that, through artistic and educational projects, offers the opportunity to explore ideas for a future Europe.