Cécile Debard

I arrived at the ERICarts Institute in February 2006 with good practical skills in cultural management as I was the administrative manager for a contemporary dance group for five years in France. In addition to my professional activities, I was enrolled in the “Europe: European Governance, Integration and Intelligence” programme of the Policy Studies Institute in Grenoble. 

Becoming part of the ERICarts team helped me to realise my goal to link my practical knowledge about the cultural field with research activities.  I am very grateful to have received this opportunity. At ERICarts, I discovered a new activity in the cultural sector: comparative research. I appreciated the help and advice from the team to learn more about methodologies. I was well integrated into two large research projects. If I have one regret, it is not to have been more involved in all the other research projects that the Institute was involved in during my internship period.

I am very happy with my participation in the research project on “Approaches to Cultural Diversity in Cultural Policy Making in Europe”. It was a great chance to conduct research on many aspects of the cultural sector: policy making, economy, cultural work and audiences. I particularly enjoyed working on questions of migration, cultural and/or ethnic minority groups and to learn about all the different approaches in Europe toward integration and cultural diversity. It was very interesting to learn about the bridges between civic rights on the one hand and cultural policies and cultural rights on the other hand. I also learned a lot about the effects of the globalization of the economy on the cultural sector.

My particiption in the study on the “Status of the Artist in the EU” convinced me that there is a great importance to further develop cultural cooperation between European countries. I learned alot about the working conditions for the artists in EU. It was interesting to compare the labour laws, social security frameworks and taxation policies in the different countries and to be able to identify different models existing in Europe. Of course, it was a great experience to attend the presentation of the draft report to the European Parliament representatives in May in Brussels. I have discovered how EU organisations use research to better develop their policies.

For the time being, I plan to continue my studies in Grenoble.  My interest is to continue my professional career by managing European cultural projects, working in an observatory or research centre which provides advice and help to cultural workers involved in European projects, or conducting studies and analyses on the European cultural field.

In conclusion, it was really a very prolific training period from the point of view of the new knowledge, work opportunities and awareness about European culture that I received. I am also very happy to have had the chance to work with such helpful and attentive professionals.

Thanks a lot for everything!