Top search results

No results

Menu

FH Kufstein Tirol represented at the ENCATC Congress in Barcelona

  • 09.10.2025
  • Research
Mehrere Personen sitzen in einem modernen Seminarraum an runden Tischen, während eine Frau im roten Blazer vorne eine Präsentation hält. Auf der Leinwand ist eine Folie mit Forschungsthemen zu sehen, einige Teilnehmende arbeiten an Laptops oder machen Notizen.
© Deniz Ünsal & Taiwo Afolabi

Prof. (FH) Verena Teissl presents her research project in the field of festival studies at the 33rd ENCATC Congress in Barcelona.

Prof. (FH) Dr. Verena Teissl represented the University of Applied Sciences Kufstein Tirol at the 33rd ENCATC Congress in Barcelona and presented a research project on festival studies.

Under the motto The future is cultural, the ENCATC Annual Congress in Barcelona in mid-September focused on cultural policy keynotes and exchanges between researchers. Prof. (FH) Dr. Verena Teissl presented a research project in the field of festival studies, which focuses on the contribution of festivals in the arts to global art citizenship.

“We have the stories”

Founded in 1992, the European Network for Cultural Management and Cultural Policy (ENCATC) is an influential institution with over 100 members, including the University of Applied Sciences Kufstein Tirol. ENCATC works closely with UNESCO and the Council of Europe. Its goal is to anchor art and culture at the heart of EU policy.

In his opening speech, ENCATC Chairman Gerald Lidstone emphasized the value of art and culture for resilient and peaceful societies: “We are the medium through which the rest is understood.” Art and culture tell stories that draw on economics, politics, and religion, make complexity accessible, and promote constructive debate. Cultural policy acts as a moral compass in this process.

Global cultural policy cooperation

ENCATC also promotes international dialogue through its cooperation with the UNESCO World Conference on Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development Mondiacult, founded in 1982, which took place at the same time in Barcelona. Mondiacult aims to establish culture as an independent goal in the global development agenda after 2030 as Sustainable Development Goal 18. Culture should be defined and strengthened as a global public good, and cultural rights should be anchored as human rights.

Ernesto Ottone Ramírez (UNESCO; winner of the ENCATC Award for Outstanding Contribution 2025) spoke in Barcelona in favor of intensifying multilateral cooperation between cultural institutions in order to counter the crisis of civil society resilience resulting from a lack of social cohesion. Art and culture have enormous potential to strengthen this cohesion if they expand their sphere of influence.

Über 100 internationale Teilnehmer:innen des ENCATC-Kongresses posieren für ein gemeinsames Gruppenfoto in einem großen Hörsaal. Im Hintergrund ist ein Screen mit dem Kongressmotto "The Future is Cultural: Policy, Practice and Education" zu sehen.
© ENCATC

Participants at the 33rd ENCATC Congress in Barcelona: Researchers and cultural experts from over 40 countries exchange ideas on current topics in cultural policy.

Future-oriented research and teaching

The 138 presentations by researchers from over 40 countries formed an international think tank. Cleopatra Charles (USA) was awarded the ENCATC Prize for Innovative Teaching for her concise presentation of impact analyses. Over the past 15 years, the social impact analysis of cultural work has developed into a central evaluation method. In addition to the considerable economic contribution of cultural offerings, their essential mission is to promote democratic understanding and strengthen societies.

At the University of Applied Sciences Kufstein Tirol, impact analysis in the cultural sector is also being further developed in cooperation with the Center for Nonprofit Organizations and Social Impact (WU Vienna) in order to demonstrate the relevance of cultural organizations and increase their acceptance.

Literariness of global aesthetic forms of expression as a vision

In order to strengthen alliances between cultural policy and cultural organizations, Verena Teissl, professor of cultural management in the Sports, Culture, and Event Management program, is researching the intrinsic concerns of festivals in the arts – a topic that has been little explored to date. Using the example of the development of international to cosmopolitan program strategies for festivals, she advocates for an expansion of multi- and intercultural funding policies through the concept of aesthetic cosmopolitanism.

The ability to read a wide variety of forms of expression enables a global form of citizenship and promotes worldwide understanding. Festivals have been contributing to this in many ways for over 130 years – without this being recognized as a cultural policy asset.

“The inherent know-how of cultural organizations has been little researched, but it represents an essential basis for the connecting concerns with cultural policy. We must learn from each other and design together. ENCATC is a strategic institution, and the congress offers the ideal context for opening up shared visions,” says Prof. (FH) Dr. Verena Teissl.

Factbox

In line with the topic of festival studies, Teissl participated in a pilot study with the Vienna International Children's Film Festival of the Center for Nonprofit Organizations and Social Impact (WU Vienna) in 2023. The study examined the social added value of cultural offerings. The focus was on the question of what effects cultural offerings have and how they contribute to aesthetic education, democracy education, and cultural participation. The publication can be read here.

Links:

Back to Overview