Abstract

Cultural cooperation currently occupies a minor place in the agenda of international relations. It is thus extremely urgent, in the present situation of instability, to build new human and cultural relations between the societies of the northern and of the southern shores of the Mediterranean, based on a more equal and egalitarian footing than in the past. Among possible choices aimed towards reorienting such a policy, four are extremely urgent, and should therefore be prioritised: A) contemporary creation, versus historical heritage; B) support of cultural policies, versus intercultural dialogue; C) the independent sector, versus the public sector; D) artist's mobility, versus the international art market. Support for the structuring of an independent cultural and arts sector, the promotion of cultural rights and freedom of creation, and aid for mobility within the Mediterranean space should thus be the building blocks of renewed cultural cooperation.