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In Pursuit of Cultural Dialogue - A Short and Incomplete History of the European Cultural Foundation UK
After some fifty years of existence, the European Cultural Foundation UK Committee (ECF UK) decided to mark the occasion with the publication of a brief record of its history, achievements, failures and diversions along the way. The booklet, In Pursuit of Cultural Dialogue - A Short and Incomplete History of the European Cultural Foundation UK, is the result. It has been researched and written by Rod Fisher, UK's Director.
Established in 1961 as the European Cultural Fund (UK), the Committee's intention was to support, in a Cold War Europe, the promotion of cultural co-operation, being championed by the independent European Cultural Foundation based in Amsterdam and by the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. Although there were some notable contributions to building cultural and intellectual engagement with other parts of Europe, the history reveals that despite the assistance of eminent politicians, diplomats, pro-Europeans, and individuals from the cultural and academic sectors, EFC UK activities were often constrained by insufficient resources.
Of course, much has changed in Europe in the last fifty years, politically and socially, while the extent of cultural co-operation has grown exponentially. The European Cultural Foundation in Amsterdam continues to thrive, and the UK Committee has been associated with its evolution. However, the fundamentally different information landscape today means there is no longer a need for independent national committees to act as sounding boards for advice and contacts and cultural developments.
Text from Culturelink
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