20/08/2018
Via Historia
Tomorrow’s Europe: the return to culture
"We are the continent that hosts half of UNESCO's world heritage. And, wherever you look, Europe is synonymous with style, knowledge, beauty. This is our strength, the undeniable authority on a global scale - and our patrimony, which can not be relocated, must serve to political and economic renaissance. Even more than the economy, culture is the one that keeps Europe together - and culture must be the starting point for efforts to revitalize the Union." It was - the essence of European Parliament President Antonio Tajani - the key message of a high-level conference, held in Brussels on 26 June, right in the House of European Citizens.
Strong voices with clear, percussion messages were heard in the Chamber of the European Parliament - a true "orchestra", including conductor and pianist Daniel Barenboim, musician Jean-Michel Jarre, composer and conductor Ezio Bosso, cinematographer Radu Mihaileanu, but also Ministers of Culture from several European countries, museum directors, universities, associations, young musicians, European parliamentarians; in a word, many representatives of institutions active in the field of culture.
Jean-Michel Jarre: "Do we in Europe want to become" digitally colonized?"
The first to be given the floor - and one whose voice and arguments were heard most strongly in the plenary of the European Parliament - was the French musician, composer and producer alike, pioneer of electronic music, Jean-Michel Jarre. Nor could a more convincing defender of Europe's creators in the world: the 12 minutes of his speech condensed the challenges, the threats, the need for help - turning into a real and very striking appeal to action.
And because the French artist's plea has been one of the great moments of the conference, with open-ended applause, but also because the renewal of copyright laws will continue to waves, provoke discussions, we will make a few fragments (and arguments) of Jean-Michel Jarre's speech.
"Every European family, in each of your families, is a child, a brother, a sister, a mother who dreams of becoming a photographer, graphic designer, writer, filmmaker, musician. And who will miss this dream if we do not identify a just economic model for the 21st century and the new way in which we consume and distribute culture through the Internet and new media in particular.
If we want the European tomorrow's cultural heritage to be at the level of yesterday, we simply have to give it the [existence] means, as we have done in the past. That is why the Copyright Directive, which will be voted on the coming days, is at the heart of the subject. What is happening today is the future of the creators on the continent, our culture, the shine of our artists.
The evolution of the Internet has revolutionized our lives - and we have to keep up with it. This does not mean stigmatizing the great actors of the internet, it does not mean treating them as enemies, but the opposite: they must become our interlocutors and potential partners. From a certain point of view, let us not forget that the creators are virtual shareholders of these societies, which develop, enrich themselves thanks to our creative content.
It is, therefore, indispensable to define a legal framework in order to enter into negotiations with platforms such as Youtube, for example, which are defined as storage platforms, archives and not as content platforms. Why? Because the law simply allows them not to pay rights on the content on which they are based for years.
It's been twenty years since young people, music fans and cinema yesterday, have developed extraordinary machines that have become, over time, giants of the internet, not taking into account the collateral damage they could produce and transform today in a threat unless we do something to regulate things. Those who are today against internet regulations in the name of freedom of speech are like those who refused road traffic in the name of freedom of movement at the beginning of the automobile era.
The value of creation has now been transferred to those who distribute this creation, that's the problem! Paradoxically, creative industries have not been so prosperous in terms of turnover, but creators, who are the core of these industries, have never received so little. We need to rebalance this distortion effect.
The world is looking at Europe today. Creators all over the planet are looking here today - and the directive that will be adopted will hopefully create a domino effect.
Very seriously, we insist on the idea that we, the creators, would be against technology and against freedom of expression. It's totally outrageous! Creators are always the ones who imagine the future and are using the techniques of their present to be creators of modernity - I myself are a very good example in this respect. And what is even more unacceptable is that being a partisan of the idea of respecting intellectual property would be an attempt at freedom of expression, a form of censorship. It's just the opposite: not giving the creators the minimum means to express themselves is the supreme form of censorship!
If we talk about freedom, do we want to become "digitally colonized" in Europe? Europe has an obligation not to lose the battle for content - this tremendous creativity that is essential to our continent's DNA. A future for the digital world will only exist if there is a future for creators. And how can one imagine that paying creators is a form of censorship?
The problem comes from the fact that we rely on old laws dating from before the Internet. To create the tomorrow's heritage, give us the means to sit at the negotiating table. The more European and worldwide creators will receive a fair share of the distribution of their works, the more we will all contribute to manufacturing them. For, let's not forget, in a smartphone, the smart side is us, the creators."
Source:
https://www.historia.ro/sectiune/genera ... la-cultura