About us

 

Archè

This website (www.dantealighieri.net/archenet.it) and our activiry is based in Castelfranco Veneto (Treviso, North-East Italy, 40 km north of Venice) and it is realized by the Archè volunteer association, in co-operation with Buenaventura Cultural Centre, D’altrocanto cultural association (Venice), Xena youth and cultural exchange association (Padova), and with the support of the Public Policies Workshop, a research and training group linked to the Sociology Department of the Padua University.

Archè was founded in 1999. It aims at facilitating youth and social projects in the area of Castelfranco Veneto. In 2000 Arché established the Buenaventura cultural centre (600 sq.mt.). Today, Buenaventura involves over 3000 affiliated members. It is run by a network of 80 volunteers and it is completely self-financed.

This project intends to share the experiences and practices implemented by the Buenaventura cultural centre both at the national and at the international level. Since 2003 Buenaventura is an active member of the international network TEH -Trans Europe and in May 2005 it hosted TEH 59° European meeting, involving 70 participants from all over Europe.

This project started in January 2006. It aims at exploring, comparing and further defining network instruments (such as tools to share good practice, free technologies, creative commons type of licenses, methodologies for cultural activities, procedures to improve organisational issues, etc.). The iniatial motivation came from the awareness of the many difficulties that Buenaventura had to overcome and the will to turn obstacles and challenges into collective learning and cultural opportunities.

In the first half of 2006 ArchèNet is conducting a series of interviews and it is collecting data from some 20 Italian centres in order to produce a common database and a set of shared proposals and tools such as a visual map. These first steps should result in setting up a wide network of independent cultural centres by the end of 2007.

An Italian perspective: some reflections on culture

Culture is about joy, it is freedom. It is a deep feeling. Culture looks for emancipation. A freedom to share with your community. But this is not happening in our communities.  In the 1970’s it was common to protest in the public space. It is not common today. No one attack nor defend the public space today. There is a major erosion of the public space in Italy today. How can a grassroot organisation activate so many volunteers as Buenaventura? Maybe this is possible because together they feel as a movement reclaiming public spaces.

In comparing Italy and the Nordic countries, there seems to be two trends. One of them is the lack of youth policy in Italy. There is no Ministry for Youth as in Nordic countries. Youth policies are derived from European Union trends but are not necessarily adressing the Italian situation. Another difference are the means and ends in cultural activities. The Italian heritage has an estetic value and preserving it is dominating cultural policies. But the Italian cultural scene lacks innovation, it is only about preservation and cultural marketing. In Italy culture is for educated people, it is not emancipating.

Especially Northern Italy is pretty much looking North, to Mitteleuropa and the European Union and it does not pay attention to its Mediterranean neighbours. Italy shares the same sea as the Balkan countries but this connection is not recognized. There is a fear concerning loosing one’s own identity which is a typical fear of those who are confused about their identity. Regardless of the fact that a centre-left or a centre-right government is ruling, over the past years Italy is strengthening the European fortress idea and practice with ruthless immigration policies.

Thanks to these policies, in Italy today we have A and B citizens which reminds of the fascist regime ruling Italy between 1922 and 1943. To start to innovate and to provide opportunities for emancipation in the cultural field one should start to recognise that Italy (as most places) is “in between”: between Mitteleurope and the Balkan region; between the EU and the Mediterranean countries; between North and South.

Therefore, in addressing cultural activities, there is a need to promote networking at the local, the national and the international level. Such networking activities need to recognise diversity and to value and to promote autonomy as well as creative linking.