[caption id="attachment_5578" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Culture Action Europe 2010"][/caption] The Culture Action Europe conference has a long established tradition as the key focal point for cultural operators, civil society, experts and policy makers to come together and debate key issues at stake for Europe’s cultural life. The conference will inspire, argue and debate what choices we make now and how they will alter the landscape of future EU policies for culture. It will try to embrace two interconnected visions: first, the contributions of arts and cultural sector to the vision of Europe in the future; second, the recognition and support for these contributions within the range of programmes and policies that the EU has to offer. The programme for the conference is concentrated and focussed on in-depth debate, allowing space for extensive audience participation and interaction between speakers and delegates.The two ‘conversations’ of the day will seek to reflect on some of the following questions: What role can/should Arts & Culture play in the further humanization and democratization of the European project? Is the sector capable of bearing such a great responsibility? What programmes and initiatives could broaden understanding among policymakers (both elected and civil servants) about the deeper transformative values that can be cultivated through investments in the Arts? Is politics about changing rule and law instead of attitude and vision? What do we know about how the public imagines as a healthy cultural life? Is there a natural connection between strategic thinking by politicians and changing attitudes/raising awareness among citizens? What conditions are necessary to create a “shared cultural space”, engaging experiences from different parts of Europe? How can the prevailing economic frame of reference in modern Europe be transformed to one that takes social and human development as key criteria for societal wellbeing?  Can the arts and cultural sector play a role transforming how we measure progress?