The 6th edition of the Babel Med Music - music Trade Fair took place in Marseille, March 25-27, 2010 . Babel offered festivals, concert venues, cultural centers and other organisers/artistic programmers a free official pass.  The event was one of the structuring events of Marseille European Capital of Culture, in 2013, and the 3 day schedule included a market area with 190 organizations (booking agencies, labels, professional organisms, equipments & services… promoted through exhibition stands, more than 1 800 professionals from 60 different countries. The EFWMF (European Forum of World Wide Music Festivals), debates, and 3 stages programming 10 concerts each evening-

Since 2004, a series of conferences have been held throughout the world focusing on the ”creative potential” of cities. The Agenda 21 for culture was established, and around 150 cities in the world have signed the Agenda 21 for culture declaration. While Korea was the last country to host a world-wide conference in 2007, the city of Lexington, Kentucky, will host a creative city summit in April 2010. Visit the website for information about the event, which takes place in furtherance of Richard Florida's theories on creative economies.

Council of Europe’s CultureWatchEurope Platform (CWE) promotes culture as "the soul of democracy" by offering an innovative and evidence-based overview of culture, heritage and media developments in Europe. A conference on June 10-11 2010 in Brussels will focus on the role of public cultural policy and the impact of the financial crisis on culture and cultural provision. Download brochure here.

In September 2010, The Talking Drums of Africa holds a conference in collaboration with Kenyan artists, cultural organisations, and a number of NGO's, entitled Drum Café 2010. For information, go to http://drumcafe2010festival.blogspot.com/2009/11/festival-info.html

Cultural exchange between Eastern Europe and Western Europe is on the agenda at a conference in Warsaw on December 10-11. Cultural entrepreneurs from all over Europe will gather to be inspired and discuss policies, funding opportunities and concrete collaboration projects. For more information, see www.go-east.com.pl/

A call for papers has been sent to festival/event/tourism researchers world-wide, asking for contributions to the next "Journeys of Expression" conference held in Copenhagen, April 20-21, in a joint partnership between Copenhagen Business School, Leeds Metropolitan University, and IFEA Europe.

The conference will discuss the complex implications of the global economic downturn for the relationships between tourism, festivals and cultural events, in particular how the balance between social, artistic and commercial aspects of festivals can be sustained during these challenging times and how festivals and cultural events and their attractiveness to tourists may contribute to addressing economic, social and environmental crises at local, regional, national and international levels. The ”Journeys of Expression” conference thereby mirrors the theme of the IFEA Europe 2010 Conference,  ”Festive Roads to Recovery” (see below).

For more information about the ”Jouney of Expression” conference, click here.

Culture Action Europe

IFEA Europe will be represented at the EU Cultural Forum held in Brussels, September 28 – 30, 2009, and at the concurrent member meeting of Culture Action Europe. While always seeking to nurture common interests and understanding between local event organisers and their immediate policymakers, we find it increasingly important to look at the more general framework for cultural affairs in Europe. Thus, we seek to engage in the cooperation between, on one hand, the festival industry and various special interest groups on a pan-European level, and the European lawmakers and cultural ministries' representatives on the other. Our October newsletter will include an update on matters relevant to EU cultural policies

IETM

IETM - Plenary meeting: ‘Eastern Promises’ will take place from 8th to 11th of October 2009, in Vilnius, Lithuania. Under the theme "Eastern Promises", about 400 participants will bring forward their vision of the concept East/West. In addition to the content sessions, participants will enjoy a rich performance programme, presenting Lithuanian artists. IETM meetings are firstly and mostly meetings of IETM members, but non-members are also welcome to attend under specific conditions. Visit www.ietm.org for more information.

IFEA China

The 5th China Festival Industry Conference, held November 6th to 8th, 2009, in Shanghai, promises to host more than 300 delegates from municipal government, media, festival organisers, service providers, tourist offices, cultural institutions, and universities. IFEA Europe has been invited to encourage our members' participation. For further information, visit www.ceff-asia.com

European Year for Creativity and Innovation

A conference celebrating the European Year for Creativity and Innovation will be held on November 11-12, 2009, at the W5 Centre in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The conference will provide an innovative programme of presentations, including a keynote by Feargal Sharkey, panels, with contributions from Professor Michael Alcorn, Joanne Stewart, Tom Bewick, Alastair McIlwain, Tracey Meharg, and others, a programme of exciting and interactive workshops and tours. For full details of the conference, including workshops and presentations, and how to book, please visit www.createninnovate.eu

WOMEX

Womex, the world music conference, will be held at the Bella Center in Copenhagen, October 28th – November 1st, 2009. The event promises to be as exciting as always, with excellent opportunities for festival organisers to meet directly with artists as well as the broader music industry. The Roskilde Festival, one of Europe's largest music events, is co-organising with the Danish Ministry of Culture a number of special interest networks. For more information, see www.womex.com/realwomex/