Culture and Decolonisation

In 2024, Danish Cultural Institute, together with partners in the New Democracy Fund, focused on the role of culture in democratic development processes through a webinar series on decolonisation in the EU’s Eastern Neighbourhood. The target audience included artists, academics, students, and cultural actors, all of whom played an active role in the discussions. A total of five webinars were held, featuring experts from Ukraine, Belarus, Armenia, and Moldova. Topics ranged from war documentation in contemporary art to linguistic colonialism and art as a form of resilience. Each session was met with great appreciation from participants, and several students later reached out to pursue the themes further in their theses.

The success of the project was largely due to the strength of the New Democracy Fund’s network and the ability to bring voices together across borders in a digital space. Previously, these themes were confined to small, closed academic circles; now, they were brought into the wider public sphere. The initiative demonstrated how culture can foster critical dialogue, strengthen reflection, and thereby contribute to vibrant democratic development across regions.