After 30 years, it became obvious that the tools created by the 1977 cultural Charter, i.e. Cultural Institute, Cultural Council, Technical Agency, should be renewed and adapted to the current realities.
President Le Drian wished to reform these 3 organisations, which we can only be happy about, even if the lack of discussions and public dialogue with all the concerned cultural actors can be found regrettable.
One of the major evolutions supported by the «regional» executive is the transformation of Brittany's Cultural Council into a consultative Council to the Regional Council. It is an interesting idea which reckons the importance of the cultural dimension in today's Breton society.
Nevertheless, 3 issues can be raised concerning this evolution :
1 — An issue regarding the Breton cultural associations that are members of the current Cultural Council : the creation of this consultative Council cannot and should not replace the current Cultural Council which, beyond its activities as an adviser and a reporter, is also somehow a lobby towards all the Breton councils and the state ; this necessary role will not be taken in charge by a consultative Committee that will be dependent on a specific council, in this case the Regional Council.
2 — The utility of such a consultative Committee is obvious, but this utility will only be real if it has a minimum of freedom of speech, which can only be guaranteed by a real representativity of the cultural world. Who decides on the eligible members of this consultative Committee? On what criteria? Finally, the fact that the president of the «Regional» Council decides on the members of the Committee seems rather worrying ; thus, this organisation will entirely depend on a politician, while it is supposed to represent all the concerned actors. This functioning way, if it is confirmed, induces for the long term conflicts and contradictions.
Moreover, it would be inacceptable if the cultural world of Loire-Atlantique were only represented marginally.
3 —Lastly, the creation of this new structure raises the issue of defining the concept of «Breton culture» : whereas in the 70s, it was necessary to make a voluntary effort to promote Breton traditional culture, it now seems necessary to ask the question of the dimension of the Breton culture. (The Breton language is a transversal issue to be treated specifically).
Can we keep on separating the Brittany's popular culture, aka «Breton culture» and «culture»? It is a fictional and counter-productive distinction ? The culture of all the inhabitants of Brittany must be considered as Brittany's culture in all its diversity : thinking Brittany's culture as all the cultural expressions in Brittany, and Brittany's culture as Breton culture, in clear, having a Breton perspective, nourished by our specificities and our exchanges in Europe and the world, is the only innovative way which will allow to enrich this country's cultural life. In this respect, the composition of this consultative Committee must reflect the diversity of cultural expressions, which would be a first step towards the recognition of the Breton dimension of Brittany's culture.
For the Breton Party, Jacques-Yves Le Touze
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