Audience Data in the Cultural Sector on the EU Agenda

This spring, the importance of audience data was extensively discussed during the EU conference ‘Empowering the Cultural and Creative Sectors in Data-driven Audience Development’ in Ghent. The ‘Ghent Manifesto’ was also drafted at that time to ensure that policies are developed in the coming years. Maaike: “This is important because there is a great need for coordination, inspiration, and knowledge sharing across EU borders. Successful use of audience data is a topic where collaboration at the European level truly adds value. This applies not only to policy-related matters but also to more practical topics. The opportunities and challenges are often similar in different countries.

For example, it is valuable to learn from the way Flanders is working on a technical infrastructure and standardization for audience data. And it is insightful to see how Denmark fosters collaboration between the cultural and tourism sectors in the field of audience segmentation. In other European countries, there is significant interest in what we have achieved in the Netherlands. The segmentation model Cultural Target Groups developed by Rotterdam Festivals and the step-by-step guides Working with Audience Data and Working with the GDPR, developed by the Taskforce Audience Data, are interesting for other countries."

Meanwhile, the Council Conclusions from the Belgian presidency have been endorsed and published by European cultural ministers. The joint position is clear: audience data-driven development is crucial to strengthening the cultural and creative sectors in Europe. In the conclusions, the European Council encourages member states to develop audience data-driven approaches, including by:

• promoting the necessary skills for this within the cultural and creative sector;
• facilitating information exchange and the sharing of best practices, including with sectors outside the cultural sector;
• formulating appropriate policies to stimulate audience data-driven development across the entire EU.

Read the full Council Conclusions.

“At DEN and the Taskforce Audience Data, we prioritize actually translating these council conclusions into actions that add value for cultural organizations and the sector as a whole. This recognition is both a confirmation of our efforts and our plans for the future,” Maaike concludes.