This year’s Arts Festivals Summit, the annual get-together of European Festivals Association (EFA) members, took place on the German island of Usedom. The event, which ran from 12 to 15 May, was also attended by part of the Ljubljana Festival team. The host was the Usedom Music Festival.

We attended various workshops on the theme of festival organisation, with the aim of laying down guidelines for the future. These workshops were hosted by various organisers of festivals and other cultural events. Among the moderators was Nele Hertling, considered the grande dame of German free theatre and a supporter of innovative arts.

We also had the honour of listening to former Polish president and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Lech Wałęsa, who was joined at a round-table discussion by Nele Hertling, Shahidul Alam and Rūta Prusevičienė. The evening ended with a fine concert by the Baltic Sea Philharmonic, conducted by Kristjan Järvi. We, of course, remember their well-received performance at the 69th Ljubljana Festival in 2021.

The summit concluded the following day with a visit to the Polish part of the island, where a closing event and concert took place.

The Ljubljana Festival has been a member of the European Festivals Association since 1977. Like other EFA members, we are happy to have the opportunity to forge ties with other European festivals at these annual get-togethers, where we exchange know-how and experiences and together help formulate the cultural policy of the European Union.

You can take a look at some moments from the summit below: