The final conference of the MESOC project in Paris pushes forward the declaration "Deepening the Transformative Impact of Arts and Culture through Evidence-Based Approaches," which sets out the principles of a community of practice committed to advancing the role of culture in transforming society.

The final conference of the MESOC project, which took place on March 9 and 10 in Paris, ended with a co-construction of the MESOC Declaration, which sets out the principles of a community of practice committed to fostering the role of culture in the transformation of society. The declaration, signed and supported by several organizations and personalities related to the world of culture, seeks to deepen the transformative impact of arts and culture through evidence-based approaches. In this sense, it highlights the importance of the emerging connections between art, education, technology, innovation, heritage, scientific culture and its strategic value for the projection of cities and territories towards a future of strengthened rights in a democratic society.

The declaration thus recognizes the need for new human-centered policies aimed at responding to challenges such as the health crisis, the climate emergency and persistent social inequalities. It also welcomes the new wave of diffuse legitimization of cultural policies following the huge budget cuts initiated after the 2008 global financial crisis, which had prioritized "efficient" public spending, including on cultural heritage.

Moreover, they emphasize the need to realize ambitious cultural policy goals, especially in a more globalized but also more fractured world, where ecological and digital transitions are becoming imperatives and where unknown social risks are likely to emerge. They agree on the vision of building a more coherent European cultural policy ecosystem.

In order to address the complex social challenges facing society, however, it is necessary to develop different methodologies, both quantitative and qualitative, that allow for more precision and concreteness in the direction, dimension and causality of cultural impacts. It is therefore necessary to propose common and concerted protocols and procedures so that new cultural policies are evidence-based and truly pursue objectives of social transformation.

This declaration is a first step towards the cooperative and united response being pursued, continuing to promote the implementation and evaluation of cultural projects aimed at transforming society. It is also a call to contribute from diverse horizons, such as cultural workers, researchers and policy makers, to discuss these proposals, to recognize the importance of context in impact assessment and, most importantly, to test and experiment these ideas on the ground.

The link to the petition to support and sign the initiative is as follows: https://www.change.org/p/mesoc-declaration?