Whose Culture is it?

Trans-generational approaches to Culture

Questionnaire

Questions for a Conference Reader based on National Responses 

The notion of youth culture is relatively new, being first defined in the 1960s. This year's Circle Round Table wants to identify the main trends in European youth culture in our times. The conference will examine whether youth culture in our days differs more from the mainstream than in earlier generations. The new means of information technology - Internet, super-powerful multimedia handies etc. - enable the young to create, practise and possess their own culture(s) more distinctly than older generations before them. Analysts point towards the emergence of a new type of culture - 'network culture'. Network culture is characterised by the predominance of direct virtual inter-relations as opposed to traditional culture, where people sharing similar cultural values or preferences had either lesser inter-relations or shared the same physical space - or sometimes both (e.g. viewers of the same film).   

More generally, advanced technological means are available for the entire population. It is therefore a reasonable question whether symptoms of network culture are or will be characteristic of older cohorts as well. Cabled interactive multimedia shows in one's home, and similar devices available for practically everyone, may also produce an environment, where traditional guardians of national, continental or world canons, like school curricula, state awards and national journals or TV stations - not to mention cultural ministerial efforts - will have limited effect, and the shared domain of cultural values and experiences will shrink to a thin layer of the classics and a thin layer of latest celebrity news.

A) TRENDS

1.      What are the main trends of youth culture in your country?

2.      Is 'network culture' a decisive feature?

3.      Are practices and behaviours attributed to network youth culture discernible in later age groups as well? What are these?

4.      In what measure is new youth culture being market driven or not? Can you illustrate this with specific examples?

5.      Ever since youth culture has existed, it has by nature been supra-national. Kindly characterise the extent and nature of 'internationalism' (or the globalised nature) of youth culture - particularly network culture - in your country today. 

Besides the 'cutting edge', the most up-to-date manifestations of new culture, pay attention to the statistical majority of the young too. If possible, support your view with empirical data like statistics, surveys, reports etc. Also, you may quote reliable opinions (e.g. by academic, political or media analysts) on these issues in your country.

B) IMPACT ON SOCIETY

Please describe the nature of the interaction of youth culture with the rest of cultural life in your country:

6.      To what extent do the main trends of youth culture - particularly network culture - seem long-lasting?

7.      How does network culture affect social exclusion, inclusion and related issues?

8.      Do concepts related to Europe - integration, enlargement etc - find reflection in the above described processes?

C) POLICY ISSUES

9.      Are the latest youth culture trends - and particularly network culture - reflected in the cultural policies in your country at the different levels (local, regional, state etc)? If so, in what way?

10.  What other spheres of public policy relate to youth culture? (E.g. copyright.)

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Thank you for completing this questionnaire. We will credit your work in the conference reader and hope that you will be able to join us for the Round Table Debates. Please add you contact details and correct e-mail address here to receive further information