French Culture Minister Pellerin to EuroFora+ on Digital Culture, Media, European Heritage + Values

*Strasbourg/Angelo Marcopolo/- Speaking to "EuroFora" at the conclusion of her one Day long 1st visit to Strasbourg's Cultural Actors and Experts, followed by visits to the city's famous, Historic Cathedral, as well as to innovative projects of Digital Culture, new French Minister of Culture, Fleur Pellerin, stressed the importance it has, in her eyes, to Digitalise the immense European Cultural Heritage, while also using Digital and other Modern Tools in order both to Protect and Develop further EU's Cultural model and values :

     - In this regard, Replying to a relevant "EuroFora" Question on whether she believed that it was High Time to Digitalise the European Cultural Heritage that she had just seen personally by visiting various Selected ArtWork masterpieces mainly inside Strasbourg's Cathedral but also at nearby Rohan Palace's Museum (reportedly used even by Napoleon Bonaparte in the Past, for his Central-Eastern Europe campaigns), she Replied positively :

    - "Yes ! Yes, indeed, Absolutely ! Naturally...", exclaimed Minister Fleur Pellerin, reacting spontaneously to "EuroFora"s above-mentioned question.

    Already former Minister for Digital Society until recently, as she reminded Today in Strasbourg, Fleur Pellerin is also in charge, now, of On-line Media and Web Publishers, as new Minister of Culture, who stressed her interest for moving closer to Citizens in a Democratic way which also motivates them to main European values, (Comp. Infra).

    - The point is not only to protect a status-quo, but also to innovate and create something new to add, underlined earlier Fleur Pellerin, as a matter of general principle, while EU has notoriously chosen Digital Society as a main area to Boost via Investments for Growth via Competitive Innovation.

    Historic Strasbourg's Cathedral offered Today some excellent concrete examples of French Culture Minister's main viewpoints, particularly about European Cultural Heritage's great Historic value, but also Evolving character, thanks to the necessary addition of more or less harmonious Innovations :

    + F.ex., there where Pellerin spend almost half a Day, visiting various projects at Strasbourg's Cathedral, its former and current ArchPriests, Eckert and now Wackenheim, who notoriously have a big experience and like to work, the first on Video and Sculpture, the latter mainly on Music, could, eventually, join usefully forces also with others, (European ARTE TV's recent superb Documentary Film on the History of the Cathedral's Construction obviously enters in this line, etc), in contributing to animate interesting original Digital Creations on this majestic Masterpiece, at the core of the Franco-German heart of Europe, of international fame.

    ++ Moreover, inter-mixing valuable Ancient and New elements, Strasbourg Cathedral's Stained-Glass Windows generate recently a "Hot" but Interesting Controversy about how best to complete 2 Sainte Catherine Chapel's windows, given the fact that most of that area still arbors several Ancient style Masterpieces, while, on the Contrary, the French State's competent authorities have chosen to add an astonishingly "Modern", and completely Differend Artwork, by Painter Ellena, for the 2 currently Empty Stained-Glass Windows due to be filled soon...

    Whatever might be the Value and the Respect due to the Arguments of each side, it's, however, a fact, that, as experienced Chancellor of the ArchBishopric, chanoine Xibaut earlier reminded to "EuroFora", already, the over-Millenary Cathedral of Strasbourg contains, at its Holliest, core area, a landmark and Central Stained Glass Window picturing Christ's Mother, Virgin Mary, with a Circle of 12 Golden Stars at a Blue square, over her Head, which is an faithful reproduction of the European Flag, that had been offered, back during the 1980ies, by the Council of Europe, (adding, later-on, around it a Triple Series of ..Icons, similar to those uses by Traditional and Contemporary Christian Orthodox Church, but not so much by the Christian Catholic Church : a Sign of Prelude for CoE's and after 2004 even EU's PanEuropean Enlargement, pointing towards Unity of all Christians throughout all Europe...

 

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    Mgr Lentz, the Dean of Strasbourg Cathedral's religious Foundation Members, speaking to "EuroFora", reminded the fact that the local Christian Community had erected also Older Religious Buildings at this same spot in the Past, as well as that its most Ancient Stained-Glass Windows were quite Differend from those who followed, and became, later-on, the great Majority of what still exists Today. Showing us the 2 Oldest such Artworks, (the No 1 being Green Paintings inspired by the famous Salomon's Judgement, where the Mythic King had succeeded to find who was the Real Mother of a newborn Child, by proposing, to 2 different persons who claimed both to have an exclusive maternal Right on that Child, to .. cut it into Half and give a Piece to each one of them, until its Real Mother revealed her Love by prefering to leave her entire Child to another woman, if it was the only way for it to Survive and stay Alive -showing real Creator's Love for their Creation to "Live" in Human History, even regardless of Selfish exclusive "Rights", by the way) : These Old Paintings are obviously Differend from the Newer ones, but, nevertheless, somehow, they seem to "fit" Together, as if they were of one and same family. But, for that controversial Project, (Comp. Supra), one may really Wonder whether it might fit harmoniously with the rest, or not, he observed carefuly.

    But, both himself and others among Strasbourg Cathedral's team, appeared, even if initially surprized, at the end to rather Agree with "EuroFora"s observation that, in fact, the History of building the Giant Masterpiece hadn't yet arrived to its End, i.e. that it still was a kind of "Cathedrale inachevé", (an unfinished work), given not only that it Lacked a usual 2nd Tower at the Front, but also of any Paintings or Sculptures at all on the Internal Walls of its Highest and most Important Dome, which had also, Exceptionbaly been left empty after its construction, (Comp. relevant Photos), as if it was meant to Mark the Responsibilities for the succesive Generations (including ours)  to complete an over-Millenary Collective project located at the Heart of Europe...
   

 

     Indeed, the already Long History of Strasbourg's Cathedral, which celebrates this year its one Thousand years of age, seems, in fact, to be even more Ancient than what even Experts believed until now, at first sight : As it was officially revealed, indeed, Today, a recent and innovative Analysis of the Archeological Searches that are still going-on, particularly inside the Cathedral's underground Foundations' area, has just discovered a Baptismal Room reportedly build and used already as early as since the 4rth Century B.C., i.e. during a much more Older era : Something which could reveal that the same Christian Community which has succesively built, accrros Centuries, the various Buildings amidst which emerged the Cathedral of nowadays, had, in fact, a much more Ancient and long History of at least ... One and a Half Thousand Years !

 

    - At any case, "it's out of question to let anyone demolish our (EU's) Cultural Model, that it took us so many years to build !", also warned Pellerin.

 

    She was speaking, earlier Today, about her Project to build a rock-solid "European version" of the CopyRight, Royalties, etc. Legal Mechanism, in order to Protect Artistic Creation, without Risking for Authors' Rights to be eventualy .."snatched by a few USA MultiNational Corporations", as she characteristicaly pointed out.

    => For that purpose, she was currently trying to form a Group of EU Countries interested and willing to advance forward in such a direction, including, f.ex., Poland, Italy, Germany, Luxembourg, etc., revealed the French Minister in Strasbourg, well ahead of EU Parliament's forthcoming relevant Debates and Votes.

     -  Experienced former long-time MEP, Strasbourg's Mayor, and Minister of Culture, Catherine Trautmann, speaking earlier at a Hearing on the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), on the occasion of the 1st visit to EU Parliament of new French Minister of Trade, Matthias Fekl,  pointed, particularly, at the fact that "the Cultural Industry, already employs in France more People than the Car Industry !", so that what is really at stake is of great importance.

    + It is moreover so, since Culture also contributes into giving sense to the European project for EU Citizens, the current Need of which became recently obvious after the May 2014 EU Parliament's Elections", new French Culture Minister Pellerin underlined earlier Today, speaking to Strasbourg's Journalists, including "EuroFora".

    Significantly, she had initially scheduled to visit, in one same Day, both the Historic Strasbourg's Cathedral and an emerging New cultural pole "the Docks" at the entirely reenovated "Malraux peninsula", including projects such as "Digital Fabric", etc, but time was too short for now...

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    So, "Zeitnot" urged this Afternoon Pellerin to sum up things into a nutshell, focusing on what could be their main substance : Just like that Group of Young University Students, funded from EU's "Erasmus" Program, who were Visiting Strasbourg .. just for 1 (one) Day (sic !), in the context of a Week-long Tour of EU's "Blue Banana" central corridor between the Netherlands (their current base for Studies) and Switzerland, crossing throgh Brussels, Luxembourg, Strasbourg, Basel, Munich, and backwards, met by "EuroFora" Today, while waiting for the French Minister's second part of her visit : In the few Time available here, in addition to the "European district" of the City, they had decided to see its World Famous Cathedral, daring even to climb, on feet, its "more than 450 steps Stairway" to the Highest Peak, which gives a superb, eye-catching Bird's eye view over all Strasbourg up to the German "Black Forest" Mountains at the other side of Rhine river, told "EuroFora" one of those Students, who, by an incredible coincidence, was a young person from South Korea, i.e. the country where Fleur Pellerin had been born, before she was adopted by her French Family, benefitting from a good French Education and Culture with a remarkable success, to the point that, now, her way to speak and the views expressed cannot distinguish her from an original French Lady, with a European ambition in the Modern World, despite her beautiful Korean profile...

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    Meanwhile, by another Timely coincidence, Ancient History and Post-Modernity, France with the rest of Europe and the World, Traditional and Modern Culture and Values with technological Innovations and Politcs, etc., were also, ostensibly intermixed, both in new French Culture Minister's case and in that of Franco-Greek Music Composer Alexandre Desplats, (from a Greek Mother whose Family escaped from the 1922 Massacre of the Greco-Armenian autochthone Population of the Ancient Greek City of Smyrne, re-named afte the Genocide "Izmir" in nowadays Turkey, before she marries a French Citizen who lived in the US and returned later to Paris), the Winner of a 2015 OSCAR Prize for his Music in the New Film "The Grand Budapest Hotel", just 2 Days before Pellerin visits Strasbourg, (after having also won several French "CESAR" Prizes, as, f.ex. on 2011 for the Music composed in "The Ghost Writer", also supported mainly by German Film-Industry), whose new work, prepared for Wim Wenders' forthcoming film "Everything will be Fine", is scheduled to Open the Next International Film Festival of Berlin, later this year. Another practical exercice on how to articulate "European" and "Global", in nowadays Cultural Creation and Communication...

     A particularly delicate exercice when it comes also to Sign the 1st official Agreement on the Cultural Policy of Strasbourg, Headquarters of the PanEuropean CoE and ECHR, host of EU Parliament's full Plenary Sessions each Month, of EUROCORPS, Schengen System's organisation, PanEuropean Audio-Visual Observatory, European TV "ARTE", (etc), as French Minister Pellerin did earlier Today, together with the City's Mayor, Senator Ries, and Prefet Stephane Bouillon, after an exchange of views, this Morning, with two successive gatherings of State's competent services and of various Local Cultural actors. - EU still considers Culture as a mainly National issue, but we are, nevertheless, trying to advance in building a common European Cultural policy, the French Minister pointed out in substance.

 

 

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("DraftNews", as already send to "EuroFora"s Susbrcibers/Donors, earlier. A more accurate, full Final Version might be published asap).

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