Representatives from more than 40 European cities have attended the Eurocities Culture Forum meeting in Brussels to discuss the role of urban culture in European policies. Representatives from Antwerp, Barcelona, Berlin, Bologna, Brussels, Dusseldorf, Genoa, Helsinki, Marseille, Munich, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Paris, Riga, Stockholm, The Hague, Vienna and Warsaw were among the participants at the meeting, held from October 13 to 15 in Belgium. Representatives from the European Union (EU), and the European Forum for the Arts and Heritage (EFAH) were also in attendance to explore means for deepending the cultural and local dimension of European Policies. The Culture Forum met with high ranking officials from the European Parliament, and keynote speaker Mr Eric Corijn, Director of the Centre for Urban research COSMOPOLIS and Professor of Social and Cultural Geography at the free University of Brussels, delivered a session for members entitled “Can the Cities save the World?”, concerning the power of cities as hubs for culture, economic development, social cohesion and diversity. Reports on key programmes (such as the Eurocult 21 Project, Programme Culture 2007, European Capitals for Culture; Youth Programmes, The Urban Programme and the European Social Funds) were also presented at the Forum meeting. Attendees were in agreeance on the need for a closer relationship between flagship European Programmes and local initiatives and projects involving culture. Key Forum priorities for 2006 were outlined, and include: the campaign on the Agenda 21 for Culture; work for young citizens (involving the launch of a new Festival for youth in Düsseldorf.); financing and funding culture; the role of Eastern European cities; the continued lobbying European Institutions. The next meeting of the Eurocities Culture Forum will take place in Riga (Latvia) in March 2006. For more information, visit www.eurocities.org or email Esteve Caramés (City of Barcelona) at: [email protected]