"Nothing endures as change." This famous sentence by Heraclitus over 2500 years ago seems to fit well in our present situation where societies are in motion all over the world. To predict future or even what will happen the day after tomorrow is something that can be characterized as an uncertain action. Political, social and cultural changes are revising our everyday life with quick steps. Are we able to control these changes? Do we have the right or even any tools to do that? The ENCATC Annual Conference 2011 "CultureForecast" - which will be held in Helsinki, Finland October 12-14th - will focus on future aspects that are shaping the cultural field. With its pedagogical, practice oriented and theoretical approaches it gives teachers, students and practitioners possibilities to share their opinions of the present situation and visions of challenges that are waiting for us right around the corner.

The ENCATC Annual Conference will center around three themes that have recently been focal points in arts and cultural management. These are among others Culture and the City, New Audiences as well as Networking. Social redistribution has led to a situation where more and more people are concentrated in cities. From a cultural perspective this has meant that managers and other cultural workers are facing new challenges and given new possibilities and opportunities. Preserving existing cultural services, offering new ones for those who are used to consume culture and for those who are not, informing and marketing of possibilities to customers and producers within reach, building networks between interest groups and regions, nationally or internationally – the nature of our future work field will be shaped by complex and manifold social interaction.

Forecasting culture is as difficult as forecasting the weather.