Voice of the Evaluator – The Curious Similarities Between Lasagna and Local Advocacy

In the context of Veszprém - Balaton 2023, EU Cultural Capital Programme in Hungary 1, the Hungarian Juggling Association staged a performance at the Budapest Eye. The performance included aerial aerobatics, balancing, juggling and suspending oneself 65 meters off the ground. The performance was a part of the Together! press conference series 2 aiming to increase the visibility of contemporary circus and circus professionals in Hungary. Through the support of SAIL, Circostrada’s micro-grant programme for advocacy activities, the Hungarian Juggling Association was able to hire a press agency that strategised the media outreach for the event. This resulted in press coverage of over one hundred articles and TV appearances. Their strategy of staging a performance at the Budapest Eye attracted key government officials, including the minister of regional development in charge of the European Cultural Capital Programme 2023. In Hungary, where small civil organizations receive little to no support compared to government organisations due to the current policy landscape, this new contact with a key government official is a positive advocacy outcome for the Hungarian Juggling Association and opens the door for more targeted future advocacy to benefit outdoor arts and contemporary circus in Hungary. Advocacy is a layered and lengthy process that requires different strategies and consistent engagement to see lasting change in the contemporary circus and outdoor arts ecosystems. Challenges and needs are very unique to each context, and we cannot predict what Circostrada members may need without facilitating conversations. To fill this gap, SAIL (Support for Advocacy, Influence and Leverage) launched in 2022 as a targeted micro-grant programme to strengthen advocacy, boost visibility and enhance recognition of contemporary circus and outdoor arts across Europe[3]. The programme is supporting and creating opportunities for Circostrada members to communicate their needs. Since 2024 and the launch of the CS VOICES project of activities, SAIL is specifically addressing three interconnected areas: Cultural Rights, Ecological Transformation, and Digital Transformation. It supports activities that increase the applicants’ visibility, recognition, or legitimacy with public funders or decision-makers, and have the potential to serve the general interest of contemporary circus and/or outdoor arts. Since its inception, SAIL has supported various activities, including but not limited to designing advocacy campaigns, organising peer-learning sessions, knowledge sharing workshops, hosting events involving policymakers to gain political visibility, commissioning a study or a mapping of key stakeholders, and translating, publishing findings.

To understand how SAIL grant support has impacted the members’ advocacy activities, we interviewed 6 SAIL grantees over the months of June and July. The organisations interviewed are Tutti Matti Per Colorno, Room 100, Latitude 50, Hungarian Juggling Association, FEDEC and Circuscentrum. Overall, SAIL is a highly rated activity with a 9.5/10 satisfaction rate. Grantees appreciated the flexibility the grant offers, as advocacy strategies can take many forms under different local contexts. Often, the advocacy activities are seen as an opportunity to engage with government officials and policymakers. The involvement of Circostrada in local advocacy activities is viewed positively by the grantees, as it helps advocate for the visibility and legitimacy of the activities. In some regions, where members struggle to be taken seriously in cultural policy or the economy, the involvement in a larger European network helps inspire confidence of policymakers in their current activities.

Facilitating dialogues with policymakers can take many forms. For example, Latitude 50 arranged a conference, bringing together circus and outdoor arts professionals with representatives from different political layers in Belgium. As they described, advocacy is like digging a spoon into different layers of lasagna. Efforts need to be made to engage with various relations – from policymakers to artists and the public. Moreover, advocacy is not just about changing cultural policies or asking to be seen as an important participant in the cultural economy. Advocacy is also about developing an understanding of the sector. According to Latitude 50, circus is still viewed traditionally as a performance with lions and clowns. Through programmes, policymakers can be introduced to new contemporary circus fields. If the policymakers understand the field better, they may be able to support it better. It is also important not to engage with just one level of governance and instead create a layered strategy to get great results. Activities should be done in consideration of the larger ecosystem. As Latitude 50 expressed, “we will not survive if we stay constant in our small context.”

On top of engaging with policymakers, advocacy activities can involve sharing resources, and building networks among peers. This is evident in the following projects:

1) Tutti Matti Per Colorno 4 shared resources of European funding and grants opportunities to circus professionals and municipalities in Italy. With time, the organiser hopes to attract professionals who might be interested in cultural management to the festival. Through the SAIL grant, they were able to grow the professional development offering around the festival.

2) Circus: A Safe(r) Space for Danger 5 promoted physical, mental, psychosocial safety in Circus arts among professionals.

3) ROOM 100 documented, archived and published existing circus activities and networks in Croatia to help build larger networks within the European context 6. Their yearbooks have been distributed to over 40 countries in Europe and have aided in increasing the visibility of the region.