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Focus Groups
III: RADICAL REIMAGINATION OF FESTIVALS: WHAT WILL INTERNATIONALIZATION LOOK LIKE IN THE FUTURE? KEY TOPICS • New Internationalism: How do the international elements in your festival interweave with the local elements? What does the international component bring to your festival? Why is it important? • Role of Digital: What is the role and impact of the digital within your festivals? What is lost, what is gained? What are the opportunities for the future? • Core Values and Principles: What core values and principles might you highlight in a radical reimagining of your festival? • Mapping Festivals: How do we do this and what are the key questions we might ask festivals in order to map them?
International programming is an effective tool for cultural diplomacy and building connections between different communities. It also provides an opportunity to work across borders and expand a festival’s reach, but this process requires time and trust. Internationalism can also be linked to the on-going processes of de-colonization, a practice that must be continuous, requiring constant work and self-reflection. Questions of power play a significant role in international programming, not just in terms of representation and narrative control but also around who has the opportunity to participate in internationalization. Radical approaches for internationalization: • • • •
Co-funding festivals in international locations; what would be a fair exchange, what impact would it have on resources and power dynamics? Collaborations with other festivals in other locations looking at similar demographics and asking similar questions. Festivals becoming mixed live and digital streaming festivals. Working with “international locals” to develop global-facing programs domestically.
Does digitalization open the door for more internationalization? The measure of success for moving festivals online seems overwhelmingly attached to audience reach, i.e., an increase in views or access to a previously unreached demographic. This is important and
