Declaration concerning the Universal Value of Free Cultural Spaces, 2023

What would the world look like if there was no room for culture? For places where people think, talk, sing, listen and laugh. What would the world look like if there were no cultural spaces, no free spaces where expression, community and explicit implicitness prevail? Then the world would be flat, dull, silent.
Spaces and places where the impossible is possible are of all times and occur everywhere. These are primarily village meetings at a local old tree, a stone, a cave, a mountain, a lake, or a market, a street, a circus, square, open place within or outside a settlement, a remote area or whatever public place, where members of communities are acting and expressing in a self-regulating way.

Collectively creating and experiencing expressions of culture in the sense of communal singing, dancing and music was, is, and always will be part of it. Folklore is the teachings or knowledge of the people. As is the communal experience of memories, the so-called collective memory, where the joint recording of events as expression, as mnemonic and as a message for future generations is reflected in opinion rock drawing, petroglyph, mark, symbol or totem and narrative. There are sanctuaries of all degrees, on land, on sea, in the air and in the ether. Some are permanent and some are temporary. Some are nomadic and mobile, others are static or (semi-)permanent, appear in festival form or are no bigger than a wall full of graffiti. Also the more recent concept of Freiraum1 (Free-space / Free-place) as space and place for free culture, standing for those public spaces and places where no behavioural constraints are exercised. Spots and Hotspots in which the self-created Free Cultural Spaces where visual arts, prose and poetry, theatre, film, music, dance and expression meet, alternate, influence and merge without losing their individual character traits.
So, anywhere in the world Free Cultural Spaces – in whatever form or shape – have been part of society since time immemorial, even if they were and are not always treated as such within the administration of a community, settlement, village, city, region or country. Nevertheless though, sometimes such spaces and places have been tolerated, supported, embraced, recognized, and/or maintained by the administration as places for the free expression of cultural activities.

Summarising the content of this document … a kind of short read.
Since Free Cultural Spaces seem or sometimes even are considered indispensable, the aim of this document is to focus on the being of Free Cultural Spaces in the context of their Value. Or even better; their universal value. Thus, not only a short exposé on the significance of Free Cultural Spaces will pass – some of them being mentioned in appendix 1 –, also some developments concerning Free Cultural Spaces are given. Analysing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats concerning them can help clarifying the so called 6W1H (who, what, where, when, why, with what, how). On that though, we do not go into detail here, but remain in general terms.
The actual aim of these Introductory words on the Declaration concerning the Universal Value of Free Cultural Spaces is that it can serve in the awareness by government bodies and administrations that Free Cultural Spaces – no matter in what form – exist and are (thus) part of any a society. To support this some activities by and on Free Cultural Spaces have been listed in appendix 2. The achievement and efforts can – when drawn attention to and shared – even serve in enthusing mentioned entities to reserve spaces and maintain places for free culture. The latter is reason to give some thoughts on autonomousness of Free Cultural Spaces.
It goes without saying that the major consideration of the whole project lies in compiling the Declaration concerning the Universal Value of Free Cultural Spaces and bringing it to the notice of the United Nations.

Significance of Free Cultural Spaces
People from all walks of life meet in Free Cultural Spaces. They are the spaces and places where the unknown is explored and where boundaries are pushed. In Free Cultural Spaces it is the residents and users who take responsibility as partakers for the interpretation and internal organisation. Their existence strengthens the connection between city, country and neighbourhood residents, and through their hospitality they promote a versatile cosmopolitan community.
In the knowledge that a society exists by the grace of equal living, working and being together, it is important to elevate these values as the norm. A society cannot exist without breeding grounds, without a space and place where nature and culture meet, where people can be themselves together. Spaces and places like these can also be seen as laboratories for interpersonal actions and activities in relation to forms of alternative economies, immaterialism and both individual and collective self-sufficiency, among other things. A society that takes itself seriously creates space for this growth and learning because it respects what the space is being used for - whether it is taken or provided.

Developments
Over the last fifty years, quite a number of Free Cultural Spaces came into being, have been developed, have spatially been embedded and administratively tolerated. The presence of Free Cultural Spaces makes the existence of the political and administrative system an environment – a place and space – in which it is more pleasant to be human, regardless of where in the world. Free Cultural Space initiatives have always existed and always will. Many have since disappeared, others survived and new ones are to be arranged.
Noted can be, however, that under pressure from primarily economic considerations in many parts of the world, Free Cultural Spaces have less and less options to be organised, developed, embedded and maintained in order to enjoy their fundamental cultural and social rights to the same extent as, for example, the established cultural expressions.

Rights and regulations
There is at least a moral and social right to have, hold and maintain free cultural areas and thus Free Cultural Spaces. Free Cultural Spaces are there for everyone. But the simple moral and social appeal is no longer sufficient. Some rights are embedded in tradition. Others are hard-won, precisely by and for members of a society that should not be overlooked. Several of these rights, for example those on cultural freedom, are so obvious and common that it is sometimes forgotten to actually notice them. This also goes to, for example rights of equality and inclusiveness. Acknowledging the rights on cultural freedom by recording and anchoring them could thus be helpful.
Besides, taken into consideration that in some areas government bodies and administrations want to linger in just these spaces as much as citizens and country folk actors, the acknowledgement that Freedom, Culture and Space (in whatever order of these words) always have been and will be part of society, makes room for thoughts on joint goals, mutual acceptance and mutual assistance. The need to transform moral rights into a slightly more regulated body is therefore necessary in those environments where free culture in general and Free Cultural Spaces in particular are endangered.
Given the increasing pressure on free culture, embedding Free Cultural Spaces in political and/or administrative discourse thus seems feasible, even if this is or can be considered a contradiction in terms from the rationale of Free Cultural Space. Nevertheless though, it can – and perhaps will be – an instrument in preventing further erosion. The existence of declarations and manifestos on fundamental human rights and on cultural uniqueness2, lead to the thought that the fundamental rights on Free Cultural Spaces should be embraced by the international ruling community, no matter if consent is expressed by signature, ratification or accession3. Naming freedom and cultural expressions of whatever kind is giving culture a space and a place and putting spaces and places on the map. These are sufficient reasons to articulate the right for the existence of Free Cultural Spaces. To enshrine these spaces and to assert them in the administrative system. Just like all those existing, and already mentioned, public and open places where communities traditionally acted, act and always will act in a self-regulating way.

Considerations
Free Cultural Spaces contribute to a society as hotspots for free expression of cultural behaviour. They are thus part of that society. It is precisely that reason the integration of its concepts should be taken into hand. In fact it is the re-introduction of an older concept in society, since people being together in Free Cultural Spaces have been silent witnesses from long times past. They have actually always been there, have never been away, have never been dissolved and will never cease to be part of a society. Nevertheless many initiatives on the organisation, development and maintenance of Free Cultural Spaces have not been given the attention they deserve. Some of them have been dissolved and others are endangered. New initiatives sometimes do meet compatible interests, but incompatible interests too.
Embedding the concepts of Free Cultural Spaces in United Nations guardianship is a way to ensure the continued existence of these elementary parts of society by means of the implementation of political and administrative preconditions. The world is all but flat, dull and silent.

Relation with autonomousness
As Free Cultural Spaces are (experienced as) autonomous, and often self-supporting, it seems contradict to arrange the creation, existence and survival of them via a declaration. A declaration that can open up cooperation with administrative bodies and can lead to find mutual aspects of interest. In many an area Free Cultural Spaces are autonomous at this moment, and they probably will be in the future. On the other hand though, in many areas Free Cultural Spaces are endangered due to (putative or supposed) economic, administrative and/or political conflicting interests.
Does embracing the Declaration concerning the Universal Value of Free Cultural Spaces mean that the autonomous character of Free Cultural Spaces is in danger? The answer on that question is no. Autonomy of administration and cooperation with administration are not necessarily in conflict or contradictory. The Declaration is thus not intended to frustrate the autonomous and self-supporting character of Free Cultural Spaces. What it does though, is function as a tool that cán be used by Free Cultural Spaces that are endangered. In these circumstances the Declaration can help. In the same time it can make way for the acknowledgement of the existence of Free Cultural Spaces in a self-reflecting and self- respecting society. And, as stated, it can even help in creating new initiatives for free culture in general and Free Cultural Spaces in particular.

Concluding remarks
The Declaration concerning the Universal Value of Free Cultural Spaces is a document written in official language. It does not only describe what Free Cultural Space are and why they are relevant for a society, but also indicates what (pre)conditions necessary to develop and maintain them.
The main reason for drafting the Declaration is that free cultural spaces, anywhere in the world, have been and are part of society, but are not always treated as such within the administration of a region, region or country.
The intention is that one or more international organisations, for example UNESCO, is to adopt this Declaration and for member states of the United Nations to ratify it. Ratifying the Declaration leads to getting free cultural spaces as an essential part of society on the political and administrative agenda.
Since the preconditions deemed necessary for free cultural spaces are often not given by administrators, it is important to make those administrators aware of and familiar with the social significance of free cultural spaces.
Under the ratified Declaration, administrators can create the necessary conditions for the creation, existence and survival of free cultural spaces in harmony and consultation with representatives of free cultural spaces. But, with this Declaration in hand, administrators can also be called to account if preconditions for the creation, existence and survival of free cultural spaces are insufficient or compromised.

1. Wiktionary, lemma ‘Freiraum’ (https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=Freiraum&oldid=65724490).
2. In this case the Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity of 2001 as adopted by the the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of 1966 as prepared by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) and adopted by General Assembly of the United Nations, the Declaration concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries of 1989 as adopted by the General Conference of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), and The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples of 2007 as adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations.
3. These words have a specific meaning in the way a state expresses consent in its acceptance of a United Nations treaty. Based on the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, the significance of these words is given withing the so called ‘Vienna formula’. See Wikipedia, lemma ‘Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties’ (https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vienna_Convention_on_the_Law_of_Treaties&oldid=1088270713).

Listing of some previous manifestations, symposia, gatherings, meetings, festivals et cetera on Free Cultural Spaces.
The development of the Declaration concerning the Universal Value of Free Cultural Spaces, 2023 can be seen as a contributions of free cultural, subcultural and countercultural places, to the cultural diversity and social, economic and ecological harmony of human kind and to equal, equitable, inclusive and diverse local, national and international open, connective and interactive co-operation and understanding. It cannot be seen apart from many manifestations, symposia, gatherings, meetings, festivals and so forth on the matter. It is thus that the proposals regarding the shaping, development and maintenance of Free Cultural Spaces via the Declaration takes into account at least following preluding happenings and actions of which some have been recorded in whatever shape or form:
• ‘Amsterdam Takes-It’ (Dutch: “Amsterdam Neemt Het”);
- theme: ‘Free Cultural Spaces’ (Dutch: “Vrije Culturele Ruimten”);
- De Pleinwerker, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 16th December 1984;
• Urban Tribes Meeting;
- manifesto: ‘Ruigoord-Christiania’;
- Christiana, Copenhagen, Denmark, 18th August 2008;
• Gathering of the ‘Cultural Defence Line of Amsterdam’ (Dutch: “Culturele Stelling van Amsterdam”);
- declaration of the Cultural Defence Line of Amsterdam;
- Het Domein, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 21st August 2010;
• 1st futurological symposium on Free Cultural Spaces;
- ‘1st Dutch symposium of the Cosmopolitical Parliament’;
- Ruigoord, Netherlands, 11th to 12th August 2011;
• 2nd futurological symposium on Free Cultural Spaces;
- ‘2nd Dutch symposium of the Cosmopolitical Parliament’;
- Ruigoord, Netherlands, 3rd August 2012;
• 3rd futurological symposium on Free Cultural Spaces;
- ‘1st international symposium of the Cosmopolitical Parliament’;
- Ruigoord, Netherlands, 23th to 24th of July 2013;
• 4th futurological symposium on Free Cultural Spaces;
- theme: ‘Festivalisation’;
- Boom Festival, Idanha Velha, Portugal, August 2014;
• 5th futurological symposium on Free Cultural Spaces;
- theme: ‘Individualism and Collectivism’;
- Christiana, Copenhagen, Denmark, 24th to 26th September 2015;
• 6th futurological symposium on Free Cultural Spaces;
- theme: ‘Image’;
- Uzupis Res Publika, Vilnius, Lithuania, 8th to 11th June 2016;
• 7th futurological symposium on Free Cultural Spaces;
- theme: ‘Dégentrification’;
- ADM, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 12th to 14th October 2017;
• Free Space conference, organised by ADM;
- theme: ‘the preservation of Free Experimental Spaces in the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area’;
- Pakhuis de Zwijger, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 4th December 2018;
• A core group of independent free spaces;
- manifesto: ‘Free Spaces Agreement’ (Dutch: “Vrijplaatsenakkoord”);
- Amsterdam, Netherlands, published 17th April 2019;
• conference of the Cultural Defence Line of Amsterdam (Dutch: “Culturele Stelling van Amsterdam”);
- theme: ‘Unaffordable Capital’ (Dutch: “Onbetaalbaar Kapitaal”);
- Pakhuis de Zwijger, Amsterdam, Netherlands, at 12th June 2019;
• 8th futurological symposium on Free Cultural Spaces;
- theme: ‘Reframing Environmentalism’ ;
- Nieuw en Meer, Amsterdam, Ruigoord and Vrij Paleis Amsterdam, Netherlands, 13th to 15th September 2019;
• Free Cultural Space Symposium;
- Gängeviertel Hamburg, Germany, scheduled September 2020, cancelled due to Covid-19 lock-down measurements;
• Expedition Free Space Amsterdam (Dutch: “Expeditie Vrije Ruimte Amsterdam”);
- declaration on a municipal policy to preserve counterculture;
- Amsterdam, Netherlands, launched September 2020, confirmed July 2021;
• 9th futurological symposium on Free Cultural Spaces;
- theme: ‘50 years of past, present and future’;
- Christiania, Copenhagen, Denmark, 23rd to 27th September 2021;
• Frei(T)räume / Envisioning Free Space Conference organised by Space of Urgency, Berlin, Germany;
- theme: ‘the evaluation and redevelopment of Amsterdam’s Expedition Free Space’ (Dutch: “Expeditie Vrije Ruimte”);
- Several locations, Amsterdam, 24th to 28th November 2022;
• 10th futurological symposium on Free Cultural Spaces;
- theme: ‘Towards the symbiocene’;
- Ruigoord and Paradiso, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 24th to 26th July 2023.

Team FCS Amsterdam has worked on a concept declaration concerning the universal value of Free Cultural Spaces in the world. Please find below the text which will be empowered by the Futurologisch Symposium in Paradiso on July 26th. After the program this declaration will be send to the United Nations and will be handed to our local Government by a parade from Paradiso to the Stopera. Paradiso program July 26th 11-17hrs,  Parade 17-19hrs   Preamble: Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, and good faith in the fulfilment of the obligations assumed by States in accordance with the Charter,
Taking into account that specific attention had been given to:
• self-determination of all people in free pursuing their economic, social and cultural development, the right to take part in cultural life, to undertake creative activity and to benefits to be derived from the encouragement and development of international contacts and co-operation in cultural fields, in The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of December 16, 1966 as prepared by the Committee on 3 Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) and adopted by General Assembly of the United Nations;
• diverse forms culture takes across time and space and that this diversity is a source of exchange, innovation and creativity is necessary for humankind as biodiversity is for nature, in The Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity of November 2, 2001 as adopted by the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO);
• cultural diversity, in The Declaration concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries (no. 169) of June 27, 1989 as adopted by the General Conference of the International Labour Organisation (ILO);
• cultural enhancement, the respect for culture, cultural expression and development, in The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (61/295) as adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on September 13, 2007.

Affirming that:
• Free Cultural Spaces have been part of society through-out time, although scope and goals have been changed and will change in time and space;
• Free Cultural Spaces contribute to the diversity and richness of civilizations and cultures.

Recognizing:
• the need to respect and promote the creation and maintenance of Free Cultural Spaces;
• that respect for Free Cultural Spaces contributes to sustainable and equitable development of culture and cultural expression.

Welcoming the fact that:
• Free Cultural Spaces organizing themselves for cultural and social enhancement;
• administrations will embrace existing Free Cultural Spaces and will, if necessary, give way for support and facilitate maintaining Free Cultural Spaces in accordance with their aspirations and needs.

Convinced that control by Free Cultural Spaces over developments affecting them will enable them to maintain and strengthen their being, and to promote their development.

Article 1
1) Free Cultural Spaces:
a) are physical and social, emotional, spiritual, intellectual open spaces, embedding cultural, free-cultural, counter-cultural and sub-cultural traditions and values on land, on and in water, in the air and in the ether;
b) are experimental urban and/or rural zones and laboratories for inter-human relationships and cooperation, where ecological, social, cultural, economic events and experiments are generated, created, developed, facilitated, maintained and used;
c) are environments where equality, equity, ingenuity, inclusion and diversity in form and content are standard;
d) are ideally free of violence and aggression in whatever form;
e) are free of oppressive control and creative limitation for the benefit of partakers;
f) are distinguished from other parts of society whose status is regulated wholly or partially by customs or traditions or by special laws or regulations;
g) are real, virtual and/or media independent sites of cultural expression; common grounds for all those pursuing experimental, expressive and transformative lifestyles and/or ways of living;
h) can be pop-up, temporary, periodical, permanent and/or static or mobile. They can serve on regional, trans-regional, national, trans-national and/or international levels.
2) Free Cultural Spaces is a broader term for Autonomous Zones, Freiräume, Liminal zones, et cetera;
3) Free Cultural Spaces are ideally self-organised, while financial considerations hardly hinder;
4) Free Cultural Spaces exist by the grace and initiatives of partakers;
5) Partakers are the humans, creators, developers, players, custodians, users, inhabitants, organised participants and/or their representative bodies.

Article 2
Self-identification of a Free Cultural Space by partakers shall be regarded as a fundamental criterion for determining the object to which the provisions of this Declaration apply.

Article 3
1) Governments, with the participation of partakers concerned, are responsible for developing preconditions for the creation, support, maintenance and continuity of Free Cultural Spaces.
2) Such preconditions shall include policies and measures for:
a) identifying Free Cultural Spaces within their environments (ecological, social, economic and cultural);
b) recognizing environmental relevance of Free Cultural Spaces and/or partakers embedding and supporting Free Cultural Spaces in their jurisdictions;
c) protecting the social, cultural and spiritual values and practices of these partakers;
d) ensuring that partakers benefit on an equal footing from the rights and opportunities which national laws and regulations grant to other members of the national community;
e) promoting the full realisation of the rights of these partakers with respect for their social and cultural identity, their customs and traditions;
f) assisting the partakers concerned to reduce socio-economic gaps that may exist between members of the national community;
g) safeguarding the partakers’ property; their labour, cultures and environment;
h) safeguarding against the abuse of their rights and enabling them to initiate legal proceedings, either individually or through their representative bodies;
i) international agreements to facilitate contacts and co-operation between Free Cultural Spaces and/or partakers across borders, including activities in the economic, social, cultural, spiritual and environmental fields;
j) ensuring, whenever appropriate, that studies are carried out, in co-operation with the partakers concerned, to assess the social, spiritual, cultural and environmental impact on them of planned development activities. The results of these studies shall be considered as fundamental criteria for the implementation of these activities.
3) In applying the provisions of this Declaration, governments shall consult the partakers through appropriate procedures whenever consideration is being given to legislative or administrative measures which may affect them directly.
4) The consultations carried out in application of this Declaration shall be undertaken, in good faith and in a form appropriate to the circumstances, with the objective of achieving agreement or consent by governments and partakers to the proposed measures.
5) Measures shall be taken to ensure that Free Cultural Spaces and their partakers concerned can understand and be understood in legal proceedings, where necessary through the provision of interpretation or by other effective means.
6) Measures shall be taken to safeguard the right of the partakers concerned to use Free 5 Cultural Spaces not exclusively occupied by them, but to which they have traditionally had access for their subsistence and traditional activities. Particular attention shall be paid to the situation of more ambulant partakers and shifting cultivators in this respect.
7) The governmental authority responsible for the matters covered in this Declaration shall ensure that appropriate mechanisms exist to administer the programmes affecting the Free Cultural Spaces concerned, and shall ensure that they have the means necessary for the proper fulfilment of the position and scope of these Free Cultural Spaces. These programmes shall include the planning, co-ordination, execution and evaluation, in co- operation with the Free Cultural Spaces and/or partakers concerned, of the measures provided for in this declaration.

Article 4
Partakers shall enjoy the full measure of human rights and fundamental freedoms without hindrance or discrimination.

Article 5
The partakers concerned shall have the right to decide their own priorities for the process of development as it affects their lives, beliefs, and spiritual well-being and the lands they occupy or otherwise use, and to exercise control, to the extent possible, over their own economic, social and cultural development. In addition, they shall participate in the formulation, implementation and evaluation of plans and programmes for national and regional development which may affect them directly.

Article 6
1) Subject to the following paragraph of this Article, the Free Cultural Spaces and/or partakers concerned shall not be removed.
2) Where the relocation of Free Cultural Spaces and/or partakers is considered necessary as an exceptional measure, such relocation shall take place only with their free and informed consent. Where their consent cannot be obtained, such relocation shall take place only following appropriate procedures established by national laws and regulations, including public inquiries where appropriate, which provide the opportunity for effective representation of the partakers concerned.

Article 7
The nature and scope of the measures to be taken to give effect to this Declaration, shall be flexible, also in regard to specific local, regional or national conditions, characteristics and limitations.

Article 8
The application of this Declaration shall not be interfered, hindered or affected by other declarations and recommendations, international treaties, legislation, customs or measurements.

Article 9
This Declaration concerning the Universal Value of Free Cultural Spaces, 2023 can be cited as the Free Cultural Spaces-Declaration 2023 or as the FCS-declaration 2023.