Malta’s partner for the European festival project

ARC Research and Consultancy has recently been set up and is led by Davinia Galea as Managing Director. The company has been appointed as the Maltese partner, the hub for a new European platform, a project initiated by the European Festivals Association (EFA), which is a network of more than 100 festivals from 44 countries.

The project is co-financed by the European Commission and is called Europe for Festivals, Festivals for Europe (EFFE). It aims to reward European cultural and arts festivals for their artistic value, their outstanding contribution to European cultural life and their sustainable impact on societal development.

Each of the European Union’s 28 Member States has a hub, its own contact point to promote the EFFE platform. Hub experts will select their country’s candidates for the quality Festival Label. A Festival Award for excellence will go to a small number or trend-setting festivals selected by an international jury.

Applications open

Launched by the European Festivals Association (EFA), the new pilot project opened a European-wide application process to gather interested festivals. The most innovative arts festivals are selected for the EFFE Festival Label and Award. An International Festival Jury and experts from the arts, culture, business, and political sectors steer the selection process.

Festivals are invited to apply until 15 November 2014.

The EFFE Festival Label is a quality label offering international recognition for the work of festivals and providing better access to their information for their peers and public. The festi- val label and award are a form of branding that encourages more people to know about and take part in festivals.

Experts across Europe assess applications to determine if festivals meet the three criteria - artistic commitment, involvement in their local communities and a European and global outlook.

In addition to the label, an international jury will give awards to the most trend-setting festivals. The International Festival Jury will be composed of highlevel and diverse jurors representing key stakeholders in the festival industry. Jury members will be announced in December 2014. All festivals from the 28 EU Member States are eligible to apply for the label and invited to explain how they fulfil the aforementioned criteria.

The label recipients and award winners benefit from increased visibility, new networking opportunities, further involvement of festivals in the artistic community, and recognition for their outstanding values. The Festival Guide, both in book and online formats, featuring festival details, articles, and facts and figures will be launched at the Festival Gala in autumn 2015.

EFFE believes it is an important advantage for Europe’s festivals to be recognised by their peers and the European Union for their outstanding artistic quality and community involvement. The platform invites artists, directors, managers and audiences worldwide to discover Europe’s very best, most creative festivals in a festival journey through Europe’s diversity. All information on EFFE and how to apply can be found at

www.effe.eu.