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First of all, I would like to welcome you to the public consultation conducted by the Ministry of Culture on the Thymeli Plan, as it has been shaped for the second half of 2024. This initiative, which we launched last year for the first time, and the ongoing communication we wish to maintain with you, reflect our belief that the active participation and contribution of all of you is essential and indispensable to us. This is because we recognise that a dynamic and lively dialogue, which can accommodate everyone's voices, can also unite our common effort to promote and develop theatre.
The aim of today's consultation is therefore to have a fruitful discussion between the Ministry of State for Culture and you, the bodies and people of the theatre, for the final formulation of the Plan, which aims to support and subsidise theatre productions.
I would therefore like to thank you for your presence here, as well as for the time you have taken to send your written comments and suggestions on the preliminary draft that has been posted for consultation.
The THYMELI Plan was and is a Plan that needed and needs improvements in order to adapt to the needs of the theatre and the arts community. And I assure you that this is the direction in which we are working. Following the announcement of the grants for the first half of 2024, we launched a new cycle of dialogue with all of you, with the aim of modifying several points of the previous Plan, while maintaining the same philosophy that aims to fund quality productions by emphasizing the artistic merit of the proposals.
At the same time, in response to the challenges faced by theatre organisations that maintain a permanent home - and on the basis, of course, of the data and resources available in the current budget - we have made an effort to support them through another plan. A design that separates the subsidy for theatre productions from the subsidy for the operation of theatres with roofs. The Operating Expenditure Funding Scheme that we announced was aimed exclusively at covering their operating costs, quadrupling the amount they could receive from EUR 10,000 last year to EUR 40,000. At the same time, we also extended the eligible costs, thus providing what I believe to be substantial financial relief.
I would like to take this opportunity to inform you that the process of evaluating the applications submitted for this project is being completed, and the replies are expected to be sent within the next few days, and replies have already been sent to the requests for the project to cover the costs of Promotion - Communication and International Networking and to the requests for the Cultural Creators' project. The replies to the requests of the Theatre Project of the CULTURE Programme are expected to be sent around the end of March.
Here, at this point, let me stress that we recognise that the theatre sector faces major challenges. Challenges that cannot be met solely by a single Plan or by measures that focus only on grants. It is clear that real progress in the theatre sector requires more effort, a more holistic approach and strategic planning. And let me describe this phase as "transitional", referring to the short and long-term strategic planning we have put on the table, which will help, among other things, the sustainability and viability of the theatre sector.
Our effort at the moment is to contribute to the promotion of the theatrical productions that receive a grant from THYMELI. In the first stage we have created a page on the website of the Ministry of State, where the user can find all the information about the theatrical productions of the semester gathered together, which we are promoting on our Social Media (MSM). In a second stage, the Ministry of State intends to carry out further dissemination actions through a wider campaign. In cooperation with the Press and Information Office we will proceed with the production of audiovisual material and spots for dissemination in the Mass Media (MSM) and in the PSBs, and we will print printed material (publications) with the theatre productions' information for distribution to the general public in targeted venues.
The Deputy Ministry of Culture is also studying the design of new policies to support the theatre sector. In particular, we are exploring the creation of a sponsorship programme for young entrepreneurial professionals and/or a platform for the presentation of theatre productions by emerging artists. We consider the extroversion of the sector equally important, so we are studying ways to support it. Through the Support Plan for Cultural Creators, efforts are being made to support almost all applicants to travel and participate in theatrical activities, events and festivals abroad. Furthermore, together with the Cyprus Centre of the International Theatre Institute, we are now supporting and co-organising the Week of Cypriot Theatre Works in Athens, at the National Theatre, and we are studying the possibility of organising a showcase of Cypriot theatre productions.
As part of our planning, our effort will also be to strengthen and promote the cultural sector through the implementation of a Community Development Plan, which will aim to make culture more accessible and attractive to a wider audience.
In addition, I would like to say that the Ministry of State is proceeding with the purchase of services to conduct quantitative and qualitative market research aimed on the one hand at the public and on the other at the theatre world, with questionnaires that will focus both on issues of public preferences and choices and on the needs of artists. The findings and results of these surveys will help us to formulate policy and design new sponsorship programmes.
This study will also help us to review and redesign our existing sponsorship programmes in both the theatre and other sectors, incorporating a more effective and sustainable approach. Our aim is to make cultural organisations more resilient and responsive to current needs and challenges so that they can continue to deliver quality cultural content.
Creating a framework for tax incentives, e.g. tax relief on the amounts that companies and individuals can give to support cultural institutions and activities is also a measure we are promoting as part of the government's Integrated Tax Transformation policy. The aim is that through these tax incentives, culture will also be financially supported by the private sector.
These, dear ones, are part of the measures we are promoting in the framework of our strategic planning for contemporary culture.
Before referring to the written comments and suggestions received on the Thymeli Plan for the second half of the year, I would like to make a brief reference to the most important changes we have made as a result of the dialogue that preceded it with you, and your views during our face-to-face meetings. The most important changes to the Plan, then, are as follows:
[*]Broadening its objectives. [*]Inclusion of newly established theatre groups among the beneficiaries. [*]Abolition of the two evaluation phases and consolidation of the criteria from the previous A and B evaluation phases into a single table. [*]Possibility to perform from June 2024. [*]Possibility to apply only for productions for children and/or young people. [*]Provision of an additional grant of €1.800 to the production for staging a Cypriot play. [*]Provision of an additional grant of €2.000 to the production for inclusion infrastructure. [*]Allowing greater flexibility in changing actors and cast (increase to ½ of the cast) [*]Removing the 3% weighting criterion for Cypriot work. [*]Addition of an evaluation criterion relating to the profile of the Applicant, including its continuity and presence over time, the density of its theatrical production over the last three years and the consistency it has demonstrated towards its obligations during the management of its Thymel 2023 grant last year. [*]Abolition of numerical scoring when ranking theatrical productions (in the new plan the first four scoring productions can receive the maximum sponsorship amount, the following four can receive the sponsorship amount in the second category, and so on). [*]Increase of the maximum sponsorship amount to €50.000 from €40.000. [*]Increase of the minimum sponsorship amount to €20,000 from €15,000 [*]The possibility is given, as in the case where there are still remaining funds in the Plan, to sponsor an additional theatrical performance with the minimum amount of €20,000, thus ensuring the fullest use of the available budget and giving the theatrical community the opportunity to benefit to the fullest extent possible.
I would like to mention that, having read the comments and observations you have sent in writing, I have found that we share the same concerns on certain points of the Plan. Points such as the way the Cyprus project is managed, the number of proposals approved, the discrepancy in the composition of the team and others. I am confident that through the open and frank exchange of views that will follow, we will be able to identify the best solutions.
In conclusion, and before I give you the floor, I would like to reiterate that the priority of the Ministry of State is to develop, strengthen and promote the theatre sector and the people who work in it. We see the sector as an integrated and sustainable tool that can make a decisive contribution to social cohesion and to improving the quality of life of the citizens of our country.
With this conviction as a starting point and based on mutual understanding and an equal exchange of ideas, the State Ministry of Culture stands by your side on the path towards a more creative shaping of our cultural landscape.
(EFYs/NZ/AF)
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