Festival organisers are being urged to enrol with a European network to promote their event abroad and be included in a multimedia guidebook to be distributed internationally.

‘Europe for Festivals, Festivals for Europe’ is a two-year pilot project that rewards festivals for their artistic commitment, involvement in local communities and global outlook.

These are the three criteria for the festivals to be endorsed and awarded a label that will help them attract sponsorship.

Festival organisers have until November 15 to apply, against a €50 fee, and the chosen festivals will be announced on January 31.

Culture Minister Owen Bonnici yesterday commended the initiative and said this was perfect example of the collaboration between the private sector and the government.

Local organisers needed to be encouraged to gain visibility while at the same time bring new audiences from abroad.

Such initiatives were crucial for the creative economy, he said.

The project is an initiative of the European Festivals Association, the umbrella organisation for festivals across Europe.

Each European country has its own festival hub as the contact point for artists, organisers, businesses and policy-makers interested in this project.

The local hub is represented by the recently set up ARC Research and Consultancy company, whose managing director is the former executive director of the Council for Culture and the Arts, Davinia Galea.

The director of ARC is Mario Frendo, who is the former artistic director of the Malta Arts Festival.

The hub will promote the project in Malta, while its experts  film director Mario Philip Azzopardi, former V18 chairman David Felice, and pianist Jennifer Micallef  will evaluate each country’s applications.

More information on www.effe.eu.