Testimonies ATELIER BUDAPEST 2016 - ATELIER GORLITZ 2006 2006

“I was very impressed with the caliber of participants, I feel the Atelier did a really good job in selecting intelligent and vibrant individuals. Everyone had something to offer and was involved in something interesting. The networking events were really incredible! The venues and atmosphere, food and wine all superb for putting everyone at ease to really get to know each other. This is not an easy thing to accomplish!”

Atelier Budapest 2016

"The Atelier was a paradise island of inspiration and experiences that sent us back to our homes with courage and determination to lead the next generation of festivals with creativity and responsibility"

Atelier Budapest 2016

"Back home in Copenhagen after a week spent in Gwangju, South Korea, the thoughts gathered during the Atelier for Young Festival Managers start to form new shapes in my head. At the Atelier I found myself in a room full of curious, creative and hardworking people engaged in the arts all over the world. Each one of us having very different realities and backgrounds, but all of us in various ways struggling to make the world a better place through our work."

Atelier Gwangju 2015

“Gazing from the airplane window on my way back “home” I caught myself thinking the Atelier, for me, was like the first time I took a plane. Full of expectations – you prepare, buckle-up, accelerate, take off, penetrate the hazy clouds and gain clear vision of the immensity of the sky. Feel it, experience it and learn from it.”

Atelier Beirut 2015

"For the Atelier, 36 young festival leaders from all over the globe landed in Beirut to inspire and get inspired, exchange ideas, raise questions and try to give answers on the meaning and artistic management of festivals. One of the strongest feelings I had. Everybody had the same chance to express and share their story, concerns and mingle with everyone else with the same intensity."

Atelier Beirut 2015

"The Atelier is organised in such a way that renowned festival directors and managers are mentors who provide lectures, presentations and inspirations to the participants. The participants also share their experiences from their different festivals. This process provides a rich interaction and transfer of knowledge among participants."

Atelier Poznan 2014

"At the Atelier you learn from experienced mentors, festival pioneers; you hear inspiring stories from young festival managers from around the world; and you broaden your network. But the unique thing is that you get to know more about yourself."

Atelier Edinburgh 2014

"We all felt that we have a strong new network here – the seeds of many potential future collaborations between us have certainly been sowed."

Atelier Ljubljana 2012

"A significant value of the Atelier for me personally has been the chance to meet people who live and breathe artistic Festivals, from all over the world. I have enjoyed having my stereotypical assumptions of the world (seen through a prism of western media information) broken down, and I am so grateful for the opportunity to begin developing a greater understanding of other people, continents, cultures and viewpoints"

Atelier Singapore 2011

“Being able to listen to people from all over the world offered me an incredible wider prospective. We were blessed to have incredibly renowned mentors with us for the whole week, speaking about their festivals and their experiences. The networking opportunities of the Atelier are immense and I believe I have made strong contacts, which will help me building my festival. I found myself thinking less as a European and more and more as a global citizen.”

Atelier Izmir 2011

"The opportunity to meet with other festival managers from throughout Europe, to exchange ideas and experiences and initiate conversations, is an invaluable and rare one."

Atelier Varna 2009

"The Atelier was the opportunity to meet both experienced festival leaders in an intimate context, as well as the possibility to meet young colleagues. It’s very rare in our specific professional context to meet so many young people together. To me, that was food for thought."

Atelier Görlitz 2006

“For me the experience was just truly inspiring. I got to really imagine and see the possibility of my dreams coming true (...) I learned to find the motivation to believe in my dreams or ideas and implement them whether there's financial support or not.”