The Open Culture! international conference will take place in Bratislava on 29–30 May 2025, at the Old Market Hall, under the patronage of the mayor of Bratislava. Organized by the Open Culture platform in collaboration with Vienna Festival (Wiener Festwochen) and international partners—including the Artistic Freedom Initiative, the European Alliance of Academies, Culture Action Europe, Resistance Now!, the European Theatre Convention, Opera Europa, PEARLE, the Network of European Museum Organizations, the Reset! Network, and others—the conference will bring together key voices from the cultural sector.

Focusing on the worsening state of culture across Europe, the conference will address growing political interference in artistic freedom, significant cuts to cultural funding, and the broader challenges facing the creative sector. Its goal is to exert collective pressure on EU policymakers, foster collaboration among cultural platforms and initiatives, raise public awareness, and explore solutions to these pressing issues.

The Open Culture! international conference will welcome representatives of the European Parliament and the European Commission, mayors of European cities, distinguished artists, leading experts from Slovakia and beyond, key figures from international cultural organizations, influential foreign journalists, and other prominent guests in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia.