Amateo is the European Network for Active Participation in Cultural Activities that serves and promotes people’s participation in the voluntary and amateur arts. Founded in 2008 it includes today 58 national and regional umbrellas and associations from EU member states and programme countries.

Amateo sees active participation in the arts as a core value for a free and open society as enshrined in Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Active participation in arts and cultural activities empowers individuals to freely express themselves and promotes cultural cohesion, social inclusion and active citizenship with an added value for humanistic and democratic values.

Why we are part of Amateo

Helping to shape its goals and programme as a founder member was a natural step towards upscaling our activity in the voluntary and amateur arts sector internationally. With a shared mission to support and promote people’s active engagement with creative activities, we have been building exchange-based collaborations with peer organisations across Europe for quite a few years now. 

We strongly believe that a joint effort towards creating and facilitating a stimulating environment for inclusive and accessible participation in cultural activities is a key ingredient of a lasting meaningful impact in different communities and decision-making structures at an international level. Thanks to the amazing quality of the arts and creativity to transcend borders — as well as to the genuine commitment of Amateo member organisations to developing trans-national cooperation — there is much potential to be further explored.

The importance of international connections

Amateo network members at the Annual Conference 2021 in Milan, Italy

The international outlook of any organisation working in the cultural sector in today’s interconnected world is key to maintaining a good sense of awareness of the practices and policies applied from a local to a global scale. There is much knowledge and practical insights to be exchanged and built upon as part of trans-national collaborations. The focus of our activity makes it ever more necessary to be in a constant flux of international and intercultural communication in order to ensure the diversity, relevance and inclusion of our endeavours. We have been able to achieve and celebrate many good results since Amateo began in 2008 and we are excited to raise the profile of our partnerships and projects across Europe. Being able to welcome guests from all over Europe to events in the UK and Ireland have been among the highlights of our work in the past decade.

Flagship events and projects

Between 2018 - 2021, the Amateo network members have collaborated to deliver the Arts Take Part programme supported by Creative Europe. It included a mix of initiatives conceived to celebrate amateur-led participatory arts projects, to offer resources and best-practice examples for grassroots arts groups, to develop new skills, and to share research findings and new opportunities. Learn more about:

• Amateo Award (annual ceremony)
• Inspiration Box
• Courses & conferences
• Research database

Our future hopes

There are many challenges in the world at the moment, whether you are an individual, an organisation, a country or an international network! We hope that Amateo’s members can work together to ensure that the right of every individual to freely participate in cultural life is protected across Europe and beyond, and that the many benefits of creative participation — for individuals and communities of all sizes — are widely recognised. It is easy to make political declarations of unity but to truly understand each other and move forward together we must understand each other’s culture and heritage. Participating in cultural activities together, sharing what we do and what we care about, is essential in creating a world where we can collaborate and face challenges together.

The network is warmly welcoming new members from across the continent, so if you'd like to join us, please head to the dedicated page on the Amateo website.

Current member organisations based in the UK & Ireland are: 

• Fèisean nan Gàidheal
• Fife Cultural Trust (ONFife)
• Making Music 
• Verd de Gris
• Youth Theatre Arts Scotland
• The Yellow House