Mission

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From 2010 The European Writers’ Congress «EWC» is officially called The European Writers’ Council

The European Writers’ Congress/EWC began a new era on September 21 2006,  the day of its official constitution as an International Non-Profit Association under Belgian law, «Association internationale sans but lucratif» or AISBL. Since The European Writers’ Congress was founded in 1977 as the Federation of European Writers’ Associations it has evolved into an organisation of more than 120.000 individual writers, belonging to 60 member organisations, currently spanning 34 countries of Europe.

The EWC facilitates trans-European cultural & literary co-operation, the realisation of common projects and the professional exchange of experience & good practice among 58 writers’ associations in 30 countries.

The EWC advocates the literatures of Europe – South and North, East and West – and the creators of literature: poetry, fiction and non-fiction, juvenile and children's literature, drama, screenplay, multimedia works and translation of all forms of literary works, while contributing to the debate on the role of creators, culture and cultural policy in the ever growing European Union and improving relations with our “new neighbours”.

The EWC champions the diversity of literatures while raising awareness for both the role of creators & culture for the EU’s Lisbon Agenda and the common need of creators to have their moral and economic rights respected in the digital age.

The EWC defends the professional interests of its members’ some 60.000 members, all being protagonists of civil society at European and national level, in legal and political contexts, concerning cultural and social policy.

The EWC encourages personal contacts among individual authors of different nationalities and a constructive dialogue between literary translators/writers and other protagonists of the book chain, European policymakers and the reading public.

The EWC stands up for the democratic principles of freedom and equality, in particular the Human Rights to Freedom of expression and Freedom of information.

The EWC disseminates the results of its cultural networking to the wider public via its website, a newsletter and the publication of a variety of books, resolutions, and conference papers under The European Writer, ISSN 1560-4217.

The EWC enjoys the moral support of Members of the European Parliament and the financial support of European Commission DG Education & Culture since 1997 while taking pleasure in and empowerment from networking as a member of European advocacy groups such as Culture Action Europe, umbrella organisations such as the International Reproduction Rights Organisation (IFRRO), or as an NGO and official observer with the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).

And the EWC remains determined to raise and publicly present the commitment of professional writers and literary translators to shaping the profile of Europe via individual creativity and common elements of cultural policy within the diversity of expressions.

The EWC is grateful for the multi-annual operational core support  provided by the European Commission, Education and Culture DG, Culture Programme, through the partnership framework  agreement.

The EWC also thanks the following organisations for providing financial support for its activities:
Norsk faglitterær forfatter- og oversetterforening (NFF) / Norwegian Non-fiction Writers and Translators Association (Norway), The Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS, UK), De Stichting Literaire Rechten Auteurs (Stichting LIRA, The Netherlands), VGWort (Germany), and ProLitteris (Switzerland)