Keith Shortley is 56. He and his wife lived in the North-West of England. In 2005 they moved to Poland. Keith has not been involved with culture/art sectors before his contact started with Poland in 2003. Now he is living in Cieszyn; his company is helping to establish and develop institutions. He is speaking about his adventure with culture.

Is culture a field to pursue one's career? And who can be successful in this field?

'Culture' is a very difficult word to define. Hence a career in culture is definitely difficult to define. However, I would say that because of the 'global economy' in which we are all now have a part, an understanding of one's own culture and an ability to communicate at a local, regional, national and international level in a manner that is culturally relevant is of growing importance. Hence I interpret pursuing a career in the field of culture as meaning using one's skills to enable communication both within and between cultures. In this respect, it is definitely worth while to pursue such a career. Being able to express oneself by being an author (of text, music, graphic etc etc), a performer, a publisher or a platform provider are all ways of being engaged in the cultural or creative industries. Whilst being an 'artist' no longer provides a meal ticket for life in Poland, there is an increasing need for creativity to be at the heart of entrepreneurship - hence a great reason for a career in the field of culture.

Why a British man has been working in Poland for two years now?

I would ask the same question about Polish people working in the UK. Why are they there? I am here because I feel a personal and moral imperative to address the damage done to the Polish nation by exploitation over a long period of time. Once EU accession was accomplished it became possible to live and work here. So my wife Anne and myself moved home and business to be based in Cieszyn at the end of 2005. We feel a special commitment to the younger generation in Poland, as there is an absence of mentors and business leaders committed to facilitate change in the enterprise sector. We would like to help the establishment of effective institutions that will help and support the rebuilding of the economy. I am currently working within the public, private and third sectors - mainly in the creative/cultural areas - to achieve this objective. We are planning to stay in Poland for about 10 years.

Can British good practice be successfully transferred to Poland?

I am obviously hoping to be able to find ways to transfer examples of good practice from the UK. However, this process will not be at all simple. There are huge cultural differences - a major and obvious one being language!! My current strategy is to try to develop medium term partnerships between institutions, so that mutually beneficial relationships can develop. It would be a mistake to think that knowledge transfer and exchange of good practice only work in one direction. I would prefer to think in terms of mutual benefit arising from cooperation, than a straight transfer of good practice.

Are European funds a good tool to support culture and how to use them efficiently?

Both European Union funds, and European Economic Area (EOG) Funds are a great source of funding for the cultural sector. However, both sources of funding are primarily for economic development purposes and should not be seen as primary sources of funding for mainstream cultural events. However, with imagination, cultural and creative organisations should be able to generate income to fund actions that will help their development. I have overseen a number of successful bids in this area. However, there appears to be little understanding of the methodology of obtaining funding from these sources, and I think 'Purpose' could be of great importance for communicating the message that EU funding can be a beneficial source of funding for cultural/creative organizations. The most effective use of EU funding is to ensure that actions are sustainable once the external funding ceases. Hence the determination at an early stage of an 'exit strategy' should be high on any list of priorities for bid and project development.

There is no point founding cultural activities on a foundation of short-term funding.

What are you doing currently and why? Who initiated this cooperation?

As I said earlier, we moved to Poland because of our own convictions - and without any institutional backing of any nature. It is great to be a free agent! I have had broad experience in SME development and in working with  European Funding mechanisms within an Objective One area (Merseyside) in the UK, and trust we can make use of these skills to - in a small way - assist the wise spending of the funding available from the European Union. The direct reason for our move east was from contact with a small association called Slot - www.slot.art.pl  - that runs an annual arts festival in Lubi±¿ near Wroc³aw. They inspired us to pack our bags and head east! We operate in two ways. First we have our own small commercial consultancy firm that offers support to public sector institutions and small enterprises in terms of strategy development or funding. Secondly we are involved with the development of sector3.pl - launched by slot - that intends to support the development of the third sector in Poland. Our main actions to date have been in the field of institutional development and training. I feel that there is a clear shortage of institutions that can assist the renewal of the polish economy.

One of the main aims of the funding from the European Union is to promote the delivery of their so-called 'Lisbon Agenda' - which is to increase competitiveness through innovation and enterprise. This can only be accomplished with the help of dynamic institutions at a local and regional level.

You attended the conference Creative Clusters in London, you were the only participant from Poland, how do you think - why?

The Creative Cluster Conference was a good event to attend - but very expensive for a delegate from outside the UK. There were a few delegates from Eastern Europe. The one event - titled New Europe - that focused on central and eastern Europe was very poorly attended - and was itself not very well run. It was not a good promotion for the region! The conference was worth attending, and I would be happy to pass on some of what I learned from the event if it would be of interest to your readers - as long as Creative Clusters are happy for some of their content to be shared. We should try to run our own version of the conference - perhaps in 2010.

Work is not everything?

We really feel it is a great privilege to be able to live and work in your country. I have had a great interest in the country and the region for many years and it has been an amazing experience to visit many different regions and talk to a wide range of people. We have a strong Christian faith, which helps us on the bad days when the task of learning your language and understanding the very different way your country works is very daunting! Sometimes, I am ashamed to call what we do work at all! We have a gained a great number of friends.