Meet Our International Advisory Board

“International circulation requires sustained cooperation, not isolated initiatives”

Dr. Carmina Crusafon Baqués on strengthening global pathways for European animation

 

Expert Spotlight #1: Dr. Carmina Crusafon Baqués

 

We are proud to welcome a distinguished group of experts from around the world who will help guide our mission and contribute their knowledge, experience, and global perspectives.

As part of our Advisory Board Spotlight series, we are pleased to introduce Dr. Carmina Crusafon Baqués, whose research on audiovisual policy, international communication, and media systems provides valuable insights into some of the key challenges and opportunities facing European animation today.

In this article, she reflects on international cooperation, youth audiences, cultural policy, and the strategic role of animation in Europe’s global cultural presence. Her perspectives offer important guidance for ANIMA MUNDI’s work to strengthen the European Animation Industry Ecosystem and enhance its international visibility, competitiveness, and societal impact.

1. International cooperation and global circulation

Your research on the Euro–Latin American audiovisual space shows how supranational programmes such as Creative Europe MEDIA and IBERMEDIA contribute to building transnational markets and cooperation frameworks. In today’s context, what lessons from these experiences remain relevant for strengthening the global circulation of European animation?

The experiences of Creative Europe MEDIA and IBERMEDIA show that international circulation cannot be built only through isolated market initiatives. It requires sustained cooperation frameworks, shared objectives and long-term collaboration between public institutions and the industry.

Three lessons remain particularly relevant for European animation.

• First, cooperation and collaboration must be the basis of the approach. Supranational programmes are effective when they create stable spaces for producers, distributors, broadcasters, platforms, festivals and public bodies to work together. In the case of animation, this is especially important because production processes are long, investment needs are high and international visibility is essential.
• Second, common cultural references, shared heritage and, where relevant, linguistic proximity can help create stronger circulation spaces. This does not mean reducing diversity, but rather identifying common standards, values and narratives that allow European animation to travel more easily while preserving its cultural specificity.
• Third, the industry should remain at the centre of the process. Policymakers can create the conditions, provide support, reduce barriers and facilitate cooperation, but the creative and industrial leadership must come from the sector itself. Public policy works best when it listens to the needs of professionals and helps them scale up, internationalize and compete globally.
  

In your view, what distinguishes the audiovisual (and potentially animation) as a tool within international cultural relations, compared to other creative sectors?

The audiovisual sector occupies a central place in contemporary culture because it is one of the main ways in which societies communicate, represent themselves and understand the world. Compared with other creative sectors, audiovisual content has an exceptional capacity to cross borders because it combines image, sound, emotion and narrative.

Animation has an even more specific potential. It can be understood across ages, cultures and linguistic contexts. It is not limited by realism or by the physical constraints of live-action production, and it can create universal stories while still expressing very specific identities, values and cultural references.

For international cultural relations, this is crucial. Animation can communicate a worldview, create emotional connections and make cultural diversity accessible to broad audiences. It can reach children, young people and families, but also adult audiences, and it can circulate through cinemas, television, platforms, festivals, educational environments and digital devices. This makes animation a strategic tool for cultural diplomacy and for the global visibility of European creativity.

2.   Youth, audiences and media transformations

Your research on young audiences’ media consumption shows profound shifts linked to digital platforms and changing habits. How do these transformations redefine the role of animation in addressing younger audiences as both consumers and cultural participants?

Animation plays a decisive role in the cultural formation of children and young audiences. It is often the first audiovisual language through which children discover stories, emotions, characters, identities and values. In this sense, animation is not only entertainment; it is also an entry point into culture.

Digital transformation has expanded this role. In the past, animation reached young audiences mainly through television schedules and cinema releases. Today, it circulates through platforms, mobile devices, social media, short-form video and on-demand environments. This multiplies access points and viewing occasions, but it also fragments attention and increases competition for visibility.

As a result, young audiences are no longer only consumers. They are also cultural participants: they comment, share, remix, recommend and sometimes create their own content inspired by animated worlds. European animation therefore needs to understand young people not only as viewers, but as active users within digital cultural ecosystems.

This requires new strategies of distribution, engagement and education. Animation must remain accessible, attractive and culturally meaningful, while also helping young audiences develop a richer relationship with European stories, languages, identities and creative traditions.

ANIMA MUNDI places strong emphasis on youth as a strategic audience group. From your perspective, what should be the key priorities for aligning cultural policy, education, and industry strategies to better engage young audiences with European animation?

A key priority should be to develop a stronger concept of audiovisual literacy. Media literacy is essential, but it is often too broad. Audiovisual literacy should focus specifically on how images, sounds, narratives, platforms and formats shape cultural understanding, especially among children and young people.

This approach should start at school, continue through higher education and connect with professional life. The relationship between education, cultural policy and industry should not be fragmented. Schools and universities can help develop critical and creative audiences; policymakers can support access, diversity and circulation; and the industry can provide professional knowledge, creative content and real connections with production and distribution.

It is also important to avoid overcomplicating the diagnosis. Sometimes the complexity of the digital environment makes us lose sight of the basics: young audiences need access to high-quality European animation, they need to recognise themselves in the stories, and they need opportunities to understand how audiovisual culture is produced.

A practical approach could be based on identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats for European animation among young audiences. Europe has a strong creative and industrial base, but it needs better coordination between policy, education and industry in order to turn this potential into long-term audience engagement.

3.   EU audiovisual policy and project positioning

Looking ahead, what should be the key elements of a forward-looking European policy strategy for animation in terms of internationalisation, innovation, and cultural impact towards 2030?

A forward-looking European policy strategy for animation should combine three dimensions: internationalisation, innovation and cultural impact.

In terms of internationalisation, Europe needs stronger mechanisms to support distribution, promotion and visibility in global markets. European animation should not only be present in festivals and professional markets, but also in mainstream platforms, educational environments and youth-oriented digital spaces.

In relation to innovation, policy should support new production models, digital tools, immersive formats, artificial intelligence, virtual production and cross-platform storytelling. However, innovation should not be understood only as technological innovation. It should also include innovation in narratives, formats, business models, audience engagement and international cooperation.

In reference to the cultural impact, animation should be recognised as a strategic sector for cultural diversity, youth engagement and European identity. European animation can contribute to a more plural audiovisual landscape by offering stories that differ from dominant global models. This requires policies that support both competitiveness and cultural specificity.

Towards 2030, the key challenge will be to ensure that European animation is globally visible, technologically competitive and culturally distinctive.

Based on your expertise, what key message would you highlight regarding the strategic role of animation within Europe’s cultural and creative industries, particularly in a globalised and digital context?

The key message is that animation is one of the most powerful tools Europe has to express its vision of the world. It brings together creativity, technology, storytelling, education, industry and cultural identity.

In a globalised and digital context, animation is strategic because it can travel across borders while preserving cultural specificity. It allows Europe to project its diversity, values and imagination in a format that is accessible to younger generations and international audiences.

Animation should therefore be understood not as a secondary audiovisual genre, but as a central component of Europe’s cultural and creative industries. It has industrial value, educational value and symbolic value. It can strengthen Europe’s presence in global audiovisual markets while also contributing to cultural diversity, democratic imagination and social cohesion.

ANIMA MUNDI proposes developing a European brand to promote European animation in international markets. Based on your expertise in supranational policies, what are the potentials and challenges in this endeavour?

Developing a European brand for animation has strong potential, but it must be carefully designed. Identification is essential in global markets. A recognisable European brand could help increase visibility, improve positioning and make European animation more competitive internationally.

The main potential lies in creating a shared identity for European animation without erasing its internal diversity. Europe’s motto, “United in diversity”, is valuable politically, but it can be difficult to translate into a clear market identity. For international promotion, there may be a need for a stronger and more recognisable label: a renewed idea of “Made in Europe” or “Made in the EU”, adapted to the specific strengths of European animation.

The challenge is to avoid making the brand too generic. European animation should not be presented only as diverse, because diversity alone is not always a strong market message. The brand should also communicate quality, creativity, distinctive storytelling, artistic ambition, innovation and cultural depth.

For this to work, the brand cannot be designed only as an institutional label. It should involve investment in strong marketing and creative professionals capable of developing a concept that is attractive, simple and recognisable beyond the specialised circles of EU programmes. The industry should have a real say in this process, because producers, distributors, sales agents and platforms understand how international audiences and markets respond. A good approach would be to start small, test different branding options in selected markets, evaluate how audiences and professionals react, and then scale up what works.

If the brand proves effective, it could gradually become a common visibility tool for EU-funded animation projects. However, it should not follow the same logic as the Creative Europe MEDIA label, which is well known among academics, policymakers and industry professionals, but not necessarily by general audiences. The objective should be to create a sign of identification that anyone can recognise simple, visible and repeatedly used across films, series, platforms, festivals, trailers, posters and educational materials. Recognition is built through consistency. The brand should be repeated, repeated and repeated until European animation becomes immediately identifiable in the global audiovisual landscape.

Stay tuned as we continue introducing the members of our International Advisory Board and exploring the diverse expertise and perspectives they bring to our community!