European Network of Comics
Representatives and Entrepreneurs
All things comics in the EU and beyond
Who is ENCRE?
European Network of Comics Representatives and Entrepreneurs
ENCRE (“ink” in French) is a Brussels-based non-profit association established under Belgian law, where people working in comics can join forces to pursue two objectives:
- make their voices heard in Europe
- cooperate for new projects and initiatives.
Whether you are a comic writer, penciler, inker, or a comic festival, bookshop, art dealer;
Whether you want to do culture, business, or policy;
Whether you are looking for a partner, a spokesperson, or just someone like you,
ENCRE is your PLACE.
We know the tools needed to get the job done, and we wish to be at your disposal
If you ever happened to deal with EU matters, you may be aware that in Brussels there are a number of so-called networks where stakeholders from basically any kind of human activity meet to promote their own agenda. But this is not us: this is you. We are just the ones making it possible.
We know the tools needed to get the job done, and we wish to be at your disposal. Please, do not leave without taking a look at our services.
Years in business
Projects
NEB Festivals
Become an ENCRE Member
The Encre Statutes define three prospective roles for members: Observer, Associate and Full Member.
Each role entails different responsibilities and different membership fees.
Services
We know the tools needed to get the job done, and we wish to be at your disposal
Projects
Young people’s attitudes toward the European Union and politics are ambivalent: while young people show a strong desire to engage in politics and concrete activism, they also feel distant from EU institutions and the ability to understand their functioning, consequently feeling that their chances of influencing and counting in the decision-making process are slim. The WILDCAT project aims to inform 1.250 young people, coming from a background of heavy consumption of popular culture, about 3 key European policies, and help them create 3 new European Narratives based on the exchange of opinions on the subjects. These Narratives will then be translated into 3 comics that will be disseminated through the most appropriate channels to reach a very large youth population and increase their knowledge of and trust in Europe.
The paper “Solidarity in the EU: More hype than substance?” (2021, Sophie Pornschlegel) explains the concept of solidarity and states its broad meaning and application. Among its recommendations, the paper states that a sense of EU citizenship could be achieved by (i) facilitating the political engagement of citizens living in foreign EU countries; (ii) promoting the role and increasing the powers of European political parties to better represent European citizens politically; and (iii) ensuring that all national citizenship laws are compatible with the values underpinning EU citizenship.
The project “EQUALLYU4ALL – Equality in Unity for All human beings: interstate and interpersonal solidarity mechanisms to achieve equality” promotes the application of solidarity mechanisms between women, men and non-binary people (LGBTQI+ communities) as a way to recognise the rights and well-being of all individuals, regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation, through a series of transnational events at European level.
Some artists find it hard to fit into this new digital environment and the most recent groundbreaking innovations are even harder to digest. In particular, innovations such as blockchain and associated digital products (cryptocurrencies) started to completely overturn the way many markets operate. Art is no exception. Non Fungible Tokens (NFTs) are blockchain-based digital objects which can be associated with art items to certify their uniqueness, therefore preventing multiple copies and increasing their value (for digital art) and accounting for authenticity (for physical art). The project aims at making these new exciting technologies fully available to artists in the field of comics. By helping artists in building up new skills, the project aims at increasing their competitiveness in an increasingly technological market where they risk exclusion and marginalization if they stick to traditional means of production and marketing. The project also meets New Technology priority, as made clear by the focus on NFTs which has recently turned the art market upside down and aims at contributing to the Sustainability priority as well, in that it wants to further the use of greener blockchain-related products, as compared to the current, energy-consuming ones.
COMUSYC project will develop a comprehensive and cross-sectoral strategy that will increase the intercultural and transnational dialogue between young people, using creativity and art as fundamental tools for mediating and building bridges. A high number of reports and studies reveal how social marginalisation continues to represent a widely diffused phenomenon in contemporary Europe, in particular in the Mediterranean region. Young individuals who are struggling to find a pathway in their transition from study to work tend to loosen their ties with their communities, becoming uninterested in the economic, social and political reality of the country and continent where they live and losing any trust in the possibility of becoming active members of their society. Comusyc project aims to play an active role in fighting again the risk of social exclusion, providing tools and strategies for keeping open the lines of dialogue with marginalized youth, helping them in expressing their fears, and valorising their key competencies and skills in an open Europe. The use of creativity will allow these young people to become active members of a democratic Europe, supporting them in rethinking their possibilities to find new opportunities in the labour market.
Members
Pole Star
Polskie Stowarzyszenie Komiksowe
Contact us
Please use the contact form below, if you have any general questions or requests about our organisation. We will try our best to respond back to you within 24 hours.