BACKGROUND

In October 1996, a major project to democratize and build awareness of the arts and culture was prepared and presented by leading members of the Quebec cultural sector during the Summit Conference on the Economy and Employment, under the aegis of the Social Economy task force. Several months later, initial funding commitments were obtained from the government; private enterprise followed suit and the cultural sector began preparing the first edition.

June 17, 1997
The Quebec National Assembly unanimously adopted a special motion designating the last Friday of September and the two following days as "Journées nationales de la culture," days dedicated to the celebration of culture.

September 1997
The first edition of the Journées was held and was a tremendous success. Over 500 organizations, artists and craftspeople held more than 700 activities to build awareness of the arts and culture. The event was attended by 160,000 people.

April 1999
A first international forum, entitled La Rencontre, was organized by the Secretariat of the Journées de la culture. Two hundred and forty people from the cultural sector took part in a discussion on the issues involved in making culture more accessible in Quebec and the means of developing access for all. At the invitation of the Council of Europe, the Journées de la culture took part in the conference of the Journées européennes du patrimoine (European Heritage Days) sponsored by the Council of Europe. Forty-two countries took part.

Spring 2000
The Secretariat of the Journées co-ordinated the "International Monuments Photographic Experience" in Quebec; this was a project initiated by Catalonia, under the umbrella of the Journées européennes du patrimoine. On May 2, 2000, the second edition of La Rencontre attracted 220 participants.

September 10, 2000
The television program “Culture en direct” was broadcast simultaneously on the five main French-language television networks: TVA, Radio-Canada, TQS, Télé-Québec and TV5. The show reached an audience of 1,072,000.

March 2001
The Secretariat des Journées de la culture became a non-profit organization.

In 2002
On April 23, the 3rd La Rencontre forum was held at HEC Montréal.

In 2004
The Cultural Logbook, a tool for building awareness of the arts and culture, was produced and distributed to more than 8,000 elementary schoolchildren.

In 2005
Intercultural Encounters was launched to showcase the work of professional artists from the ethnocultural and aboriginal communities during the Journées de la culture.

In 2006
The 10th anniversary of the Journées de la culture was an opportunity to produce the visual art event The Convertibles. The 4th La Rencontre forum allowed for wide-ranging discussion on new strategies to take back the arts and culture. The Cultural Logbook is being used by more than 20,000 students across Quebec and Intercultural Encounters has expanded to 10 Quebec cities. The 10th edition of the Journées reached 350,000 people in 290 Quebec municipalities.

In 2007
In order to better represent its mission, the Secrétariat des Journées de la culture is changing its legal name to Culture pour tous.

In 2008
On March 11, the interactive online version of the Cultural Logbook was launched. In September, the online magazine Écolebranchée.com chose the Logbook as one of ist favvourite sites (Coup de coeur). In the spirit of the promotional campaign theme for the 12th edition of Les Journées de la culture, "Become a fan of culture," and as a nod to the election campaign then underway, a site was launched inviting citizens to vote for culture and explain the reasons for their support.

In 2009
The event Je m'affiche pour la culture! was held at Montreal's Place des Festivals during the 13th edition of Les Journées de la culture. The "Culture à volonté" (Culture Buffet) promotional campaign created by the Bos advertising agency was named one of the year's best campaigns by Infopresse, while the interactive Cultural Logbook was selected as one of Écolebranchée.com magazine's favourite sites (Coup de coeur) for the second year in a row.