Diversity as a starting point for municipalities' art and culture activities in 2025

Culture for All Service has been awarded 185,000 euros to bring diversity and culture activities to municipalities on a national level. Let's move towards a more equitable society together.

“The national development task to be financed now is the third national development task to be implemented. It focuses on the challenge of cultural diversity in the cultural activities of municipalities. The task is thematically and functionally both important and topical and does not overlap with previous development tasks” says Minister of Science and Culture, Petri Honkonen, quoted in The Ministry of Education and Culture’s news release (12.12.2022).

​The goal of the project Diversity as a starting point for municipalities' art and culture activities in 2025 is to respond to the need on the municipal side for increasing diversity and equality expertise by, among other things, offering training, consultancy and other support to cultural activities of the municipalities as well as  art and culture professionals working in municipalities.  The diversity agent network and cultural diversity and sustainable development dialogue cards developed by The Ministry of Education and Culture (OKM) and The Arts Promotion Centre Finland (Taike) are used throughout the project in the training and consulting activities. 

Five main components of the project

1. Diversity training for municipal cultural workers
   a.) Short online clinics on various themes for cultural actors in municipalities
   b.) A longer diversity course, tailored for those working in municipal cultural activities
2. Use dialogue cards to strengthen the equality and inclusion within municipalities
3. Pilot the municipalities' accountability partnership program
4. Further train diversity agents and strengthen their network
5. Communication campaign
   
   

Diversity as a starting point for municipalities' art and culture activities in 2025 will provide inclusive and engaging programs on a national level and support diversity agents as well as train  diversity officers. 

All of our initiatives respond to the core questions of ‘Does this promote diversity, inclusion and equity in the art and culture sector?’ and ‘Does this move us towards dismantling structural racism and discovering our own implicit biases as well as within municipal authorities, regional councils, and governments?’ As we enter the collaboration from the perspective of wanting to actively listen, be empathetic, be critical, and honest, we hope to reach people on a personal level, which will then create a wave of positive change towards a more inclusive and equitable society where all people belong. 

The project is implemented by the Culture for All Service. The project is financed by The Ministry of Education and Culture. The project runs from January 2023 to December 2024.

Contact informationArlene Tucker
Project Director and Diversity Expert, Culture for All Service
[email protected]
+358 451 160 518

https://www.kulttuuriakaikille.fi/diversity_in_municipalities