The diversity of the population needs to be taken into account in the arts and cultural policy

Working group: The growing diversity of the Finnish population needs to be taken into account in the planning and decision-making procedures in arts and cultural policy

TAKU has been taking part in the working group set up by the Ministry of Education and Culture which was commissioned to focus to strengthen the inclusion and participation of people with a foreign background in arts and cultural life, and to promote intercultural dialogue by means of arts and culture

In its final report working group proposes three cross-cutting guidelines and 40 practical level measures. The report was submitted to State Secretary Tuomo Puumala on Wednesday 20 January.

Working group proposes policies and measures to enable Finland's arts and culture policy to take better account of cultural diversity based on immigration and to make arts and cultural life a more equitable and equal in the future.

The increasing diversity of the Finnish population needs to be mainstreamed into the planning and decision-making procedures in arts and cultural policy. The funding of arts needs to be developed strategically, taking into account the growing societal importance of cultural diversity. Successful mainstreaming means engaging migrants more equitably into arts and cultural life.

It is important to see multilingualism and diverse cultural competences as human resources and as an integral part of Finnish cultural life. Multilingualism and knowledge about different cultures play an important role in creative working communities, and we need a new understanding of this role.

Arts and cultural organisations must be able to identify discriminatory structures and recruitment practices and recognise their varying degrees of existence in their own activities. Expertise related to cultural diversity, equity and equality should be developed in these organisations.

Cultural actors need to consciously diversify their programmes and also foster contents arising from different cultural heritages and aesthetic concepts.

The working group proposes that a programme should be drawn up at the Ministry of Education and Culture to take account of the working group's policies and proposals for action, which, through concrete measures, promote cultural diversity from the point of view of immigration in cultural policy and in Finnish arts and cultural life.

More information:

Member of the working group,
TAKU's director Nea Leo,
nea.leo(at)taku.fi, 044 066 4800

Ministry of Education and Culture's press release