Diversity is the very prerequisite for quality, wrote the Cultural Council's director Kristin Danielsen in an article in Aftenposten. I could not agree more, but to achieve cultural diversity requires ambition and political action rather than wishful thinking.
Published in Aftenposten December 3, 2019.
It is true that it is important to have more diversity in the boards, management and staff in the cultural sector, and that more people with a minority background can get to where the power is. This is not going to happen voluntarily. If diversity is to increase in the boards, management and administration, clear political guidelines are needed.
When the Cultural Council now presents and assesses its commitment to cultural diversity, it is an excellent opportunity for Minister of Culture Trine Skei Grande to show where the future leadership will lie. To expect the Cultural Council's commitment to cultural diversity to be led by people with a minority background should be a matter of course. It is also not enough if only the Cultural Council's management is challenged, other national cultural institutions must also take responsibility for cultural diversity at all levels.
The director of the Cultural Council has a story about those in power today, but what is the story of the others? It appears in part in the anthology from Critical Friends which is presented at the conference Nordic Dialogues: Towards an Inclusive Cultural Sector. The question is: What happens to this story? And what happens to the action plan to be presented at the same conference? We hope the plan is not only followed by empty promises, but by visions, action and increased diversity at all levels.
What is being said about cultural diversity these days was already discussed 20 years ago. In the period 1997–1999, there was an action plan from the Nordic Council of Ministers, and the management of the Cultural Council showed willingness to implement it. Still, the plan ended in a drawer. A major investment by the Cultural Council in this field was completed without any plan for continuation. What guarantees do we have now that this will not happen again?
Khalid Salimi, Director Melahuset and former deputy chair of the Norwegian Cultural Council
Also read interview with Khalid Salimi in Dagsavisen (23.11.2016)
Read the article How and why did immigration become one of the most heated topics in Norwegian politics? VG 6.10.2019