Take part in the “Count me in!” campaign and share how your festival is dealing with Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility and Belonging. The survey is open till Thursday 31 October 2024.
Festivals are heralds of celebrating the arts as windows to different worlds, connecting and involving people from all walks of life in a particular space and time span. Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility and Belonging (DEIAB) have become essential priorities for society, more and more for politics, and hence for many arts festivals and the broader cultural sector. But what do these terms mean in practice? How much focus do festivals give to these concepts? What can festivals do and what can they not do?
Complete the survey & send your stories
The European Festivals Association (EFA) invites festivals to share their practices and understand together the diversity of approaches and possibilities of the many actions that are taken (or not yet taken) by festivals around Europe and beyond.
The survey is open till Thursday 31 October 2024. The call for stories is part of the survey. Most of the questions in the survey are multiple-choice. They offer you access to a lot of knowledge, practices and options for possible actions in the field of DEIAB. If you prefer, you can send us your inspiring stories, insights, experiences, and lessons learned from your DEIAB actions by email or give us a call. Let’s learn from each other!
The results of the survey will be shared and discussed in a seminar on 21 November, from 12:00 to 01:15 PM CET to promote meaningful exchanges and peer-to-peer learning among EFA Members and our larger festivals community. Register here. Your stories will be published and distributed amongst abroad audiences through EFA’s communication channels.
We live in a globalised, diverse and complex world characterised by both pluralism and polarisation. In addition to programming high-quality and memorable artists and performances, it is important to look into festivals’ practices through the lens of DEIAB. What do festivals do to integrate evolving concepts, policies or even norms into festivals’ work on DEIAB? What is the place of actions to enhance representation, promote social justice and address structural discrimination, racism, privilege and power imbalances? What is the role of festivals, festival makers, programmers and directors in this context?
EFA acknowledges that inviting festivals into a conversation around DEIAB at every level – from decision-making processes and team structures to artistic programming, communication and outreach initiatives – requires some time and space to think and a commitment to implement. The decision to work on these elements might involve establishing new norms and policies, embracing continuous unlearning-relearning and adopting inclusive practices, all rooted in a strong, collective dedication to equity.
Have a look at EFA’s invitation to think together about DEIAB practices. It also includes the definitions of these terms.
Aligned with our 70-Years-On Agenda, EFA is excited to launch the DEIAB campaign “Count me in!” to elevate awareness, highlight the knowledge, best practices and pioneering efforts of festivals committed to advancing equity and inclusion and also identify gaps and challenges of why the topic is (or is not yet) at the core of festivals’ daily business. The “Count me in!” campaign builds on the “Go Green, Festivals” initiative addressing sustainability challenges. EFA acknowledges that environmental sustainability, social justice and community cohesion are deeply interconnected, festivals have an impact and are crucial in advocating for a sustainable environment and fostering social cohesion.
We invite you to amplify your knowledge, experiences and efforts. We want to hear what your festival is up to and listen to your needs. The campaign “Count me in!” includes a survey and a call for stories. Through these two actions, we aspire to learn from each other and create awareness about the role of arts and culture in addressing societal issues. We encourage all arts festivals, from the biggest to the most intimate, to share experiences and contribute to this collective effort. We are accompanied in this process by Ceyda Berk-Söderblom – arts manager, curator and festival programmer specialising in social inclusion, diversity and inclusion management.
Get to your keyboards! We can’t wait to hear what you’ve been up to and share it with festivals, decision-makers and audiences.
