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Dialogue cards available for promoting cultural diversity and sustainable development within work communities

Ministry of Education and Culture
Publication date 19.6.2023 12.06
News item

The Ministry of Education and Culture and the Arts Promotion Centre Finland (Taike) have developed a new Dialogue Card tool to help arts and culture organisations make their operations more equal and sustainable. The new dialogue cards can be ordered free of charge.

The dialogue cards are designed to be used in three-hour workshops in which participants discuss how cultural diversity and sustainable development are reflected within their work community and field, as well as how their organisation could better take them into account in its operations.

“In practical stakeholder group work, it has been considered important to increase knowledge of diversity and equality, as well as to invest in developing diversity management,” says Maija Lummepuro, Senior Ministerial Adviser, Cultural Affairs, at the Ministry of Education and Culture.

Workshops can be organised independently, as the facilitator’s manual that comes with the cards contains all the necessary information and materials. If necessary, a diversity agent trained by the Culture for All Service and Globe Art Point can be requested to serve as a dialogue card facilitator.

“The cards can be used to initiate a discussion about cultural diversity and sustainable development in small groups, help participants understand the concepts, and encourage individuals to consider what they mean in terms of their own activities. Concrete changes that can be made at work may involve, for example, recruitment, recycling practices or even the development of an equality plan,” says Tomi Aho, Special Advisor at Taike.

The dialogue cards have been developed in response to the final report of the Ministry of Education and Culture's Working Group on Art, Culture and Diverse Finland and the Ministry of Justice's An Equal Finland Action Plan, which aim to combat structural racism and promote good relations between population groups. The new dialogue cards help work communities set and achieve equality goals also sustainably, as the cards are based on the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN’s Agenda 2030.

Working with the Ministry of Education and Culture, Taike and the Culture for All Service, a diverse group of artists, actors in the arts and culture sector, and experts on climate issues helped create the dialogue cards between 2021 and 2023. The cards are illustrated with works by nine artists from different cultural backgrounds who were selected through an open call in spring 2022.

Order your dialogue cards here and initiate a constructive discussion within your work community towards a more diverse and sustainable Finland.

Further information: Anna Sidorova, Arts Advisor, Taike, tel. +358 295 330 859

Accessibility and diversity of culture (Ministry of Education and Culture)

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