The Ministry of Education and Culture's measures to promote cultural diversity in 2023–2024
In September 2024, the Ministry of Education and Culture began monitoring the measures outlined in the action plan to promote diversity in the field of arts and culture, which was published in 2023. The Ministry has focused particularly on a cultural policy report, the promotion of constructive dialogue and the development of government grant activities from the perspective of cultural diversity. Strengthening the competence of personnel and the Government’s new anti-racism campaign are also part of the programme's implementation. The monitoring will continue annually.
The aim of the Ministry of Education and Culture's action plan is to build a more equal and non-discriminatory field of arts and culture in an increasingly diverse Finland. The selected measures are concrete actions that can improve the inclusion of people from diverse backgrounds in the field of culture and art. The programme is aimed at achieving structural changes so that the impacts will be long-lasting.
The agencies and national art institutions operating in the administrative branch of the Ministry have reported honestly and actively on the implementation of their measures. The implementation of the programme has been extensive in 2023 and 2024, with a large part of the measures being focused on human resources management, communications, programmes and event production.
In the monitoring of the early stages of the action plan, it has been observed that the implemented measures have had an impact on the inclusion and accessibility of underrepresented groups and on the career development of professionals from diverse backgrounds in the field of culture and art.
When implementing the measures, the agencies and national art institutions have also identified new areas of development and generated ideas on additional measures, which strengthens the continuous development and effectiveness of the programme.
In the Ministry, the action plan supports the implementation of the cultural policy strategy, and the emphasis has been on long-term impacts. For example, cultural diversity has been taken into account extensively in the preparation of the cultural policy report that extends to the 2040s. This makes the report a significant tool for promoting structural change. Entries concerning diversity have also been included in the performance and target agreements of the agencies and national art institutions in the Ministry’s administrative branch, which motivates the agencies and institutions to guide their actions towards increased equity and inclusion.
Cultural diversity has been taken into account in financing decisions
Promoting cultural diversity has also become a key consideration in the allocation of appropriations and discretionary government grants. For example, the Culture for All service received EUR 185,000 for a project promoting cultural diversity in municipalities in 2023–2024. The discretionary government grants of Arts Promotion Centre Finland take into account the diversity of applicants, and the discretionary government grants of children’s cultural centres (EUR 1.92 million in 2023 and EUR 1.89 million in 2024) included questions on taking population groups and cultural diversity into consideration.
In the Finnish model for leisure activities, young people belonging to linguistic minorities have been offered improved opportunities to engage in leisure activities in their native language, and EUR 80,000 has been allocated annually to promote dialogue and good relations between different religions. With an eye on the future, the Ministry is developing criteria to support responsible operations in cooperation with Arts Promotion Centre Finland and the Finnish Heritage Agency in order to increase the effectiveness of discretionary government grants in promoting diversity.
The Ministry of Education and Culture recognises that promoting cultural diversity also requires the development of the competence and diversity of its own personnel. In the selection of university trainees in the Department for Art and Cultural Policy, emphasis has been placed on the applicants' diverse backgrounds, and a diversity clause has been included in job advertisements.
This way, the Ministry aims to lower the threshold for young people who may be at a disadvantage in the job market due to their background. This supports the development of career paths for young people with diverse backgrounds and creates long-term opportunities for increasing diversity among the Ministry’s personnel.
The Department for Art and Cultural Policy has also organised diversity and equity training using dialogue cards produced in collaboration with Arts Promotion Centre Finland and under the guidance of diversity agents from the Culture for All service. In the dialogue card workshop, the personnel participated in discussions to improve understanding of the significance of diversity and equity, as well as identify concrete development areas.
The workshop provided the Ministry's employees with an opportunity to share their experiences, thoughts and visions, and it helped build a deeper understanding of the challenges associated with promoting cultural diversity. At the end of the workshop, the participants came up with diversity-related goals to which they can commit in their work. Through these processes, the Ministry aims to ensure that diversity is taken into consideration in its own operations and throughout the administrative branch.
Six national dialogues have been held
In 2023–2024, the Department for Art and Cultural Policy organised six national dialogues. People from diverse backgrounds were invited to participate in the dialogues. In the planning of the events, special attention has been paid to the participation opportunities of underrepresented groups and space has been given to voices that are often left unheard. This approach has helped to shed light on the prevailing perceptions, values and potential structural obstacles in the field of culture and art.
As the dialogues were organised as part of a series of national dialogues, the diverse perspectives that emerged in the dialogues will be incorporated into the joint report. The report will be published online and distributed to all management personnel in the public administration to ensure that the understanding gained through the dialogues is disseminated widely and supports decision-making. The up-to-date information generated by the dialogues will also be used in the planning of cultural policy and the Ministry's other work.
The Department for Art and Cultural Policy has also published brief summaries of the dialogues in the Government’s internal news. This ensures that the understanding and observations generated by the dialogues are also widely shared within the Government, supporting policy preparation and promoting the consideration of diversity at different levels of the public administration.
As part of the Government, the Ministry of Education and Culture actively participates in the Government's shared "Action, not only words" campaign, which is aimed at eradicating racism and promoting equity. The Ministry has drawn up its own campaign commitment. Participation in the campaign has been added as a new measure to the monitoring of the action plan on cultural diversity.
The Ministry will continue to monitor the progress and impacts of the action plan annually.
Pyry Aarnio
Action plan to promote diversity in the arts and culture (Press release 28 June 2023)
The “Action, not only words” campaign launched by the Government
Dialogue cards (Arts Promotion Centre Finland)