Diversity and inclusion

In an inclusive environment, everyone can be completely themselves and everyone is valued for everything that forms their identity, not regardless of, but inclusive of, gender, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, disability and social, cultural and ideological background.

The value of diversity and inclusion

Our society is diverse. It is also important for this diversity to be reflected in the cultural sector, because by working inclusively, you create space for new perspectives and stories. This requires self-reflection on your own artistic and substantive choices, as well as insight into the role of your own identity and implicit biases. Different perspectives in your direct environment can be of great value in that respect.

Diversity & Inclusion Code

The Diversity & Inclusion Code contains tips for making your organisation more diverse and more inclusive. This Code was drawn up by the trade associations in the cultural sector. They rewrote the old Cultural Diversity Code in order to create a new, broadly applicable code of conduct.

The Code consists of five principles that are explained in steps. By taking these steps, you apply the Code.

Moreover, you will find an extra tool in the Code, namely the D&I Scan. You can use this to test how diverse and inclusive your organisation is. This baseline measurement falls under step 1 of the Code.

The Fair Practice Code, the Cultural Governance Code and the Diversity & Inclusion Code dovetail with each other in terms of content. Since 2021, various levels of government and the six national cultural funds have been using the codes when evaluating subsidy applications. In doing so, they apply the principle ‘Comply or explain’. You will find more explanation about this in the code itself.

Accessible and inclusive communication

How do you do that? Delve into the existing guidelines, such as ‘Values for a new language’, the Incomplete Stijlgids (Incomplete Style Guide) by WOMEN Inc. and the recommendations of the Taalunie – Union for the Dutch Language. Points to consider and sensitive topics are explained herein and solutions or new terms are put forward. As a result of this, you will develop your own eye for any sore points. Language is constantly evolving and preferences for solutions change. The guidelines are therefore regularly adjusted (every six months or year). So, make sure you keep up with the times too.

Accessible and inclusive communication is also about the language level, thus the way of writing: the degree of difficulty of sentence constructions and words. There are many online tools that can help you to analyse and improve a text.