DIVERSITY AGENT 2.0 COURSE
STRENGTHENING & ADVANCING ANTI-RACIST PRACTICES: DIVERSITY AGENT 2.0 COURSE
Diversity Agents address a range of challenging and crucial issues such as structural racism, lack of equality and accessibility. As change makers and organizers, Diversity Agents offer ways to reflect, to develop tools, and to implement ways we can work towards a more equitable society. In this second edition of the Diversity Agent course special attention is given to recognizing structural racism and introducing anti-racist practices. The course encompasses lectures, meetings, and a diversity training clinic in collaboration with a local arts and culture organization.
Culture for All Service is partnering with Globe Art Point (G.A.P) to bring the Diversity Agent 2.0 course to a wider audience across Finland. The course is coordinated by Culture for All Service, an organization committed to equity, inclusivity, accessibility, and diversity in all its activities and in the recruitment of new staff, and the organization supports the Finnish art and culture field in these issues. Culture for All Services and G.A.P support all genders and people belonging to different minorities, regardless of e. g. gender or gender identity, ethnic background, potential disabilities, religion or age.
Target Group
Diversity Agent 2.0 Course is open for professionals of all art and culture fields, both those working as freelancers and those working or employed within arts and culture institutions.
We are looking for people with a professional background in the arts and culture and a keen interest in anti-racist practices and diversity. The course language is English; knowledge of the Finnish language can be useful but is not a requirement, and we also welcome applicants with knowledge of other languages. Those with experiences and/or an education from outside of Finland are also appreciated.
For this course we encourage applicants with migrant and foreign backgrounds or people belonging to language and cultural minorities.
Learning Objectives
The aim of the course is to offer tools for developing anti-racist practices and diversity in the arts and culture sector.
After the course, participants
+ will be familiar with key concepts such as anti-racism, diversity, equality, accessibility, norm criticism, structural racism and inclusion,
+ will have knowledge about the arts and culture sector in Finland as well as cultural policy,
+ will have tools and techniques required in facilitating a process of change towards a more diverse and equitable arts and culture field,
+ will know how to identify racist structures and how to address them in the workplace,
+ will have met experts in the field of arts and culture, diversity, anti-racism, equity and organizational change, and
+ will have practical and firsthand experience of strengthening Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Arts and Culture Sector.
Course Content
The course introduces participants to topics and practices related to anti-racism and applying a lens of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in an institutional context. Participants will become familiar with current issues and debates within the arts and culture sector and cultural policy in Finland related to diversity and equity. The course encompasses virtual meetings, seminars and lectures as well as facilitating an online diversity training clinic with an arts and culture institution. The aim is to provide participants with practical and immediately applicable antiracist tools and to build a network of arts and culture organizations and Diversity Agents.
The diversity training clinic provides an opportunity for Diversity Agents to meet with a local arts and culture organization to discuss ways to implement diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism practices within the organization.
Implementation
Participation is limited to 10 people, and it is free of charge. The course is held remotely via Microsoft Teams. Active attendance is required upon admittance to the course.
Timetable
The course takes place on the following dates. In addition, the participants need to reserve time outside these hours to prepare and carry out their assignment. The course assignment is that participants will prepare and facilitate one diversity online clinic. The course assignment will take place between the end of November and the end of January. Dates and times of meetings and lectures are subject to change.
The call for Diversity Agent 2.0 Course opens September 1st and the deadline to apply is on September 12th. You are informed via email of your acceptance by September 19th.
Course meetings and lectures
September 24th – group meeting 9-12:00
September 28th – lecture 10-12:00
October 7th – group meeting 13-16:00
October 14th – The seminar Art, Culture and Diverse Finland arranged by Ministry of Education and Culture 10-16:00
October 18th – group meeting 16-18:00
October 28th – lecture 10-12:00
Week 43 check in meetings with course coordinator (to be scheduled)
November 4th – lecture 16-18:00
November 11th – group meeting 9-11:00
November 18th – lecture 9-11:00
Week 47 check in meetings with course coordinator (to be scheduled)
December 2nd – group meeting/lecture 14:00-16:00
December 9th – group meeting 9-11:00
Week 50 check in meetings with course coordinator (to be scheduled)
January 13th – lecture 10-12:00
January 20th – group meeting 10-12:00
January 27th – group meeting 10-12:00
February 3 – lecture 10-12:00
Week 6 check in meetings with course coordinator (to be scheduled)
February 11 – Graduation Party!
Application
Apply by September 12, 2021!
Please fill out the online application form by September 12, 2021 and send your CV (mandatory) to Arlene Tucker, Diversity Agent 2.0 course coordinator and portfolio (optional) at arlene.tucker@cultureforall.fi. Please write your application in English.
Selection
Diversity Agent 2.0 course project-team will select 10 participants. Assessment of the applications will be carried out by Culture for All Services and Globe Art Point. Applicants will be informed of the selection decision by September 19, 2021 by email.
Background
The first Diversity Agent Course arranged in 2019 was part of the project Avaus (Opening) (2017-2019) run by Culture for All Service in cooperation with Globe Art Point and the Center for Cultural Policy Research Cupore. The aim of the project was to support the equal participation of non-Finnish-born cultural workers and artists in the Finnish arts and culture sector. In the first phase of the Avaus project the employment of non-Finnish-born cultural workers and artists was mapped through a research carried out by Cupore, through job shadowing observation carried out by the Culture for All Service and through the expertise of Globe Art Point’s members. The second phase included 11 arts and culture professional participating in the Diversity Agent Course.
Diversity Agent 2.0 Course and online diversity clinics will continue this thread of providing 10 cultural actors to better identify issues related to racism and discrimination. Participants will gain antiracist tools and use their expertise and knowledge when facilitating a clinic with a Finnish based art and cultural organization. Course meetings, seminars, lectures and clinics aim to identify and dismantle barriers to inclusion and move towards a more equitable society. This project runs from August 2021 to February 2022.
For further information about the course contact
Arlene Tucker, Diversity Educator and course coordinator, Culture for All Service, arlene.tucker@cultureforall.fi, +358 40 634 1938.
Diversity Agent 2.0 Project Team
Culture for All Service, www.cultureforall.fi
Mira Haataja, senior specialist, mira.haataja@cultureforall.fi
Rita Paqvalén, Executive Director, rita.paqvalen@cultureforall.fi
Arlene Tucker, Diversity Educator, arlene.tucker@cultureforall.fi
Globe Art Point, www.globeartpoint.fi
Ruby Gupte, Chairperson, ruby.gupte@globeartpoint.fi
Alex Kollerová, Project Manager, alex.kollerova@globeartpoint.fi
Jaana Simula, Managing Director, jaana.simula@globeartpoint.fi
Illustration by Alexandra Burda.