Services for Institutions

We offer consultations to publically funded cultural institutions in Berlin, who want to make structural, personnel and therefore also programmatic changes. Our approach is to provide diversity-focused expertise and knowledge, which critically engages discrimination. Initial consultations are offered to cultural institutions in Berlin. However, we are happy to provide consultations to cultural institutions and associations outside of Berlin if time allows.

The one-hour consultations are generally offered on Wednesdays or Thursdays between 10 am and 12 pm. Please register in advance by sending us an email. We kindly ask you to answer a few questions about your institutional concerns prior to the consultation.

We offer practical workshops about how diversity and anti-discrimination can be structurally embedded within an institution. The trainers from our network focus on a huge variety of topics: mission statements; awareness raising and diversity-focused communication; the inclusion of marginalized communities; accessibility and job applications.

The workshop are geared towards institutions which have already acquired the fundamentals of anti-discrimination work.

We provide contacts to trainers and consultants. 

 

You can find materials for independent study in our toolbox.

The title of this publication “We Once Supported a Project …” alludes to ‘projectitis’, the reduction of diversity development to projects. Too often diversity development within the cultural sector only happens selectively and is not engaged within the structure of an institution.

This publication is an Interjection. It calls for diversity-oriented structural change. It brings together voices from cultural institutions – cultural workers and activists – who critically engage and name discriminatory structures and have developed methods to change them. After an examination of the current status quo of Berlin’s cultural sector, the publication focuses on the conditions required for successful structural diversity development within institutions.

For some years now, there has been an increased focus on the topics of diversity and anti-discrimination in the cultural sector. Many cultural institutions in Berlin are committed to these important topics. However, they often lack the human and financial resources to implement and anchor diversity and anti-discrimination in the institutions in the long term.

The model funding program "Diversitätsoffensive", which was conceived in cooperation with the Senate Department for Culture and Community (formerly the Senate Department for Culture and Europe), now aims to put these issues into practice.

The "Diversitätsoffensive" initially provides for the employment of an anti-discrimination and diversity development officer at five Berlin cultural institutions for the period 2022 to 2023. In addition, resources will be provided for the implementation of diversity-oriented measures.

The funding program pursues four goals:

• (Further) development of diversity competence
• Personnel measures / empowerment measures (promotion of new talent)
• Anti-discrimination and conflict measures
• Program work and participation processes with marginalized communities.

 

In the fall of 2022, a jury selected the following cultural institutions for which, as cultural institutions under public law, special legal obligations exist with regard to anti-discrimination and equal treatment as well as the promotion of a culture of diversity:

• Staatsballett Berlin
• Komische Oper Berlin
• HAU - Hebbel am Ufer
• Theateran der Parkaue
• Stiftung Stadtmuseum Berlin

 

As part of the "Diversitätsoffensive", the cultural institutions are closely supported in their diversity development process by the Senate Department for Culture and Community and Diversity Arts Culture.  

We support the participating cultural institutions, for example, with a continuous support program that includes needs-based, topic-specific training formats for the management level and officers, as well as collegial advice or networking and exchange meetings. The officers are also accompanied by mentors throughout the duration of the program.

An external evaluation of the model funding program is carried out by five Critical Friends, who as feedback providers identify weaknesses and potentials of the program, systematically document findings and make them fruitful for practice. Please note that it is not possible to apply for this funding program.

We commissioned the “Vielfalt Entscheidet – Diversity in Leadership“ team of Citizens For Europe to conduct basic research within Berlin’s cultural sector in order to set up our data-driven study “Diversity in Cultural Institutions”. Part of the assignment included collecting data from employees at three cultural institutions in Berlin through an online survey. The goal of the survey was to assess how diverse Berlin’s cultural institutions are as it relates to personnel.

Furthermore, we wanted to get a better understanding of the institutional climate at the respective institutions and have employees evaluate how effective diversity and equal opportunity strategies and measures are within their own work place. Additionally, CFE asked staff about needs related to consulting and diversity development e.g. processes of diversifying.

Cultural institutions, which focus on diversity development often neglect to create empowerment spaces for marginalized cultural workers. Perspectives and spaces for exchange between cultural workers of Color in cultural institutions are still often missing. This workshop was geared towards cultural workers of Color and was led by Sohal Behmanesh und Songül Bitiş.

The empowerment compass offers more information to marginalized artists and cultural workers interested in strategies and recommendations about working in the cultural sector.

Over a period of two years Stadtmuseum Berlin and Theater an der Parkaue participated in a pilot project on behalf of Diversity Arts Culture and received support from organizational development experts throughout this period. An interview conducted with museum staff and organizational development experts within the context of our publication Wir hatten da ein Projekt … Diversität strukturell denken“ (We Once Supported a Project... a Structural Approach to Diversity) offers practical insights into the process. Paul Spies speaks in an interview with Natalie Bayer, Eylem Sengezer and Sandrine Micossé-Aikins, about his role as museum director throughout the process.

There are many debates about representation and diversity in the performing arts. But what strategies, institutional practices and manners of speaking does it require to create sustainable structures, which make diverse programming and a diverse workforce possible? What is the relationship between artistic quality and diversity? What role do artistic directors and managers take on in diversity processes? The two-day networking meeting in 2018 was organized in cooperation with the British Council and the Arts Council England. Hassan Mahamdallie (Arts Council England), Ben Evans (British Council) and Claire Saddelton (Arts Council England) were invited to talk about their experiences with funding practices, cultural-political steering tools and the collection of equality data. Kwame Kwei-Armah und Sue Emmas (Young Vic, London) gave practical insights into the status quo of aesthetic questions and institutional approaches.

Through roundtables and focus groups with marginalized cultural workers we know that cultural workers of Color and cultural workers with disabilities are disproportionately faced with discrimination, violence and structural barriers within organizations. How discriminatory dynamics within institutions can lead to the exclusion of marginalized employees is depicted in the diagram  “The ‘Problem’ Woman of Colour in the Workplace“  created by the organization CoCo. The Equal Treatment Act (AGG) requires employers, including cultural institutions, to offer professional development training to employees, which aligns with the AGG. This applies especially to employees who manage staff. During the training the following questions are discussed: What does the AGG mean for operational practices? What does it take to set up a complaints office within an institution? What needs to be considered when setting up a complaints office and what would a confidential complaint process look like? The UN- Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which was implemented in 2009, requires publically funded organizations to dismantle barriers for people with disabilities, create access and thus allow for cultural participation.

 

Project ADA – Antidiskriminierung in der Arbeitswelt (Anti-Discrimination in the World of Work) in cooperation with Bremer Netzwerk gegen Diskriminierung (Bremen Network Against Discrimination) published a guide detailing how a complaints office in accordance with the AGG can be set up inside an institution.

 

The Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency’s expert opinion “Beschwerdeverfahren nach § 13 AGG” (Complaints Office and Complaints Procedure According to § 13 AGG) addresses legal questions related to setting up a complaints office and procedure.

 

On the Alice Salomon School of Applied Sciences Berlin (ASH)’s webpage “Hilfe bei Diskriminierung?” (How to get help when facing discrimination) you can find tips on how to address and further engage anti-discrimination within your institution.

 

Berlin University of the Arts issued a directive to protect against (sexual) discrimination, harassment, and violence.

 

Hochschule für Schauspielkunst Ernst Busch (HfS) has published a directive to protect against sexual harassment, discrimination, violence and abuse of power at HfS.

Affirmative Action is a set of measures to counter discrimination within an institution and to ensure the support of marginalized people or groups. The following recommendations and guides present information about legal frameworks. They discuss how structural discrimination can be dismantled and access to equal opportunity increased. Also, they outline what situations call for what kind of affirmative action measures and how and by whom these measures can be applied.

 

Diversitätsorientierte Nachwuchsförderung und Personalgewinnung im Kunst und Kulturbereich (Diversity-Oriented Promotion of Young Talent and Recruitment within the Arts and Cultural Sector). Stiftung Genshagen, KIWit 2020

A recommendation by Sophie Ali Bakhsh Naini and Lena Prabha Nising offers information on steps cultural institutions can take to ensure that their future work force reflects the diversity of the German society.

 

Forschung der Antidiskriminierungsstelle des Bundes auf einen Blick: Positive Maßnahmen (Research by the Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency at a Glance: Affirmative Action)

The expert opinion by the Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency looks at the legal requirements, benefits and success factors of affirmative action.

 

Positive Maßnahmen? Positiv für Ihr Unternehmen! (Affirmative Action? A Positive Measure for your company!) basis & woge e.V., 2013

How do I recognize discrimination in my institution and what can I do to dismantle it? This brochure focuses on the topic of migration and introduces a broad spectrum of affirmative action measures and their specific legal contexts.

 

 “Positive Maßnahmen – kurz und knapp“ (Affirmative Action in a Nutshell). Heinrich Böll-Stiftung, 2011

The brochure depicts how affirmative action measures can be applied to eradicate discrimination and support disadvantaged groups: “What affirmative action measures are there outside of the quota? How can they lead to the dismantling of discrimination and more equal opportunity?”

Festival Theaterformen developed guidelines, which critically engage discrimination and aim to identify and dismantle structural and programmatic exclusion. This includes “the reflection of work processes within the institution as well as an analysis of an organization’s public presentation and outreach. Furthermore, the guidelines discuss responses to discrimination in festival work and a set up possible anti-racist strategies for the future.”

 

Sophiensæle, a production and performance venue for independent theater in Berlin, developed a series of measures to improve accessibility to their venue and programs as well as become more inclusive of artists and cultural workers with disabilities. Over the course of the last several years measures included: The obligatory ramp, early boarding and audio description for blind and visually impaired people. 

 

The Museum am Rothenbaum Hamburg developed institutional rules and regulations, which also address responses to discriminatory remarks and behaviors by museum visitors.