All municipal residents have the right to art and culture
17.5.2021
Towards an equal culture field – our aims for municipal elections
Arts and culture belong to every municipal resident. A strong, diverse and multilingual arts and culture field is now needed more than ever! Balanced development in the municipalities requires that everyone is included in the different parts of society. Especially during challenging times we need a arts and cultural policy, which guarantees diversity, inclusion and accessibility.
The information cards of Culture for All help municipal residents, municipal politicians and municipal administration to make the best cultural services for all residents of the municipality. How to guarantee equal opportunities to participate in culture, arts, and education? A person’s characteristics and background affect what opportunities they have to participate in art and culture as a member of audience, art maker, art and culture professional, and decision-maker. These characteristics are e.g. gender, sexuality, health condition, disability, mother tongue, cultural differences, ethnicity, economic situation, political opinions, or different beliefs.
Equality is achieved in the municipality’s cultural activities when:
- Everyone feels welcome and respected as they are.
- Everyone can participate without barriers and without fear of discrimination.
- Everyone finds some content that they find attractive in art and culture.
- The diversity of professional artists and cultural workers is visible.
According to The Municipal Cultural Activities Act, municipalities must promote equal access to culture and art for all. Besides, the Non-Discrimination Act and the Act on the Provision of Digital Services support and oblige municipal decision-makers.
With the Kaikukortti card residents in a tight financial situation can get free tickets to cultural and sports services, and they can also attend certain adult education courses free of charge. Kaikukortti is light and low-cost tool for building and developing cooperation between the social welfare, healthcare and wellbeing sector, the cultural field, and associations in municipalities and regions. The Kaikukortti support and development service is part of the Culture for All Service.
Read more about our aims for municipal elections:
Our aims for municipal elections in Finnish (cultureforall.fi)
Our aims for municipal elections in Swedish (cultureforall.fi)
#KulttuuriaKaikille #KulturFörAlla #CultureForAll #Kaikukortti
More information about Kaikukortti:
Mira Haataja
Senior Specialist, accessibility, Kaikukortti
040 2136 339
More information about equality and accessibility questions in the arts and cultural field:
Sari Salovaara
Leading Senior Specialist
040 931 3958