FORORD: 2 KONFERENCE OM INTEGRATION, KULTUR OG BIBLIOTEKER 2 PRÆSENTATION AF OPLÆGSHOLDERE 5 CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN LIBRARIES, RIA LAVRIJSEN 9

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1 FORORD: 2 KONFERENCE OM INTEGRATION, KULTUR OG BIBLIOTEKER 2 KONFERENCEPROGRAM: 2 PRÆSENTATION AF OPLÆGSHOLDERE 5 CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN LIBRARIES, RIA LAVRIJSEN 9 BIBLIOTEKERNES ROLLE I DEN DEMOKRATISKE DELTAGELSE, VED MANDANA ZARREHPARVAR, INSTITUT FOR MENNESKERETTIGHEDER. 26 MODELSKIFTE I BIBLIOTEKSBETJENINGEN 29 BIBLIOTEKET SOM BROBYGGER 32 BIBLIOTEKET OG DE ETNISKE MINORITETER 32 BIBLIOTEKER FOR ALLE 34 FOLKEBIBLIOTEKERNES FORVENTNINGER TIL EN KONSULENT FOR BIBLIOTEKSBETJENING 36 OPLÆG TIL MARKEDSFØRINGSKONFERENCEN V. MARIANNE ELLERT 41 KONSULENTERNES ROLLER V. BERIT S. JACOBSEN 47 KOMPETENCEUDVIKLING I NETVÆRK V. GITTE FANGEL 50 BRUGERRETTEDE INDSATSER V. BENTE WEISBJERG

2 Forord: Konference om Integration, kultur og biblioteker Mandag den 3. marts 2003 Eigtveds Pakhus, Asiatisk Plads 2G, 1448 København K. Konferencen, Integration, kultur og biblioteker, blev afholdt mandag den 3. marts 2003 i København. Anledningen var starten på det landsdækkende modeludviklingsprojekt Konsulenter for biblioteksbetjening af etniske minoriteter som gennemføres med støtte fra Biblioteksstyrelsen. Konferencens formål var med viden, handlingsforslag og debat at sætte fokus på bibliotekernes rolle i integrationsprocessen og bruge det som katalysator for udvikling af nye biblioteksstrategier, der tilgodeser de etniske minoriteters viden-, kultur- og informationsbehov i denne proces. Konferencen havde tre temaer som omdrejningspunkt, nemlig: - Politisk vision og praksis for integration - Aktuelle biblioteksfaglige problemstillinger i forbindelse med integration og den kulturelle mangfoldighed - Biblioteksstrategier for håndtering af den kulturelle mangfoldighed. På konferencen blev desuden den nyetablerede Avisportal præsenteret som er udviklet i et nordisk samarbejde. Konferenceprogram: Ankomst og morgenkaffe Musikindslag: Stief & One Song III Velkomst og programpræsentation v/ direktør Niels Mark, Statsbiblioteket Visioner og indsatser for integration af de etniske minoriteter i det danske samfund v/ integrationsminister Bertel Haarder, Ministeriet for Flygtninge, Indvandrere og Integration Præsentation af Avisportalen v/ IT-konsulent Henning Olesen, Statsbiblioteket Pause - 2 -

3 Cultural diversity in libraries: The ethics of inclusive policies (in The Netherlands) v/ Consultant - Coach Ria Lavrijsen, Diversity and Intercultural Affairs Bibliotekerne i den demokratiske integrationsproces v/ ligestillingskonsulent Mandana Zarrehparvar, Institut for Menneskerettigheder Frokost Musikindslag: Stief & One Song III Modelskifte i biblioteksbetjening af de etniske minoriteter, herunder om oprettelse af konsulentstillinger i regionale netværk v/ direktør Jens Thorhauge, Biblioteksstyrelsen Kultur og fritid i integrationsarbejdet v/ Bjørn Dahl, Formand for KL's børne og kulturudvalg, Roskildes borgmester Biblioteksbetjening af etniske minoriteter ligestillingen i bibliotekstilbud til alle brugere v/ formand Finn Vester, Danmarks Biblioteksforening Folkebibliotekernes forventninger til en konsulent for biblioteksbetjening af etniske minoriteter v/ kultur- og bibliotekschef Gert Fabrin, Brøndby Bibliotekerne Biblioteksbetjening af etniske minoriteter anno præsentation af de 4 konsulentprofiler v/ Marianne Ellert, Gentofte Bibliotekerne/Albertslund Bibliotek, Berit Sandholdt Jacobsen, Greve Bibliotek, Bente L. Weisbjerg, Odense Centralbibliotek Gitte Fangel, Viborg Centralbibliotek Kaffepause - 3 -

4 Paneldebat med direktør Jens Thorhauge, formand Bjørn Dahl, formand Finn Vester og kultur- og bibliotekschef Gert Fabrin Ordstyrer: direktør Niels Mark Afslutning og perspektivering v/ direktør Niels Mark, Statsbiblioteket

5 Præsentation af oplægsholdere Ria Lavrijsen As an independant consultant and coach Ria Lavrijsen (1954) wants to make a difference in the lives of the people and clients she serves. Her work covers coaching of teams and individuals of culturally diverse backgrounds, the review of policy and funding strategies, management consultancy and communication. She has specialised in Diversity and Intercultural Co-operation in the cultural sector. Between 1992 and 2001 she worked as a project co-ordinator at the Royal Tropical Institute in Amsterdam. During the eighties and the nineties she broadcasted and published programmes, articles and lectures on issues such as cultural diversity in the arts, intercultural arts education, global encounters in the world of art, museum policy, museum policy, artistic freedom and freedom of speech, audience development, the position of women artists, women and islam, effective and inclusive cultural policies with and for members of disadvantaged communities, cultural policy beyond ethnic chauvinism and faceless universalism etc.. As an independant coach and consultant she is working or has been working with: The Ministry of Culture (OCW), The Intercultural Network Denmark and The Danish Ministry of Culture, The Arts Council of Finland, The City Council of The Hague and Centre for Amateur Arts in The Hague, The City Council of Groningen, The City Council of Eindhoven, Phenix Foundation, The City Council of Groningen, VSB Fund, National Dutch Film Fund, Walter Maas Huis, Foundation Rhythm of Reason, Foundation InterArt, Foundation AlbA, Rotterdam Art Foundation, Netwerk CS (Network for implementation of diversity in policymaking), Comedia Network. Kontaktinformation: Ria Lavrijsen, Consultant - coach Sumatraplantsoen 11 A HW Amsterdam - The Netherlands t +31(0) f +31(0) e lavrijs@xs4all.nl Mandana Zarrehparver Mandana Zarrehparvar (f.1962) er uddannet BA i Statsvidenskab og Socialrådgiver og har beskæftiget sig med etnisk minoritetsområdet og integration siden Hun har bl.a. været ansat som socialfagligkonsulent i Københavns Kommune, Leder af Dansk Flygtingehjæps integrationskontor i Roskilde og været sekretariatsleder for det nu nedlagt Nævnet for Etnisk Ligestilling. Mandana er i dag ansat i Institut for Menneskerettigheder som seniorrådgiver på ligebehandlingsområdet. Kontaktinformation: Mandana Zarrehparvar, Seniorrådgiver/ Senior Advisor - 5 -

6 Institut for Menneskerettigheder/Danish Institute for Human Rights Wilders Plads 8H, 1403 Copenhagen K, Denmark Tlf , Fax , E-post: Jens Thorhauge Mag.art. (i sammenlignende litteraturhistorie) Lektor på Danmarks Biblioteksskole, Aalborg Fagleder på Danmarks Biblioteksskole, København Chefkonsulent samme sted Direktør i Danmarks Biblioteksforening, Direktør i Biblioteksstyrelsen siden Kontaktinformation: Jens Thorhauge, direktør Biblioteksstyrelsen, Nyhavn 31 E, København K. Tlf , Fax , E-post: jth@bs.dk Bjørn Dahl Borgmester i Roskilde Kommune ved valget i november Medlem af byrådet siden 1986, mangeårigt medlem af økonomiudvalget og viceborgmester i en stor del af årene. Medlem af KL s bestyrelse og formand for KL s Børne- og Kulturudvalg siden januar Kontaktinformation: Berit Gray Roskilde Kommune Borgmesterens forkontor Tlf , E-post: beritg@roskildekom.dk Finn Vester Formand for Danmarks Biblioteksforening. Formand for Forretningsudvalget. Medlem af Repræsentantskabet. Medlem af Internationalt Udvalg. Medlem af Biblioteksparaplyen. Medlem af Danmarks Biblioteksforenings Fond. Bestyrelsesmedlem i R. Lysholt Hansens Biblioteksfond. Bestyrelsesmedlem i Edvard Pedersens Biblioteksfond. Tilforordnet Kommunernes Skolebiblioteksforenings hovedbestyrelse. Tilforordnet Kommunernes Skolebiblioteksforenings forretningsudvalg. Kontaktinformation: Finn Vester, formand - 6 -

7 Dunhammervej 29, 3600 Frederikssund Tlf , E-post: Gert Fabrin Kulturchef i Brøndby Kommune, hvor han leder forvaltningen Kultur - Idræt - Fritid. Samtidig er han leder af Brøndby-Bibliotekerne. Gert Fabrin sidder i Bibliotekslederforeningens bestyrelse, og han er en af repræsentanterne for denne forening i FINFO-udvalget. Kontaktinformation: Gert Fabrin, kulturchef Brøndby Bibliotekerne, Nygårds Plads 21, 2605 Brøndby Tlf , E-post: gfa@brondby-kom.dk Marianne Ellert Konsulent for biblioteksbetjening af etniske minoriteter i netværk 1: Københavns og Frederiksborg amter, samt København og Frederiksberg kommuner som sparringspartnere. Bibliotekar på Albertslund bibliotek. Tidligere bestyrelsesmedlem i faggruppen for Flygtninge- og Indvandrerbetjening. Kontaktinformation: Marianne Ellert Bibliotekskonsulent/etniske minoriteter Albertslund Bibliotek, Bibliotekstorvet 2, 2620 Albertslund Tlf , E-post: mae@albertslundbib.dk Berit Sandhold Jacobsen Berit Sandholdt Jacobsen har været ansat ved Greve Bibliotek siden Arbejdet som børnebibliotekar, men har de seneste 3 år arbejdet som integrationsbibliotekar. Sidder i bestyrelsen i Faggruppen for indvandrer- og flygtningearbejde. P.t. bibliotekskonsulent for etniske minoriteter i netværk 2: Roskilde, Bornholms, Vestsjællands og Storstrøms amter. Kontaktinformation: Berit Sandholdt Jacobsen, bibliotekskonsulent/etniske minoriteter Greve Bibliotek, Portalen 2, 2670 Greve Tlf , E-post: bsj@grevebib.dk - 7 -

8 Gitte Fangel Bibliotekar DB. Projektleder på projekter omkring læsesvage voksne samt "turistbureauet" som samarbejdspartner. Har læst på Mellemøststudier og senest Oplysningens Kultur begge på Syddansk Universitet. P.t. bibliotekskonsulent for etniske minoriteter i netværk 4: Ringkøbing, Nordjyllands, Århus og Viborg amter. Kontaktinformation: Gitte Fangel, bibliotekskonsulent/etniske minoriteter Viborg Centralbibliotek, Vesterbrogade 15, 8800 Viborg Tlf , E-post: gf@viborgkommune.dk Bente L. Weisbjerg Ansat i en årrække i opsøgende afdeling ved Odense Centralbibliotek. Arbejdet med etablering af bibliotek på AMU-center Fyn. Del af ledelsen i kulturbrobyggerprojekt i Odense Centralbibliotek om jobskabelse til kontanthjælpsmodtagere af anden etnisk oprindelse end den danske. Udarbejdet behovsundersøgelse blandt flygtninge- og indvandrere i Vollsmose i.f.m. etablering af Læringscenter i Vollsmose Bibliotek. I dag: bibliotekskonsulent for etniske minoriteter i netværk 3: Ribe, Vejle, Sønderjyllands og Fyns Amter. Kontaktinformation: Bente L. Weisbjerg Bibliotekskonsulent/etniske minoriteter Odense Centralbibliotek, Østre Statioinsvej 15, 5000 Odense C. Tlf , E-post: blw@fynbib.dk - 8 -

9 Cultural diversity in libraries, Ria Lavrijsen The ethics of inclusive policies in The Netherlands Keynote address for the conference: Libraries, culture and integration of ethnic minorities in Denmark, Monday March 3, Organized by Rubina Kausar Afzal, working at the State and University Library The section of Immigrant Literature. Location: Eigtveds Pakhus, Asiatisk Plads, 2G, DK-1448 Copenhagen K. Denmark. Ria Lavrijsen - Written version Ladies and Gentlemen, It is a great honour for me to address you today, as the keynote speaker at this conference on Integration, Culture and Libraries. I come to you as a citizen of the Netherlands, whose native language is Dutch. I will do my utmost to present this lecture in English. I hope you will forgive me my clumsy mistakes in this foreign language. The Arts Plan Over the last few years, an historic development in arts and cultural policy has been taking place in the Netherlands. Every four years, the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science introduces its priorities in an Arts Plan. For a long time, the bulk of funding went to established arts ensembles and institutions, both large and small. Little or no funding was available for new initiatives. The tradition of once subsidized - always subsidized was solidly entrenched. In 2000, however, there was a change. There were 160 new initiatives whose first requests for support were granted for the four-year cycle from 2001 to 2004: a revolution indeed. Amongst them were organisations with a multicultural and intercultural orientation, involving artists and professionals originating from Turkey, Iran, Morocco, the Netherlands, Surinam, the Antilles and Latin America. Ten or twenty years ago, the subject of cultural diversity was not considered important within the Dutch art world. Here and there, one read a policy memo, but serious commitment of policy instruments and funding was not yet forthcoming. Now there are substantial funds for priorities in the area of cultural diversity. In 1999, the State Secretary for Culture at the time - Rick van der Ploeg - expressed his wish to make room for young people and immigrants who did not partake fully in subsidized culture. However, his aims were - 9 -

10 greeted with sharp criticism. Some critics mainly from the established art world - declared that culture is elitist by definition and that artistic quality is the only relevant issue in arts policy. Some found Van der Ploeg s ideas communistic, and some compared his proposed policy to apartheid. Others felt it was social welfare policy, not arts policy. His ideas were seen as a threat to artistic autonomy. We saw a generation of professionals who were able to exercise and enjoy the freedom of individual and artistic liberty themselves but who did not always understand that this freedom had been fought for by earlier political movements. One would hope that these people have sympathy for new movements which want to ensure that others who have less access to information, lifelong learning and power, like working class communities, women and minorities, will also be able to enjoy greater individual autonomy and artistic liberty in the future. But alliances between the established art world, the wider cultural sector and the newcomers are not yet common practice. Multiculturalism or cultural diversity There is a lot of talk, nowadays, about 'multiculturalism'. To be honest, I prefer to speak about cultural diversity. And why is that? Cultural diversity is a much broader concept and therefore a much more interesting and inclusive concept. From the perspective of cultural diversity, one can include sex, age, ethnicity, social and economic differences, lifestyles, levels of education, etc., all at the same time. Our society and the people who live in it are too complex and valuable to be spoken about in terms of the WE and THEM we hear too often within the framework of multiculturalism. Before I go into detail about the concrete developments specific to the Netherlands, I will explore various paths for developing culturally diverse policies on a more general level. I. Ethnicity as criterion II. III. Assimilation Integration and heterogeneity I. Ethnicity as criterion One option in policy-making is a specific policy aimed at people from culturally diverse and nonwestern backgrounds. The objective here is to compensate people who may require supplementary schemes due to a variety of historical circumstances - migration, racism, colonial oppression. It is thus a policy of positive action to make up for the disadvantages of specific ethnic groups and to alleviate cultural deprivation. The problem here is that, though this type of policy should be aimed at all

11 disadvantaged communities, it tends, in practice, to target only specific 'ethnic' groups. Other groups with histories of exclusion are easily overlooked. Though this kind of policy should promise to compensate various groups of people both men and women - in reality, 'ethnicity' may become the central criterion for making distinctions between groups of people and communities. If this distinction is combined with the idea that various ethnic groups have their own fixed identity, and that this identity has to be maintained through the conservation and cultivation of cultures, it becomes even more dangerous. The ultimate consequence of this idea is that our society will be divided into ethnic segments whose cultures have to be represented in separate slots within the national cultural scene. This is tantamount to segregation. Paul Gilroy, a writer, sociologist and cultural critic from the UK, presented a keynote speech in Amsterdam during a conference on 'Chances for Enrichment - Performing Arts from a multicultural perspective'. Gilroy feels we must give up the illusion that cultural and ethnic purity have ever existed. In his speech he warned against rekindling some of Europe's oldest romances about the primitives and the noble savages. I quote '...imprisoning the other in this fantasy of innocence can only be catastrophic for all parties involved. The danger is compounded when the interests of the romantic consumers converge with those of people inside the minority communities who want to enforce a particular definition of invariant and therefore authentic ethnicity for their own dubious disciplinary reasons.' end quote For a long time, we as Western Europeans have been interested in non-western arts and cultures. However, very often in the West, we wanted to see foreign cultures as exotic, traditional, tribal and pure. With the modernisation of the world, we started worrying about the way non-western cultures would be influenced and how cultural traditions in Africa and Asia might be damaged, or even disappear. At the same time, industrialisation was changing our own western cultures dramatically. While we considered the cultural changes in our western culture as signs of progress and a natural dynamic of western culture, we asked non-western cultures to preserve their pure and sacred traditions II. Assimilation The second option: assimilation. In recent discussions in Dutch multicultural society, certain people express the wish that immigrants should assimilate into, and adapt to, Dutch culture. This trend can also be seen in other European countries. But how can this wish be placed in the context of a Dutch culture in which there have always been economic, social and regional differences? Citizens of a variety of classes, religions, ideological orientations and convictions have known a history of living in a culture of 'unity in diversity'. If one asks proponents of assimilation what they mean by 'assimilate into', the answer is adapt to the norms and values in this country'. Webster's Dictionary says 'assimilate is to become like'. The whole issue of assimilation brings up the question of 'to become like whom?'. How is it possible for a Dutch person with a black or brown skin colour to become like a white Dutch person? How is it possible for immigrants to ignore their history or cultural capital? How

12 is it possible to deny individuals of non-western origin the right to express themselves freely on an artistic and cultural level? Sameness does not exist among Dutch citizens of Caucasian origin, so why demand sameness from citizens originating from other cultures and countries? In this context, the terms demos and ethnos are relevant. The term 'demos' is closely related to the national state and the civil, political, social and educational rights for every citizen. These rights, of course, also imply duties and obligations. The government expects of its citizens that they respect the law. The limitations on freedom of speech are only rightfully enforced if a person expresses racist or sexist views or promotes practices and attitudes which exclude people on the basis of religion, sex, culture or ethnicity. The term 'ethnos' is closely related to a community of people with shared histories and cultural or religious characteristics. While 'demos' underlines equality, 'ethnos' underlines difference. The term 'ethnos' has its own problems. On the one hand, one sees communities with shared histories and cultures. But on the other, modernity has shown that individuals not only want to be absorbers and reproducers of culture, but also generators of new cultures. Artists and writers, in particular, play an important role as generators of culture. So even if one thinks that one sees 'communities' with shared histories, one must realize immediately that communities seldom have a homogeneous culture. Differences exist within, as well as between, communities. Since the Enlightenment, two ways of perceiving the other have developed. In the romantic ideal, the 'other' is supposed to represent an authentic, traditional, and pure culture. In the modern ideal, the 'other' is supposed to throw off his 'otherness' and to engage in a process of assimilation by mimicking western culture, becoming part of a so-called universal modern culture. This paradox is still in place. Defenders of a policy of assimilation feel that the 'multicultural' issue will be solved when artists, members of minority communities, and people in general adjust to the dominant national and European culture, or cultures. In this view, immigrant and non-western artists will have to adjust to European-based definitions of quality and forms of expression. You may wonder, though, whether there is such a thing as a homogeneous national or European culture. In fact, a policy of assimilation forces people to deny their frame of reference, their complex histories, their aesthetics and their 'cultural capital', which may be 'western' and 'non-western', traditional and modern at the same time. III. Integration and heterogeneity A third option in cultural policy-making could be a policy aimed at heterogeneity, pluralism, and intercultural exchange, etc. The policy is based on the idea that a society cannot be divided into ethnic segments, but is made up of communities and individuals with their own specific backgrounds. People

13 supporting this view recognise that many aspects of the culture of the old mother country and the new homeland influence cultural identity. Other factors contributing to cultural identity include ethnicity, class, sex, age, religious orientation, sexual orientation, historical and personal experience, urban and rural experiences, etc. Nowadays, we are witnessing a process of change within 'ethnic' European cultures as well as a process of change within various so-called 'ethnic' minority communities. Hybridisation processes are taking place, even if certain people do not want them to. In these processes, people in general, and artists in particular, should have the chance to express themselves freely. To stimulate a process of innovative and inclusive policy-making, we have to encourage a deep understanding of the post-modern and global processes of hybridisation and creolisation. We need to understand what it means to create structures and policies that bring a cultural democracy into place. A cultural democracy which truly ensures access to cultural institutions for citizens of culturally diverse backgrounds and of less affluent communities. A cultural democracy that lets people of all classes and cultural backgrounds participate and invest in life-long learning, and cultural and personal development. We need policy-makers, directors of cultural organizations, writers, journalists, critics, curators, programmers and board members who show commitment to incorporating new inclusive visions, both in their minds and in their institutions. But some individuals find it difficult to engage in a fundamental debate dealing with issues such as participation and the essence of cultural democracy. Thankfully, though, I do see a growing group of professionals in the Netherlands who are trying to understand the connection between artistic development, cultural participation and social cohesion. Arts Education Let s have a look at the ideological background of arts education in the Netherlands. The influence of the Enlightenment led the 18 th -century well-to-do to ascribe to the Bildungsideal. The cultivated class desired the poor to be able to appreciate culture. In the early 20th century there was a movement committed to making upper-class art available to the lower class. As the German socialist, Karl Kautsky, wrote: the duty of artists and connoisseurs toward the proletariat is not to modernise art, but to allow the masses to enjoy the exquisite works of art that the ruling classes have monopolised for themselves until now. end quote After World War II, the movement to edify the masses was countered by a movement for free expression. This school of thought felt that art did not have to be imposed from above. Each individual was capable of expressing himself and this capacity could be nurtured from a tender age. Moreover, this development would benefit society

14 In the 1960 s and 70 s the opinion took hold that spreading bourgeois culture was paternalistic. People should be introduced to many different forms of culture and art and then make autonomous choices. At the same time, the case was made for the social relevance of art. Art was seen as an instrument for democratisation, emancipation and social change. The field of arts education embraced these ideas, aesthetic training being a tool for raising consciousness. A reaction to these 1970 s ideas was inevitable, and thus during the 1980 s, art was seen to have an intrinsic value and not to be subservient to political ideals. Art was autonomous and quality was the maxim of the 1980 s. Subsequently, in the Netherlands of the 1990 s, we saw a moral appeal to the Dutch government, politicians and society to make every effort to stimulate cultural competence and participation. The Dutch author Hans Blokland - a proponent of the humanistic cultural ideal - argued that people were not simply free to read a book, or go to a theatre, concert or museum. People need to become familiar with literature, other art forms, culture and internet. By being presented with a wide range of experiences, the individual can be equipped to make autonomous choices. In this context, autonomous means that the individual possesses a certain amount of knowledge, experiences and competences in order to develop a personal artistic and moral opinion. Only then can he make choices which are relevant to him, personally. In the 1950 s, it was incorrectly assumed that material conditions like good geographic distribution of cultural facilities would automatically lead to participation. But it is not only material inconveniences which make people shy away from arts and culture; it is also immaterial obstacles. To stimulate participation, parents, friends and teachers have to be committed to nurturing cultural competence. They need to give children and young people the experience, knowledge and opportunity to practice art so that they can later choose to spend their cultural capital either by reading, enjoying art or making it. Of course there is no such thing as a fully autonomous person; each individual is the product of conditioning and various socializing processes. But wouldn t it be wonderful if more and more people were able to develop the capacity to question the sort of culture that is pushed by the market and the mass media? Wouldn t it be nice if more and more people questioned the populism that is imposed on them? Ideally, the culturally competent individual has an understanding of external influences and power balances. Remarkably enough, Hans Blokland stated that the most important thing for him is quote the freedom to choose oneself to benefit or not from the aesthetic pleasures which Western civilization has produced. end quote (Blokland 1997). Here too we can detect paternalism. Blokland seems to ignore internationalism, globalisation and the multicultural society. Should we, in the field of arts and libraries, simply disregard high quality modern art and literature from Asia, Latin America, Africa or the Arab world? And should we neglect contemporary and postmodern hybrid forms of art, with cross-overs between western and non-western aesthetic traditions - hybrid forms where tradition and modernity, high and low culture, elite and popular culture are blended and juxtaposed? In a multicultural society like ours, the Euro-American canon cannot be the only point of departure. We must also include the post-colonial discourse, as well

15 as African, Arab, Asian and Latin-American artistic and cultural traditions. Hopefully, in this new millennium we can leave behind the paternalism of the 19 th and 20 th century edifiers. Hopefully, we can also move beyond the reductionism of the social changers of the seventies who saw art as a political instrument. But a contemporary version of the time-honoured humanistic culture-ideal must be neither patronizing nor Eurocentric in any way. Participation in art Research has shown that participation in art and culture has a chance of success if a connection with people's frame of reference is sought. And it is the challenge of our time to gain more understanding of people's contemporary frame of reference, which may be complex and ambiguous at the same time. We have to recognise that many factors are relevant to participation: factors connected with family environment, social background, geographic location, religion, etc. It would be silly not to recognise that people from various cultures have different histories and possess different kinds of "cultural capital". But it would also be silly to suggest that "ethnicity" or "race" are the essence of a person's cultural identity. The greatest challenge for all of us is to make a thorough investigation of the complexity of the varied immigrant and Caucasian communities, and of the social and cultural differences within these communities, as well as between them. Dealing with "cultural difference" does not mean dealing with ethnicity alone, but with social, cultural, economic and historic "differences" and the issues of gender and generation as well. Teachers of history and art and literature face a major challenge to move away from the old and archaic cultural hierarchy which places European aesthetic traditions above non-western ones. However, one must realize that this is not simple at all. In each and every culture we witness a search for a stable, secure self-identity and a fixed system of beliefs on the one hand, and impulses towards overcoming fixed systems of belief on the other. In each and every culture we find people who are capable, and people who are incapable, of empathising with life forms and art forms which differ from their own. In each and every culture we find those who want to cultivate oppressive traditions, and those who want to strive for freedom. One has to realize that in each and every culture the arts are a bit like a battlefield. Let us look, for instance, at the historical animosity between the church and the theatre. Even in this day and age, certain forms of theatre, literature, music and dance are rejected as immoral by members of the orthodox branch of the Dutch Reformed Church. During a seminar for arts educators about intercultural young people s theatre, a Reformed teacher explained that theatre was banned in her school because she felt it encouraged homosexuality. Within the Muslim community in the Netherlands, there are also a few school directors who forbid certain rhythmic instruments and who will not allow children to draw human figures. It is obvious that Muslims have widely differing views on this subject when one considers the wealth of lacquerwork, miniature painting and modern works of figurative art from areas such as Pakistan, India, Iran, and Turkey. Moreover, Muslim communities

16 in the Arab world have rich musical traditions featuring rhythmic instruments. So among Christians and Muslims and possibly other religious groupings as well - there are factions who have their reservations about letting artists fully exercise the artistic freedom granted by the democratic state, and about letting people participate freely. Then there is another obstacle to arts participation. In major Dutch cities, a dichotomy in education has developed. This dichotomy is encouraged by the freedom of parents to choose their children s schools. Well-educated white families send their children to the white schools; and educated black families follow suit. The poorer black families have little choice and send their children to predominantly black schools. The 1999 policy memo Culture and School (Ministry for Education, Culture, and Science 1999) states that All the students in our country, regardless of their education or background, must be able to acquaint themselves with the special value of art and the heritage of the world around us. A high ideal, but the schools that are undertaking adventurous arts projects too often appear to be the schools with middle-class white students. Schoolchildren in neighbourhoods with large numbers of poorly educated immigrant parents are not being reached enough. Culture as Confrontation - The Outreach Action Plan I now come back to the trend-breaking developments in Dutch cultural policy. In September 2000, Secretary of State Rick van der Ploeg published his policy paper for the period from 2001 to 2004 entitled: Culture as Confrontation. He proposed modernising the grant system so that it would become more dynamic and encourage entrepreneurial spirit. Moreover, the arts would have to reach a much broader segment of the population. To this end, an Outreach Action Programme was developed. Within the framework of this Outreach Action Programme, additional resources became available for culturally diverse programming in theatres, museums, and community centres throughout the country, and for the Culture and School programme, which encourages young people to become involved in cultural activities with, for example, culture vouchers being given to students so that they can attend concerts, theatre and dance performances of their own choice. Some of the State Secretary s opponents who felt that art is only for art s sake argued that the government should not interfere with art at all. But considering the Dutch government has conducted arts policy for over fifty years, it would be very peculiar if it stopped now! In the post-war era, Dutch government policy has sought to (a) encourage the creation of art, (b) conserve artistic heritage, (c) distribute the arts geographically, as well as across social class boundaries, and (d) engage children and adults in the arts. Successive ministers have had different priorities, but these four issues have been central to many policy debates. Yet studies have repeatedly shown that broad segments of the community fail to partake in the arts. (Oosterbaan 1990). In recent years, creative production was the top priority. Van der Ploeg has made funding available for programming and distribution, and audience development. I applaud the fact that new funding for culturally diverse programming will make the arts more accessible to the young, and to people from diverse cultural backgrounds. However, I do not believe that the free-market mentality where the preference of audiences and young people decides what is to be seen will lead us toward the

17 Democracy of Culture that the Secretary of State so desires. This cultural democracy will be better served by (1) encouraging children and young people of all social and cultural backgrounds to read, to practice art themselves, and to acquire knowledge about art during school hours and during pre-school and after-school programmes and (2) creating opportunities for young people of culturally diverse backgrounds to explore their artistic talent and develop artistic and social competencies. More and more people understand that exclusion and deprivation will demand the concerted efforts of artists, arts institutions and national and local government, for decades to come. On the one hand, one sees committed professionals who are eager to engage with kids and youngsters in the poorer parts of the cities and with black schools. On the other, one sees professionals within arts institutions struggling with the fact that the populations of cities are rapidly changing. More and more, I see that local, provincial governments and the Ministry are keen to make some funding available for social and cultural development. I truly hope that the Secretary of State in the new government engages in this process of cultural and artistic development for all, and will make it a priority. The challenge for the art world, now, is to make arts and cultural projects an integral part of the curriculum in schools, and in after-school programmes, in neighbourhoods with culturally diverse populations with low incomes and little education. Music, theatre, dance and visual art are just as important for children from working class families both native and immigrant as for children who are born with a silver spoon in their mouths. Report: Open Gate to Knowledge and Information In 2000, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science also presented the report Open Poort tot Kennis Open Gate to Knowledge and Information. This report looks specifically at the needs of libraries and their users. In short, this report calls for the following issues: 1. Full access for every citizen, no barriers for certain groups. The aim is to communicate with both users and non-users, through panels of citizens, to gain deeper insight in their needs and to learn how to encourage the non-users to participate. 2. The user the individual user, but also schools, etc. - and their interests and needs should have a central position. 3. Integration of ICT and Internet must be included in the services of the library. 4. The library must become a crucial place which connects up with other educational, cultural and social institutions (both in the neighbourhood and in the wider city), such as theatres, museums, archives, etc

18 5. The library must become a platform for presenting art and culture to a wider audience. 6. Quality, diversity/pluralism and independent sources of information are considered crucial. A system will be developed for facilitating the encouragement of self-evaluation and external evaluation and for having tools which work on a permanent basis to increase the future quality of personnel and services (user-friendly) and output of libraries. I want to give you an impression of how the policy described in the report Open Gate to Knowledge and Information works out on a local level, in a library in one of the neighbourhoods of the centraleastern part of Amsterdam: Zeeburg. Pluralism In this neighbourhood, 48,7% of the population belong to ethnic minorities. (Source: Bureau Research & Statistics Amsterdam) The population in this neighbourhood is made up of citizens of Turkish, Moroccan, Surinamese, Pakistani, Antillean, Iranian and Dutch descent, with a large proportion of young people. Some parents have had higher education in their mother countries, but a relatively large proportion have had little education, or are even illiterate. The library has a collection of books in Dutch, Turkish, Arabic, Italian, English, German and French. There are books in these languages for adults, as well as children and teenagers. This library also makes use of the possibility of borrowing collections of books from the NBD/Biblion, a national library service in the Netherlands. Collections can also be borrowed from the Central Public Library in Amsterdam. It would be very expensive for each local library to buy these books themselves. In these borrowed collections, one finds especially books in languages such as Chinese, Danish, Farsi, Japanese, and Urdu. The library has a reading room in which two Turkish newspapers, two Arabic newspapers and one Pakistani newspaper are available for readers. There are also English, German and Dutch newspapers and magazines available. The reading room is always full and the director even expresses the wish for more newspapers and a bigger reading room because of user needs and wishes. However, the budget has its limitations. Access For youngsters under 18, the library is free. Youngsters between 12 and 18 are allowed to borrow adult books, and this means that some adults ask their teenage sons and daughters to borrow books for them. For the past one and a half years, youngsters under 12 have not been allowed in the library

19 unaccompanied after The library introduced this rule because sometimes there were more than 75 kids in the library at a time, while their parents were shopping, working or visiting friends. The library became a sort of crèche. Since the adoption of this rule, it is common practice for children to come with their parents, the effect being that parents who are not very well educated, and sometimes illiterate and not acquainted with the environment and atmosphere of a library, themselves get to know more, as well as their children. ICT and Internet Use of computers for internet is free for youngsters and adults. The library offers introductory internet courses. Moroccan and Turkish women are one of the target groups being served by these courses. In this library, the introduction of computers has a rather turbulent history. The library started a few years ago with two computers for internet users, and news spread rapidly by word of mouth. Crowds of young people arrived at the same time but only two persons could internet, chat or mail at a time. Groups of young people were hanging around, which caused a lot of disturbance and trouble, and sometimes the police even had to intervene. Then more computers were installed, and the director and staff thought hard about how to manage the use of computers. They introduced clear rules and agreed amongst themselves to follow these rules very strictly. - maximum time is 30 minutes per user - reservations are made on the day you use the computer; otherwise people reserving in advance would block access for more spontaneous users - if the computer freezes, one has to wait until the 30 minutes are up, and then the computer is reset for the following user. This rule was made because young users work quickly and restlessly, and must learn to work in a concentrated and quiet way. The rule has a pedagogical function in the beginning, the computers often froze, but now the computer is used more carefully and no resetting is needed any more - no pornography sites must be visited - 2 people may sit at one computer at the same time. This rule is based on the idea that youngsters and adults can learn from each other and help each other On first sight, this may seem a set of bureaucratic rules. However, these rules have spread rapidly, again by word of mouth, and have contributed greatly to the good atmosphere and effective communication amongst users and staff

20 Outreach activities groups from primary education, adult education and asylum centres come annually to visit the library. The library also organizes meetings with parents, and library personnel visit schools to talk to the kids about books and internet use. Particular attention is being paid to the issue of caring for books and treating them with respect. It may surprise you, but there are still a lot of kids nowadays who cut pictures out of books. Many books are destroyed every year. So it is no luxury to create opportunities for kids from families who are not used to books, in order to teach them how to handle books, and to help increase their awareness that these books are part of a public collection. The children and their parents have to learn that they are not the only users; other users must be able to benefit from the books as well. Gallery The library also functions as a gallery. Not very far from the library is a centre for asylum seekers. Some of the artists who live in this centre have had the opportunity to present their work to a wider audience and to start building up a network. Personnel The director of this library, with its 16 members of staff, is a woman. She told me that some time ago her son-in-law had said to her: Are you the boss of men? I wouldn t like that. The good-humoured director laughed as she told me this, and I could see her thinking I mustn t be bothered by this kind of ignorance. Amongst the personnel in this library are professionals with different levels of education: some have had higher vocational library training, and some have had a middle level training. They include 2 British, 1 Sudanese, 1 Surinamese, 1 South-African, 1 Turkish and 1 Moroccan member of staff, and the rest are autochthonous Dutch. In total there are 9 men and 7 women. Staff members who want to invest time in library training are encouraged to do so, and they are given feedback and offered on-thespot coaching. The library also invests in their personnel in other ways. The whole staff has taken part in a three-day team training course to acquire the competences needed for communicating with aggressive users and customers. This has worked out very well for them. The director enjoys working in this environment and when asked how she manages this diversity, says: I value every human being and respect each person for what they are. In my opinion, the director of this library in Amsterdam does an excellent job of what the American philosopher Martha Nussbaum describes in her book as Cultivating humanity. Martha Nussbaum describes three capacities which are essential to citizens who want to cultivate humanity in today s

21 world. Firstly, the capacity for critical examination of oneself and one s traditions. Secondly, the ability to see oneself and others not simply as citizens of some local region or group, but as human beings bound to all other human beings by ties of recognition and concern. Thirdly, Nussbaum asks people to be courageous enough to imagine what it might be like to be in someone else's shoes. For instance, let us imagine for a moment what it is like to be a refugee. How would a Danish or Dutch citizen feel if they lost their house and family and were forced to build up a totally new life in a strange country and to learn the language? Library services for ethnic minorities - New chances for Denmark I understand that public libraries in Denmark have the ambition of developing new models for library services for ethnic minorities, and of playing a role in the integration process. Libraries are often close to the inhabitants of neighbourhoods and are thus ideally situated for distributing information to potential target groups in neighbourhoods. Libraries are in touch with teachers, schools and pupils on a daily basis, so they have easy access to information on pupils needs and can translate these into collection policy. If libraries in Denmark develop strategies for finding out about user needs such as ethnic minorities, and understanding what makes them tick, they will be able to deliver a user-friendly service. It all boils down to a few questions: are policy-makers and library staff determined to look into the needs of communities and are they committed to deliver the services that culturally diverse user groups need? are libraries eager to play a central role in the empowerment and cultural development of people with a variety of histories? If this determination and eagerness within libraries is combined with an open, collaborative and trustbuilding attitude towards migrant communities, theatres, museums, schools, community centres, outreach workers, etc., then there is great potential for libraries to fulfil a central role in integration and the web of connecting cultural institutions and cultural workers. If you, as representatives of public libraries and cultural institutions in Denmark, choose to be the driving force behind powerful partnerships in life-long learning, empowerment, integration, and cultural participation, there is a fair chance that local authorities and municipalities will be interested in discussing how your sector can be facilitated to enable you to fulfil this interface role properly and effectively. The Diversity Adoption Curve Marilyn Loden, American diversity specialist, shows in her Diversity Adoption Curve (Loden 1996), how people relate to diversity and to the process of change which goes with it. Loden s curve gives an idea of the degree in which diversity is, or is not, accepted by different groups

22 The Diversity Adoption Curve From Marilyn Loden Implementing Diversity. 1996, Irwin Professional Publishing From her research, Loden concludes that 2.5% of professionals are oriented towards innovation. These are the people who set up projects and new ideas. When the inventors ideas are put forward, about 13.5% of the professionals will take them up and implement them. This second group is known as the change agents. Pragmatists (34%) are brought round after a convincing argument; sceptics (34%) are not so easy to get going, only joining in after a much longer period. And the traditionalists (16%) are not prepared, or hardly so, to go along with the process of change. This last group prefers to keep things the way they were. From the perspective of the Diversity Adoption Curve, the commitment, attitude and vision of the management and staff of cultural organisations are of overriding importance for the success of a policy directed towards diversity. If you want to find out to which segment you belong, ask yourself the following questions. Am I eager to explore and invent new opportunities? Am I optimistic and do I like to test new ideas? Do I see diversity as a creative opportunity? Do I like to influence implementation and lead change?

23 If the answer to these questions is yes, you are likely to find yourself among the innovators and change agents and you are likely to get what you want: more diversity and a staff that can deal with it in an inspiring and effective way. Resistance to change Accepting innovative developments, and forming a process of change in the direction of more diversity is a long process. Every process of change incites resistance and emotion, which is only normal and understandable. This is even more so in the case of diversity processes which, without any doubt, demand change. If you decide to discuss diversity, you quickly get into a situation where some people in the group you are working with find it inspiring and are ready to explore, whereas others will be quite vocal in their feelings about change. You will see fear, and you will see that some people focus on the success of yesterday, or years ago, and show active resistance to doing things differently. For that reason, one must be prepared to invest in training and coaching of personnel. In this day and age, we see many people struggling with changing environments and populations, prejudice, and emotions such as fear, loss and sometimes even anger and racist views. Especially at this point in time, it is important to make sure that personnel of libraries and cultural institutions are working with value systems and attitudes that ensure user-friendly services for all citizens, regardless of their origin. To overcome barriers, libraries need to pay serious attention to the value systems and emotions of their staff. If you observe resistance to diversity and strong emotions, I would advise you to communicate in a sensitive but straightforward way with the people involved. Create situations in a safe environment where colleagues can become aware of the impact of their underlying value systems. In this process of raising awareness, learning and exploration, the people involved may discover that embracing diversity is an experience which is enriching and challenging, rather than threatening. From my experience as a consultant and coach, I know that this process takes time and patience on behalf of all the parties involved. The solution is to work on personal transformation, capacity and competence building. Make sure that learners are approached in a way that empowers, rather than diminishes them. By exploring value systems which are geared towards diversity, and towards inclusion rather than exclusion, a new repertoire of behaviour and skills can be learned. Behaviour in situations in the here and now, where diversity cannot be avoided, will prove whether or not a person is competent. I have experienced that if you trust people's ability to question their beliefs and value system, if you trust that learners have the resources and capacity to learn and transform, then learning becomes a joy. If the learner can discover that learning has something in it for himself and for the organisation, the transformation process will be well underway. After a time you will discover that professionals are open to diversity and are able to change their value system from exclusive to inclusive. Once you reach a situation where staff feel confident about the way they can deal with diversity in the workplace, the work becomes a pleasure. Training and coaching Recently, I met a young teacher who has just graduated from higher vocational training and who is working at a primary school with kids from different cultural backgrounds. She holds the opinion that