Our Commitment to Equalities, Diversity, Inclusion and Access
We believe that championing Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility through our work is essential. We want to use our platform as a world class festival to showcase a diverse and wide range of voices and perspectives, and ensure that everyone we work with, support and welcome to the festival is able to enjoy the same opportunities, irrespective of their age, gender, race, disability, sexual orientation, religion or belief, marital status, pregnancy and maternity, or socio-economic status.
We are working to become a more inclusive and diverse organisation, and through our international profile and extensive partnerships, we are committed to playing an active part in building a more equitable society.
The objectives set out below build on our EDI plan first developed in 2016, which focussed on extending the reach of our programme; and have also been formed in response to our statement in support of Black Lives Matter movement issued in June 2020, where we committed to reviewing our internal processes to identify ways to strengthen equality within our own organisation and to play our part in eradicating discrimination and racism.
Since then, we have been actively reviewing all areas of our work to identify and address structural inequalities within our organisation, and foster a more open and inclusive culture. As a first step, the festival team has undertaken training in order to learn more about structural inequality, to understand more about the potential for discrimination and barriers that exist within our current structure, and to help us to think through how we can do more to challenge unconscious bias and racism in our work.
The objectives below, and actions in our full EDIA Action Plan, outline the next steps we will take over the coming year to continue to address structural inequalities and discrimination within our own organisation, and how we can play our part in advancing change in society as a whole. It has been developed with the full participation and commitment of our festival team, leadership and Board.
Our Key Objectives
We want to:
- Foster an equitable and inclusive professional environment for all staff
- Offer a welcoming experience for all visitors
- Actively diversify the staff team and our sector more widely by supporting current, emerging, and future professionals from communities who are currently under-represented in the arts
- Build programmes and partnerships that support and promote a diversity of voices, experiences and perspectives
To help us progress these objectives, we have identified three key areas for development over the next year, with progress reviewed in March 2022. These are:
- Staffing and Culture
- Board Diversification and Governance
- Programming and Audience Engagement
We will work closely with our Board to realise these plans, including ensuring the necessary allocation of resources and prioritisation of fundraising efforts.
We will issue regular progress reports to the Board and stakeholders, to ensure transparency, accountability, and to provide opportunities for feedback.