Tony Bennett, Differing diversities - Council of Europe

Differing diversitiesfairness for cultural participation. It will need to embrace diversity rather than culturalhomogeneity as a norm.Cultural diversity, in all its forms, is posing a profound challenge to traditional formulationsof cultural policy, and to our understanding of the public interestsserved by this policy. In most countries the artistic and cultural landscape has notevolved to reflect the realities of a changed social landscape. This rift threatens toundermine the legitimacy of cultural institutions and the public policy that supportsthem. The shift from homogeneity to diversity as the new social normrequires a rethinking of the processes, mechanisms, and relationships needed fordemocratic policy development in diverse societies.A further period of work is planned. This will focus on the practical implicationsof changing international contexts for the development and implementation of culturaldiversity policies at the national level.MethodologyThe study was divided into two phases.PHASE 1This comprised the preparation of descriptive national reports by the national coordinatorsfor each of the participating states. It was agreed that, while having dueregard to the specific circumstances and peculiarities of different countries, eachof these reports should address four main issues.Issue 1: Cultural democracy, cultural citizenship and cultural policyA discussion of the general themes and issues relating to debates about the relationshipsbetween cultural democracy, cultural citizenship, and cultural policy atthe national level.Issue 2: Mapping cultural diversityAn examination of the specific forms of diversity characterising the demographiccharacteristics of the population, focusing especially on longstanding autochthonousminorities and the new communities resulting from post-war immigration.This is complemented by a consideration of the legal and civic status of suchgroups in society and the key points of tension characterising their relationships to“mainstream” society.Issue 3: Mapping cultural policyA brief history of the development of cultural and media policies over the post-warperiod identifying the scope and dimensions of such policies, the administrativestructures through which they are developed and implemented, and the principal12