Tony Bennett, Differing diversities - Council of Europe

Differing diversitieswhen tackling new cultural movements, such as lifestyle groups, which oftenreassert their origins and loyalties in an anti-policy, non-hierarchical way. Thesame study also concluded that more research was needed into the questionsrelated to the implementation of a cultural planning approach.Two areas of research were identified which are still relevant today. The first concernsa need for experimentation and the piloting of new, more integrated andoverarching structures for policy-making capable of bringing together differentlocal government departments. As cultural planning has to be part of a larger strategyfor urban and community development, and has to make connections withphysical and town planning, with economic and industrial development objectives,with housing and public work initiatives, cultural planners need to link upwith other agencies responsible for planning and development.The issue here is that there is a need for experimenting with more open and creativestructures of policy-making. This can start with a retraining of policy makersand administrators so that they can acquire a broader knowledge of other disciplinesinvolved in the understanding of how the urban and social fabric of a locationfunctions. 1 For example, co-ordinated training schemes for local leaders, suchas government officials, artists, youth workers, developers and other communityrepresentatives, have been used effectively in some cities in the United States as atool for strategic community revitalisation, and for dealing with issues of civicparticipation, racial understanding and youth development. Examples of “leadershiptraining schemes” such as these could be adapted to the European contextthrough a Europe-wide research programme.Another aspect linked to the development of new structures of policy-making isthat of the redefinition of organisational policies and goals. A reassessment of therole of civic institutions such as libraries and museums, for instance, can bothenable traditional institutions to discover new functions for themselves and helpthem to deal more effectively with issues of cultural diversity. Libraries, for example,can be pivotal points in assisting local communities to adapt to new challengesin society; they can become important access points to information and trainingfor local communities. Equally, museums can serve as a resource to any communitydealing with issues of multicultural understanding. Research on the diverserole these institutions can play has already been undertaken in the United States(Partners for Livable Communities) and in the United Kingdom (by the Comediaand Demos think-tanks) with encouraging results.The novelty of this approach lies also in the challenge it poses to the traditionalquasi-economic measures of output that have characterised public funding for cultureover the past twenty years. Culture and cultural institutions alike are seen inthis context as tools for the improvement of the quality of life of local communitiesand for providing the necessary resources to help them to develop skills, confidenceand organisational capacity.__________1. See Bianchini and Ghilardi Santacatterina, 1997: 85-87.130