Tony Bennett, Differing diversities - Council of Europe

Differing diversitiestoo, had – and has – strong centrist tendencies, although these have now been significantlyqualified by the devolution of significant areas of responsibility to thegovernments of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales and the establishment, since1994, of autonomous Arts Councils for each of these alongside the Arts Council ofEngland.Assessing the consequences of these different systems of government for culturaldiversity policies is, however, a difficult matter that cannot be answered abstractlysince it is likely that these vary according to the type of diversity that is at issue.From the point of view of autochthonous and multinationalist claims to diversity,more dispersed and devolved systems of government have obvious advantages.The role of the cantons in sustaining Switzerland’s commitment to the principlesof quadrilingualism and language territoriality has obviously been crucial, just asit is clear that the cultural role of the Welsh language has been – and is likely to befurther – strengthened as a consequence of devolution. Yet the situation oftenlooks different if we consider the situation of immigrant groups. Although theseneed not benefit from a strong and directive central state (Austria is a case inpoint), central governments can often play a leading role in developing culturalpolicy agendas and legislative contexts for diversity in the face of what can oftenbe the narrower and more parochial chauvinisms of provincial or local administrations.There is thus little doubt that, in Canada, the federal government hasplayed the leading role in developing the varied conceptual parameters that havegoverned successive phases of Canada’s engagement with multiculturalism aswell as promoting the legislative and civic environments within which culturaldiversity has been pursued. It is also true that in Canada the federal level of governmenthas proved more responsive than most provincial governments to theclaims of Canada’s First Nations.Direct versus arm’s-length forms of cultural administrationA significant factor in any calculations about the prospects for diversity concernsthe extent to which different systems of cultural administration allow for theemergence of various “champions for diversity” within those systems. The distinctionbetween arm’s-length systems of administration of the kind that are foundin both Canada and the United Kingdom where the central arts and cultural ministriesallocate monies to a range of semi-autonomous arts councils, film institutesand similar agencies which are then responsible for dividing these funds betweendifferent cultural programmes and institutions, and the practice through whichfunding and programme priorities are more directly determined and administeredby central arts and cultural ministries (France is the classic example, 1 but this tendencyis evident in both Austria and Bulgaria) is relevant here.Although the matter would need further investigation, the evidence from a numberof the country visits would suggest that arm’s-length systems do increase the likelihoodthat there will be a strong and continuing voice for diversity within__________1. See Looseley, 1995.48