Tony Bennett, Differing diversities - Council of Europe

Transversal study on the theme of cultural policy and cultural diversityii. the second consists in the entitlement of all members of society to be providedwith the cultural means of functioning effectively within that society withoutbeing required to change their cultural allegiances, affiliations or identities;iii. the third consists in the obligation of governments and other authorities to nurturethe sources of diversity through imaginative mechanisms, arrived atthrough consultation, for sustaining and developing the different cultures thatare active within the populations for which they are responsible;iv. the fourth concerns the obligation for the promotion of diversity to aim atestablishing ongoing interactions between differentiated cultures, rather thantheir development as separated enclaves, as the best means of transforming theground on which cultural identities are formed in ways that will favour a continuingdynamic for diversity.Widening the debateWhat role can the Council of Europe and its member states play in taking thesedebates forward? The following recommendations are advanced in answer to thisquestion:i. that the international scope of its transversal study of cultural diversity policiesbe enlargedThe lessons that it has been possible to derive from the limited exercise intransversal methodologies that this project represents could be significantlyenhanced if parallel studies were undertaken in other member states. The value ofthe role of Canada in this study also suggests the desirability of involving otherstates with observer status in such studies if European cultural diversity policiesare to both benefit from, and contribute to, broader international debates in thisarea. The value of any enlargement of the initial scope of the study, however, willbe considerably enhanced if the criteria for participation ensured that a broadrange of different approaches to diversity were considered across a range of differentcivic, administrative, social, and conceptual contexts.ii. that the Council of Europe and its member states facilitate the development ofinternational codes of best practice in cultural diversity through a programmeof regional conferences and seminarsIt has been clear that a good deal of the value of this study has been generated bythe processes through which it has been conducted. The programme of in-countrysite visits proved especially valuable in the exchange of perspectives and informationit made possible between arts and cultural policy administrators in differentjurisdictions. The co-ordination of a programme of regional conferences and colloquiaconcerned with sharing best practice and examining the civic, administrative,social, economic, and conceptual contexts which condition the developmentof cultural diversity policies in different jurisdictions would help to maintain andextend the useful momentum that has been developed here.65