Regional consultants for cultural diversity

Since 2002, the Swedish Arts Council has distributed annual funds for regional consultants for cultural diversity. At present, this takes place within the framework of the Cultural Cooperation Model. The cultural diversity consultants conduct development work to strengthen ethnic and cultural diversity in regional cultural life. A large proportion of the activities concern network-building, knowledge development and promoting an intercultural perspective in the regional administration, at cultural institutions and among associations and organisations. At most, the number of counties with approved funding from the Swedish Arts Council for cultural diversity consultant activities was eight, but this number has gradually reduced and there are at present activities in three counties.

In the evaluation of the trial activities involving regional consultants for cultural diversity conducted by the Multicultural Centre in 2006, it was stated that these activities appeared so important for development that their continuation was well motivated. Among other things, it was considered that the consultants have functioned as a source of development inspiration to decision-makers, institutions and organisations by, for example, organising various types of meetings to exchange knowledge and experience and by creating new networks. The activities of associations was an obvious target for the work. The result in the form of discussions and debates raised the theoretical level of the sought-after practice. The basis of diversity in cultural life was strengthen since the consultants participated in developing the associations’ networks both horizontally and vertically. One challenge in the work was the lack of a common definition of cultural diversity, with the result that the aesthetic sense of the term was often neglected in relation to the anthropological.