Fine days can be few and far between in Scotland, it has seemed particularly so this spring; heavy rain has featured most days. Thus, when the sun does put in an appearance, spending time in a basement conference suite might not be everyone’s first choice.
However, sometimes, such choices are thrust upon us and, they can work out rather well. Over the past couple of weeks we have been able to set up two equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI), festivals and events co-creation workshops at Spirit of 2012‘s central Glasgow venue, Robertson House. This duo of workshops formed part of the data collection /synthesis elements of our ongoing, Spirit of 2012 funded work; FestivalsConnect. Contributing to Spirit’s wider ‘Moments to Connect’ portfolio, this project looks at the ways in which festivals and events build EDI considerations into their planning and fulfilment, seeking to identify the challenges and opportunities associated with this aspect of festival and event delivery, to identify examples of good practice and think about ways that EDI outcomes can be best achieved in a variety of festival and event settings.
The workshops were an opportunity to bring together a group of people with lived experience, festival and event practitioners and policy makers working in a range of settings where EDI considerations are very much at the forefront of what they do. We were delighted to welcome such a knowledgeable assembly of folk, representing organisations – active both locally and nationally – to deliver festivals and events, large and small.
Our discussions focused on several key thematic areas:
- Representation – who is (and isn’t) in the room?
- Design & Programming – how can EDI be built into these processes?
- Governance & Resourcing – how best to build EDI into the way we constitute and fund festivals and events?
- Legacy & Learning – how to we evaluate and learn from previous festivals and events to ensure we advance EDI agendas?
The dialogue and debate that developed in response to these cues identified several areas of significance for our project; providing insight into the reasons why attempting to translate EDI policy and planning into practical success can be hugely challenging.
In representation – for example – the importance of being clear and robust with prioritisation of meaningful representation and, embedding this across the organisation, event planning and the duration of festival emerged as a consistent message. Participants stressed the long-term nature of genuine engagement and representation – there is no quick fix. Recognition of intersectionality and the presence of minorities within the minorities is also a foremost concern. Understanding this complexity requires that festivals and events are planned and delivered by people who represent their intended audiences.
In design and programming we heard that the notion of accessibility is multi-faceted and, obstacles to event attendance can derive from several sources. For example, while a would-be attendee may have mobility challenges, their absence from a given event might be – in fact – due to high ticket price or, lack of awareness that the event is intended to be for them and their community.
Potentially, differing priorities within event design and delivery organisations also emerged as important considerations, particularly as the outputs and outcomes associated with EDI are at the softer end of the data spectrum, necessitating nuanced approaches to uncover them over longer timeframes. On the other hand, the hard, financial data and value associated with number of tickets sold or stalls rented is more straightforwardly gathered and assessed.
As well as providing some interesting potential answers in terms of the governance and resourcing required to be able to prioritise EDI in event and festival settings, some fascinating further questions also emerged.
- Do we expect too much of festivals/ events and the social and community benefits they might deliver?
- How can legacy be embedded, particularly when event oversight structures shut up shop immediately after the delivery is complete?
- Where resourcing is so often a challenge, how can we ensure that event attendees’ feedback and evaluation is acted upon?
Sometimes it pays to spend a sunny day in a basement conference suite! Many thanks to all who made time to attend and share their insights.
This post was written by Sophie Mamattah & David McGillivray.
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