Communing for Culture
A call to the European Parliament, the European Commission, and Member States
As a movement for gender equity and justice, culture and the arts have been a catalyst for creativity, innovation and togetherness within Keychange. This belief has kept Keychange and all of our community going since our inception in 2018. Amidst recent democratic regress, geopolitical turbulence, economic depression and environmental and human catastrophes we join a large number of cultural and creative industries organisations in calling on the European Commission, European Parliament and Member States to strengthen the Creative Europe programme in the next EU long-term budget (MFF).
We add our voice to the IETM – International network for contemporary performing arts and Culture Action Europe campaigns which bring together over 70 other associations and hundreds of organisations from across the European continent in demanding the continuation, increase and centering of support to Creative Europe and their programmes.
The Creative Europe support has been crucial in bolstering the work of Keychange. Thanks to their funding, we have been able to empower over 300 women and gender diverse artists and professionals based in over 25 countries. This included our involved in over 40 networking events, 140 workshops and speed-meetings, 90 panels and keynotes, 204 Mentoring pairs so far, 142 artist showcases between 2018 and 2023, +/- 150 speaking opportunities for innovators (as panellists, moderators, experts, trainers) at partner events between 2018 and 2023, plus more throughout 2024. And in November 2024 we were able to launch our pioneering Keychange Leaders Talent Leadership programme, whose aim is to empower women and gender diverse persons to stand their ground and rise through leadership ranks, in order to be the ones to lead future changes, decisions and progress. This trailblazing programme is rooted in providing education training and materials to the current group of women and gender diverse individuals who will lead the future of music.
All of this wouldn’t have been possible without the generous support of Creative Europe, which has funded our project since 2018. Their funding has also enabled us to take our Pledge for intersectional gender equity further, reaching over 700 organisations, from BMG to EBU - who have signed our Pledge to commit to increasing representation within the music industries. With that support, we were also able to run our Manifesto workshops, and then release our 10 point community based Manifesto, which builds on the demands of the wider Keychange network and is directed towards everyone in the music industry from European and national legislators, to policy- and decision-makers and music organisations and companies. The Manifesto presents solutions which we now collaborate with the sector to implement through our Pledge and other activities.
As our Executive Director Tiffany Fukuma says:
“Since 2018, Creative Europe has allowed Keychange to build programs which supported over 340 gender-diverse and female talents across 25 countries, connected more than 700 organisations through our pledge, and helped shape a manifesto we’re now actively putting into practice to drive systemic change in the music sector. Keychange cannot envision a just and equitable future for culture without Creative Europe. That’s why we co-signed the One Voice for European Music call, co-signed the Let culture lead us forward letter to the European Parliament, the European Commission, and Member States, and endorsed Culture Action Europe's Ask, Pay, Trust campaign. We stand in full support of all our peers across the sector in calling for a strong, focused Creative Europe programme”
Tiffany Fukuma, Keychange
We must mention our Keychange U.S. expansion at this point too, where this new entity is primarily dependent on private funding. In light of the crackdown on gender diversity in particular, and diversity in general, it has never been more important, yet challenging, to secure funding to foster a spirit of collaboration, unity and exchange through the creative and cultural industries. The creative and cultural industries have long been a beacon of hope and a propelling force for democracy and social cohesion, and we must both underpin and champion their role further.
Keychange ASBL and our partners are therefore backing the clear demands put forward by IETM in order to safeguard and increase support for Creative Europe as the best mechanism to tackle barriers, increase cultural and creative exchange and to boost the wider economy. Dominance within culture pushes towards an atmosphere of fear, sameness instead of diversity and disconnects the creative process from the beauty and richness of unified multitudes.
Let culture drive the change towards a better, safer, and more diverse future for all.
Notes:
You can read news about the IETM call HERE and also sign the IETM open letter HERE.
You can find out more about the Culture Action Europe Ask, Pay, Trust ongoing project in the hyperlink.
You can read the One Voice for Europe’s European Strategy for Music paper HERE