Cultural diversity in Catalan facilities: a challenge still pending

On Tuesday 26 November, Nau Bostik in Barcelona hosted a necessary and urgent reflection on cultural diversity in Catalan institutions. The presentation of the report The treatment of cultural diversity in Catalan cultural institutions, promoted by CoNCA , highlighted a persistent challenge: integrating the multicultural wealth of Catalan society into the country's cultural facilities.

This document, the result of an exhaustive study led by Jordi Baltà , highlights the shortcomings and proposes strategies to reverse them. Although Catalonia is a mosaic of origins and expressions, this reality is not proportionally reflected in the content, teams or policies of cultural institutions . As Margarida Troguet , vice-president of the CoNCA, underlines, "talking about diversity is talking about human rights".

The report makes it clear that cultural diversity cannot be reduced solely to guaranteeing access to facilities. It is essential to facilitate active participation in the creation, production and dissemination of content. This transformation implies not only a change of discourse, but a restructuring of the management and cultural production models, making them permeable to the reality of society. From the CoNCA making it clear that it is not just a desire for inclusion, but a fundamental need to guarantee equity and representativeness in the cultural field and requires political commitment, institutional will and a constant dialogue with the citizenship

Margarida Troguet. © CoNCA_Júlia Girós

Three axes to address a structural change

The report is built on three major axes that are key to reconfiguring Catalan cultural policies. First, a conceptual framework is established that contextualizes the debate on cultural diversity and introduces essential concepts such as interculturality, cultural rights, decolonization and the diversity of cultural expressions. This theoretical framework serves to raise solid arguments that justify the need to incorporate cultural diversity as a central element in cultural institutions and facilities.

Secondly, the study identifies several areas of intervention that need to be addressed to achieve this objective . These include the institutional frameworks, the internal structures of the institutions, the support for artistic creation, the programming and display of content, as well as the relationship with the public and the management of data. Based on interviews and surveys, the report collects concrete examples and case studies, both from Catalonia and from other countries, which illustrate good practices, challenges and opportunities in each of these fields.

Finally, the report concludes with a set of recommendations aimed at public administrations, cultural institutions and other agents involved. These guidelines propose concrete actions, such as revising governance models to make them more inclusive, strengthening the active participation of diverse groups in cultural creation and production, and guaranteeing equitable access to resources.

Crònica visual de l'acte per Pedro Strukelj. © CoNCA_Júlia Girós