In recent years, the topic of inclusion has gained importance in the cultural sector.
In 2009, the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was ratified by the Federal Government. It is the first text of a legal nature that grants people with disabilities not only creative potential, but also the right to develop it.
At federal level, in 1981, the International Year of Disabled Persons, the office of the Federal Government Commissioner for Matters relating to Persons with Disabilities was established as a central point of contact with the Federal Government on all matters affecting persons with disabilities and is attached to the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.
EUCREA Verband Kunst und Behinderung e.V. (https://www.eucrea.de), the umbrella organisation representing the interests of artists with disabilities in German-speaking countries (Germany, Austria and Switzerland), was founded in 1989. It is committed to more diversity in the field of art and culture, develops model projects to make visible how inclusion can take place in the art and culture sector, sensitises artists, cultural institutions, politics and administration to the potential of artists with disabilities, encourages cooperation and works on the further development of training opportunities and fields of employment.
Since 2015, the BKM has supported the Network Culture and Inclusion at the Remscheid Academy as a dialogue and expert forum. It facilitates the exchange of experiences and approaches from theory and practice, science and research, the association landscape and politics. In 2018, the funding principles for the “Mediation and Integration” programme were amended, which means that new strategic and methodological approaches in the field of inclusion as well as the transfer of successful projects to other institutions and sectors are also supported. In institutions permanently funded by the BKM, grants are linked to the condition that the participation of people with impairments is also strengthened. The BKM also funded the model project “Art and Inclusion” of the EUCREA Verband Kunst und Behinderung e.V.. The aim was to improve the work and training situation of artists with disabilities and their integration into the cultural sector. The project “CONNECT – Art in Process”, funded by the Federal Cultural Foundation, builds on the “ARTplus” programme and is intended to transfer the model developed there to other cultural institutions. In the film sector, funding from the BKM is tied to the production of an accessible version. The German Federal Film Board (FFA) has also set up a “Round Table” in which representatives of associations of people with disabilities work with cinema operators, distributors and technical companies to define new standards for accessible cinemas.
“Too often, however, artists and cultural audiences with disabilities are still left out. Some progress has been made in recent years, e.g. with regard to accessibility in large museums and inclusive art education but not enough. There is not only a lack of accessible cultural venues, but also of inclusive cultural and media offerings, e.g. literature in simple or easy language. As actors, people with disabilities are still strongly underrepresented in the cultural sector. When it comes to training and employment, it is often the disability that is seen first, not the potential of the applicant.”14 – this is the view of Aktion Mensch, as published in the dossier “Inclusion in Culture and Media”.
In the Coalition Agreement 2021, advocacy for accessibility is highlighted as a goal in the cultural sector.
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