Diversity Finder – The Platform for Lived Diversity

Migros Culture Percentage’s Diversity Finder introduces contacts for social and cultural issues with biographical expertise in diversity topics. Associations, organisations, companies and public institutions may use the platform to find experts who can support them with projects and diversity-sensitive processes. They use their perspective to shape content and processes more effectively. There are currently nearly 30 experts on the Diversity Finder.  

What can this tool do?

The platform makes it easier for interested parties in associations, organisations, companies and public institutions to access experience and expertise on diversity issues. They use their perspective to shape content and processes more effectively.  For example: an organisation wants to strengthen diverse teams. It wants to take the starting positions and needs of all people in these teams into account, and the opportunities of the team members should be fairly distributed. An expert from the Diversity Finder can then support the sensitisation and further process.

What does this tool contain?

Nearly 30 experts introduce themselves with a personal profile on the Diversity Finder. Profiles can be filtered by topic, language and region. The profiles describe the focal points and personal references to the topic. Once you have found the right person for your project or process, you can contact them directly.

Why is this tool needed?

Some people in our society are barely visible: we learn little about them in newspapers, on the internet or on television. This includes, for example, people with a history of migration, people with disabilities and people who do not identify with their assigned gender. The Diversity Finder makes different realities of life more visible through the experts.

Who is the target audience?

The Diversity Finder is aimed at interested parties in associations, organisations, companies and public institutions who want to take diverse perspectives into account. The experts can support projects and accompany diversity-sensitive processes.

Impressum

Ownership: Migros Culture Percentage 

contact: info-soziales@mgb.ch

Social Affairs and Societal Issues | Migros Commitment 

 

Published 13.3.26

Documentary film on the transcontinental collaboration of GROUP50:50

In November 2023, the members of GROUP50:50 met in Berlin for a week to reflect on their collaboration and, in particular, on the process of creating the post-documentary musical theatre «The Ghosts are Returning». The group consists of artists from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Switzerland and Germany. They thematise colonial crimes and neo-colonial mechanisms of exploitation in their work. Half of the positions are always filled by people from the DR Congo, the other half is made up of members from Germany or Switzerland.

What kind of tool is it?

The reflection process was documented in short interviews with the participants. These were edited into a ten-minute film that gives viewers an insight into the advantages and pitfalls of transcontinental cooperation. It also explores how the week of reflection unfolded. A central theme of the week of reflection was collaboration within an asymmetrical distribution of resources, which remains clearly apparent even when the group demographics (in this case, consisting of Congolese and European members) are balanced.

The short film, which consists of excerpts from the interviews, aims to encourage
other groups to address the entanglements between personal and structural conflicts that can occur in heterogeneous groups. Unravelling these misunderstandings, inequalities and injuries takes courage and time. By sharing their – sometimes very personal – insights, GROUP50:50 wishes to highlight that these negotiation processes are worth the effort.

Impressum

Authorship: GROUP50:50
Cinematography & editing: Franck Moka, Joseph Kasau,
Voiceover & surtitles: Luca Maier

GROUP50:50

Published 13.3.2026

art+care Newsletter – Visibility of current topics and activities of the community

The art+care newsletter is a collaborative publication format that brings visibility to topics, actors, and activities within the community. It is published monthly and serves as a curatorial tool for the network, bringing together discourses on care, art, and solidarity practices and offering different perspectives. This format provides a publicly accessible platform for networks, projects, and resources.

Most of the content shared in the newsletter comes from the multilingual Signal groups of the art+care community, where all chat members can contribute.

The tool shows that a newsletter can be used not only as an information channel but also as a participatory knowledge archive. Such a newsletter can support communities in continuously promoting visibility, exchange, and networking.

Newsletter subscription

What does this tool consist of?

Updates on art+care activities and current contributions from the entire community (called art+care Cosmos)

Why is this tool needed?

Strengthening the care discourse and interdisciplinary exchange in art and culture

What can this tool do?

Creating visibility and knowledge transfer

Who is this tool for?

A newsletter for anyone interested in contributions and formats related to the topic of art and care work

Concept & editing:
art+care core team

Content:
Contributions from members of the Signal groups (art+care Cosmos)

Contact:
contact@artandcare.org

Website:
artandcare.org

Newsletter registration

Signal Group (art+care Cosmos)

Published 05.03.2026

SPARK THE FLAME! – art+care Meet-up format to adopt

SPARK THE FLAME! is an adaptive event format by art+care that combines artistic practice and care work in an open, supportive setting. The focus is on lighting a fire together – as a collective action in physical space and as an experience of shared attention, care and community.

The format creates a accessible setting for exchange, resonance and collective presence. Participants and organisers are equally understood as actors; the act of being together becomes a collective artistic practice.

As a ready-to-use setting, SPARK THE FLAME! can be independently adapted and implemented by individuals, initiatives or institutions – from studio gardens to festivals, in a wide variety of contexts. It is not the size of the event that matters, but the quality of the encounter.

art+care provides the handout ‘How to SPARK THE FLAME!’ to anyone interested in hosting SPARK THE FLAME!

What does this tool consist of?

An adaptive, consciously simple event format with a clear, open structure: a fire (real or symbolic) forms the centrepiece, complemented by moderated exchange, optional artistic contributions and a host checklist for independent implementation. Simplicity is part of the concept.

What can this tool do?

  • Create community and spaces for resonance
  • Initiate new perspectives and collaborations
  • Make participation tangible as an artistic practice
  • Activate discourses on art and care
  • Enable inclusive, intergenerational encounters
  • People with care responsibilities

Why is this tool needed?

Care work in the arts and culture sector often remains invisible. At the same time, there is a lack of low-threshold, solidarity-based meeting places and corresponding structures.

The format focuses on bringing together people of all generations. Through joint action and being together, people who do not feel addressed by or are excluded from conventional art and culture formats due to their care situations also enter into relationships with each other.

SPARK THE FLAME! promotes participation: all those present become active contributors and are equally understood as actors in the event. Afterwards, they can explicitly identify their involvement as artistic participation (e.g. in their own artistic CV). The gathering itself becomes a collective artistic performance.

Who is this tool for?

  • Cultural creators with care responsibilities
  • Artists and cultural workers
  • Institutions, festivals, and initiatives
  • Communities that want to strengthen practices of solidarity
  • People of all generations who are interested in the topics of art and care

Published 05.03.2026

Disrupting Harm in Dance

This is an online self-directed course put together by Whistle in collaboration with multiple experts – Crip Movement Lab, The Dance Union, J Bouey, and OFEN Co-Arts – in the dance field. They offer information and tools for dancers, performers, and adjacent professionals to work together while feeling safe, connected, and empowered.

Whistle is an international platform founded by Frances Chiaverini and Robyn Doty in 2017 which aims to confront gender-based harm in dance workspaces along with other forms of discrimination and abuse. Their current offerings include resources and referrals that support a holistic support system for change-making in dance culture.

Who is this course for?

The course’s content is first and foremost for dancers.

Dancers, dance teachers, choreographers, directors, rehearsal directors and assistants, and any people working in dance administration and production might all benefit from elements of these resources.

Tags

#dance community
#faire practice
#make change
#empower
#speak up

What does this curriculum consist of?

This curriculum offers a wide range of tools, online courses, videos, talks, worksheets, workshop materials as well as all contacts of international expert contributors.

Crip Movement Lab

  • a critical methodology for practicing, teaching, and creating dance accessibly and inclusively

The Dance Union

  • Dismantling White Supremacy

J Bouey

  • Somatic Astrology for Dancers Guide

OFEN Co-Arts Platform

  • Embodying Anti-Capitalist Process
  • Levelling Hierarchy in Dance
  • Support and Universal Access
  • Speaking Up as an Act of Care

Whistle

  • Messy Talks: A Discussion Toolkit
  • Boundaries and Consent: A Worksheet
  • Working with Consent
  • When Considering Touch (for Teachers, Choreographers)
  • On publicly asking, “Who doesn’t pay?”
  • Practical Tips for Talking to a Journalist [About Your Abuse]
  • Signs of an Emotionally Abusive Choreographer
  • Providing (Self) Care
  • Writing an Impact Statement
  • When Considering Accountability
  • CARA’s Model of Accountability: A Worksheet

Why are these resources needed?

Dance culture is dysfunctional. It’s built on promoting and rewarding dance subordination and submission. It can strip dancers of their autonomy and intuition, and it can displace their own sense of value for narrow ideals of discipline, perfection, and virtuosity. There is a staggering lack of support at an institutional level for dancers experiencing abuse.

Download / Link

All resources are available in English.

disruptingdance.com

Download the Workbook as PDF

What can these resources do?

These resources can be used to help workers in institutions better support dance artists via believability, implementing private complaint processes, and building nutritive environments with wellbeing in mind.

Impressum

Whistle

disruptingdance.com

whistlewhileyouwork.art

Note: These resources are free of charge for individual dancers. If this course is being applied at an institutional level, a donation should be considered to Whistle and/or to the individual collaborators involved in the making of the course. Whistle strongly recommends finding the contributors online or in real life, checking out their respective catalogs of works – and booking and hiring them!

Talking Diversity

In its communications, the Schauspielhaus Zürich takes care to use language that is sensitive towards and critical of all discrimination. Schauspielhaus employees and ensemble members have compiled a glossary of basic terms to make sure that the audience knows what certain words mean.

What does this tool comprise?

This glossary is a collection of terms with explanations. The terms presented here are explicitly not definitions. They are not set in stone for all eternity.

Some come from the US-American language region and have not yet found a German equivalent. The terms are often dependent on the local social contexts in which they are used, and their meanings shift in use.

They provide a temporary snapshot of our time, as we all know how quickly social conditions can change.

Tags

#glossary
#diversity
#inclusivelanguage #schauspielhaus.ch
#talkingdiversity

What can this glossary contribute to?

This glossary raises awareness of non-discriminatory language.

Non-discriminatory language helps us to differentiate while counteracting stereotyping and violent ascriptions of others.

It allows all individuals to speak for themselves and in their own words, embracing their personal affiliations.

Who is this tool for?

This glossary is for everyone. The terms are intended to encourage us to see language not as a constraint but a creative tool that enables us to help shape the world actively and autonomously.

Why is this glossary important?

Language is a fluid tool. It reflects social processes; sometimes, it can even drive change. By making yourself aware of discrimination and altering your speech accordingly, you can help

  • overcome centuries-old systems of power and violence that affect society as a whole,
  • avoid belittling vulnerable people and
  • give greater visibility to marginalised groups.

Marginalised people are underrepresented not only linguistically but also in the media, politics and culture, and their voices struggle to find a platform and attention.

Download

The glossary is available in German and English:

Impressum

Text references:
The texts in this glossary are taken from various sources, which we would like to name and thank: Diversity Arts Culture, diversity-arts-culture.berlin; Diversum – Verein für rassismuskritisches Denken, www.verein-diversum.ch and the glossary in Evein Obulor & Rosamag (eds.): Schwarz wird großgeschrieben, 2021. Some of the texts are original contributions to this publication.

Redaction:
Fadrina Arpagaus, Yuvviki Dioh, Miriam Ibrahim, Laura Kaufmann, Laiya Sievi

Published by: Schauspielhaus Zürich AG Zeltweg 5, 8032 Zurich

Tatenbank

The Swiss-wide central action platform for a more sustainable cultural sphere

The Tatenbank is a project by Vert le Futur, the association for sustainable culture and events.  The platform gathers knowledge from the cultural sector on sustainably producing and organising cultural events. The content of the Tatenbank is researched and curated by an interdisciplinary team of people at the intersection of culture and sustainability, with creative artists, authors, software developers, communication specialists, graphic designers and networking artists continuously building up and further developing it.

What is the Tatenbank made up of?

The Tatenbank offers condensed knowledge checked by experts, specific aids and tools and inspiring examples of sustainable work in all areas of cultural creation:

  • Administration
  • Equipment
  • Purchasing
  • Gastronomy
  • Infrastructure
  • Communication
  • Curation
  • Artistic content

Tags

#tatenbank
#vertlefutur
#tools
#inspiration
#ideas
#examples
#sustainableculture

What does the Tatenbank offer?

  • Information: The Tatenbank is a source of knowledge, inspiration and orientation.
  • Community: Creative artists can use the Tatenbank to obtain low-threshold access to expertise and a network of experts. They can learn how to go about their activities in a resource-conserving, sustainable way.
  • Participation: Users can get involved and share their own «deeds» in the area of sustainable cultural creation. The Tatenbank is therefore continuously updated with experiences from the community.

Why is the Tatenbank important?

To ensure that sustainability does not get swept under the table in the world of culture, it is important to have useful aids, knowledge and in particular good examples at our disposal.

It takes time to collect and study this information, and to draw the right conclusions from it.

The Vert le Futur association aims to close this gap with the Tatenbank.

Who is the Tatenbank aimed at?

The Tatenbank is aimed at creative artists from all genres who want to work towards sustainable culture in their respective areas of work and impact.

All content is available in German and French.

Impressum

Vert le Futur
vertlefutur.ch

Contact details
tatenbank@vertlefutur.ch

Values of Solidarity

A mediation game for team-building and cultural co-creation

«Values of Solidarity» is a workshop tool that is both a game and a mediation tool for teams that are just beginning their collaboration. Using cards, participants can describe which values are important to them and learn which values drive their partners. This enables members of a project or work group to get to know one another better and share values, experiences and needs that would perhaps otherwise not be shared. The discussions that arise during the game promote collaborative communication and create a framework for supporting and lasting collaboration that reflects the participants’ cultural, intellectual and emotional diversity.

What does this tool offer?

«Values of Solidarity» is a set of cards in English. The game contains two types of cards:

«Value» cards contain descriptions of values that may be important for creating a framework of solidarity and collaboration:

  • Honesty
  • Motivation
  • Respect
  • Health
  • etc.

«Conflict» cards contain fictional scenarios to be overcome in which poor communication and cultural differences lead to tension and conflict.

Tags

#community
#care
#values
#solidarity
#collaboration
#fairpractice
#nonviolentcommunication
#reshapenetwork
#valuesofsolidarity

Why is this set of cards important?

Conflicts may arise in work groups and collaborative relationships when members have very different values or some people do not recognise others’ rights.

During the game, teams are presented with fictional conflict situations and team members have the chance to formulate their own values.

The aim is for each team to formulate their own value frameworks. This promotes solidarity within the group.

Who is this tool aimed at?

The tool has been developed especially for teams that are just beginning their collaboration. In particular, it is aimed at project teams working in the areas of art and culture, but is also relevant for other sectors.

What can be achieved with this set of cards?

«Values of Solidarity» offers inspiration and the opportunity to reflect on how a team wants to overcome possible conflicts.

The game places participants in conflict situations together. This enables them to identify the often hidden and obscure mechanisms causing tension and difficulties. At the same time, participants can identify the methods needed to relieve tensions, especially when different backgrounds merge.

This game has the potential to raise awareness of solidarity and the practical and operational framework it offers for collaboration.

Download

More information can be found on the Reshape Network website:

The Gamified Workshop Toolkit: Values of Solidarity

Download extract

Ordering a set of cards

The set of cards can be ordered from RESO – Dance Network Switzerland for CHF 15 plus delivery costs.

Send an email to RESO if interested: info@reso.ch

Impressum

2020, RESHAPE Network

reshape.network

Created by Anikó Rácz, Doreen Toutikian and Dorota Ogrodzka in consultation with Konrad Gadzina.

Developed as part of RESHAPE project «Solidarische Ökonomien» («Solidarity-based economies»), involving Ouafa Belgacem, Ekmel Ertan, Harald Geisler, Anastasya Kizilova, Dorota Ogrodzka, Anikó Rácz, Laure de Selys and Doreen Toutikian under the management of Nike Jonah.

The new edition of «Values of Solidarity» in 2022 was financed by Reso – Dance Network Switzerland and m2act, the funding and network project of the Migros Culture Percentage.

m2act × Burning Issues: towards a just, diverse & inclusive culture – Position paper

Artistic management teams are under fire, demands for social sustainability are getting louder and louder, and balancing family life and cultural work remains a major challenge. The Swiss theatre scene is on the move. From 15 to 17 September 2023, the «M2ACT × BURNING ISSUES – Performing Arts & Action» network meeting brought more than 400 cultural professionals from all over Switzerland, Germany, Austria and Italy together for three days. They jointly developed a position paper containing urgent demands for change in order to make working conditions in the performing arts more sustainable, fairer and more appealing.

What does the tool consist of?

The position paper formulates goals for a fairer, more equitable and more diverse world of work in the performing arts and details the framework in which these goals were formulated. It also lists the authors and first signatories. The position paper constitutes a list of jointly voiced demands, which must be positioned in the day-to-day work of the performing arts.

Tags

#responsibility
#action
#sustainability
#reporting
#collaboration
#fair practice
#contracts

What can this Tool do?

The position paper was published as a petition on the ACT CAMPAX platform within the scope of m2act x Burning Issues. Supporters can sign it here (509 signatures as at 30 April 2024). The phrasing of the demands can be copied, improved and used as a tool to drive change in your own organisations and institutions or in politics.

Who is this tool for?

The position paper is meant for all cultural professionals and people from other sectors who are campaigning for fairer, more diverse and inclusive conditions in their workplace.

 

Why is this tool needed?

Viele Menschen, die in den Darstellenden Künsten arbeiten, sind unzufrieden mit den Arbeits- und Produktionsbedingungen und mit der momentanen Verteilung von Geld, Zeit und Einfluss. Sie wollen sich vernetzen, gemeinsam Gehör verschaffen und gegenseitig unterstützen.

Impressum

From 15 to 17 September 2023, the M2ACT × BURNING ISSUES – Performing Arts & Action network meeting brought more than 400 cultural professionals from all over Switzerland, Germany, Austria and Italy together for three days. They jointly developed a position paper containing urgent demands for change in order to make working conditions in the performing arts more sustainable, fairer and more appealing.

 

 

 

FAIRSPEC Codex

GUIDELINES FOR WORKING ETHICALLY IN THE INDEPENDENT SCENE

In a series of events of the FAIRSPEC initiative in 2020-2021, artists of the independent performing arts in German-speaking Switzerland, as well as representatives of institutions and funding bodies explored urgent social, artistic and contemporary issues with the goal of developing a joint codex.

The «FAIRSPEC Codex» was published on Monday, 30.8.2021. This is one of the first guidelines in German-speaking areas for ethical work in the independent scene.

The codex enumerates the essential motivations which will be guiding future work in the performing arts. It covers personal competencies, aspects of communication and collaboration, and the commitment to comply with remuneration guidelines issued by professional associations.

WHY IS THIS CODEX NEEDED?

Through self-obligation and mutual support, FAIRSPEC wants to use this codex to address known problematic behaviour patterns in the performing arts.

The artistic work stands in focus. Every artistic process is also a social process that is accompanied by great responsibility with regard to artistic freedom, as well as respectful interaction with each other.

TAGS

#codex
#constructiveness
#transparency
#diversity
#sustainability
#esteem

WHAT CAN THIS CODEX DO?

Individuals and institutions can sign this codex and apply it independently in their daily work.

It helps to

  • reflect on actions and work practices
  • continually work on oneself and one’s own work structure

FOR WHOM IS THIS CODEX?

The signatories of this codex commit to guidelines that reflect their values and apply equally to all participants. They hope that this codex will be incorporated in as many different professional settings as possible within the independent scene, as well as within subsidised theatres and thereby firmly establish the values of respect and fairness.

DOWNLOAD PDF

Read the codex in German and English on the FAIRSPEC website.

www.fairspec.ch

Impressum

FAIRSPEC

Zurich, August 2021