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Scotland’s Cultural Future: Reflections on our culture hustings for the next parliament

Last week, EMCC, alongside our five organisational partners presented Scotland’s Cultural Future, a culture hustings ahead of the upcoming Holyrood election in May. This event was an opportunity to hear Scotland’s main political parties debate their policy positions, and to help inform the public about their views on culture and the arts. 

Chaired by Halla Mohieddeen, the event was co-organised by SCAN, Culture Counts, Federation of Scottish Theatre, Festivals Edinburgh, Equal Media and Culture Centre and Campaign for the Arts. 

Reflecting on the event, EMCC and our partners shared: “Culture is essential to improving our individual and national wellbeing, community cohesion, our economy, and our international profile. We are grateful to the representatives of Scotland’s six main political parties for sharing their priorities for the sector in the next parliamentary term. However, the sector needs much more than just warm words. We need politicians to commit to action that strengthens our sector and scales our impact for the benefit of all, and support our call for a Culture Act for Scotland. We look forward to working with all MSPs and the next Scottish Government to make this happen.” 

At EMCC, we wanted to reflect on organising the hustings. This was a non-selective hustings, meaning we and our partners took the approach of inviting each of the main political parties represented in the Scottish Parliament, who are standing candidates in the upcoming Holyrood election, to put forward either their leader, culture spokesperson or relative representative.

It is important for us to note the stark lack of diversity on stage during the hustings, particularly how male-dominated the hustings was. Sadly, the lack of diversity of the speakers is representative of Scottish politics, which remains a space dominated by white men.  

There are a record number of MSPs standing down at this year’s Holyrood elections. A striking number of 40% of women MSPs have decided not to run for election again. We know politics is a space of great barriers especially for marginalised groups. Engender’s work has also shown that it can be an unwelcoming space, leading to many women leaving politics shortly after entering.  

We encourage you to support the work of our sister project Equal Representation at Engender, which works to increase women’s representation in Scotland’s democratic bodies. 

The lack of diverse representation on stage at the hustings was also a reminder of the urgency of our own work at EMCC. The culture sector’s continual underrepresentation of women, people of colour and disabled people in leadership positions has significant consequences, making it harder for organisations to embrace diversity of thought, assert more inclusive values or combat stereotypes. 

Having more women and diverse voices in leadership is not just a matter of representation. As we heard on stage during the hustings, the cultural sector plays a vital role in shaping Scottish attitudes and behaviours. Securing a more equal and diverse sector is therefore a critical component in the building of a dynamic, globally relevant and successful Scotland. 

Ahead of the Holyrood election in May, we will continue to advocate for women’s equality and share our manifesto with political parties and MSPs. You can support our work by sharing and endorsing our manifesto asks. 

Read our manifesto in full.

Watch the recording of the Scotland’s Cultural Future hustings event.

A roundup of Arts & Culture manifestos that you may wish to consider supporting: 

Equal Media & Culture Centre for Scotland (EMCC): Transforming Culture for a Fairer Future 

Scottish Contemporary Art Network (SCAN): The Future is Art 

Culture Counts: Culture Act 

Federation of Scottish Theatre (FST): Manifesto for the Performing Arts 

Impact Arts: Impact Through Art