(L-R) Jo Kox, Ministry of Culture; Sam Tanson, Minister of Culture; Chris Backes, Ministry of Culture; Credit: MCULT

On Tuesday 14 June 2022, Luxembourg's Minister of Culture, Sam Tanson, presented the code of ethics for cultural structures, which will come into force from 15 June 2022.

The ethical charter for cultural structures aims to defend the values ​​of ethics and professionalism that underpin the relationship of trust between cultural structures, artists and citizens.

This document follows demands that came from the cultural sector in the context of the 2016 and 2018 Cultural Conferences, which then found their place in recommendation No 13 of the Kulturentwécklungsplang 2018-2028 (KEP): "Establish mode of governance of cultural institutions under the supervision of the Ministry of Culture”. The charter was drawn up with the assistance of representatives of the cultural sector, whose feedback and reflections were received during discussion meetings and written positions.

Minister Tenson recalled that it is a question of defining not only the relations between the ministry and the cultural structure, but above all of maintaining exchanges between all the actors concerned in the sector and creating a real relationship of trust between artists, cultural organisations and the public. It is essential to emphasise that this code of ethics guarantees the artistic and intellectual independence of the institutions and cultural structures that adhere to it.

The charter will now apply to cultural structures which:

  • benefit from a budget allocation, i.e. for which the Ministry of Culture provides a specific budget line,
  • have signed an agreement with the Ministry of Culture.

Cultural structures not falling within the scope of application can also adhere to the code of ethics on a voluntary basis.

By signing the membership form, the cultural structure undertakes to apply the principles set out in the code of ethics, to implement all the recommendations contained therein and thus to convey the eight values deemed fundamental in ethical matters by the Ministry of Culture in addition to specific and adapted ethical rules, namely:

  • the competence,
  • the respect,
  • fair and equitable remuneration,
  • integrity,
  • equal opportunities and gender,
  • cultural diversity,
  • transparency,
  • eco-responsibility.

Further details on the final document as well as the list of future signatories is available online via: http://mc.gouvernement.lu/fr/dossiers/2022/charte-de-deontologie-pour-les-structures-culturelles.html.