Organotopia at Ultima 2022.
Photo: Signe Fuglesteg Luksengard / Ultima
Vannverk at Ultima 2022.
Photo: Signe Fuglesteg Luksengard / Ultima
SÅLE at Ultima 2022.
Photo: Signe Fuglesteg Luksengard / Ultima
Guidelines for a Safe and Inclusive Festival Experience
Ultima is an inclusive festival in which all are welcome. The festival has zero tolerance for discrimination or harassment irrespective of gender, ethnic/cultural background, belief system, sexual orientation or disability. Everyone who works for Ultima or visits one of our events – whether the public, volunteers, interns, employees, freelancers, partners, artists, composers or delegates – should feel safe and taken care of. In order to ensure this, we have established the following guidelines.
How can everyone contribute to a safe, positive environment at Ultima?
- Be polite, inclusive and show respect
- Be aware of your role, position and status. Don’t abuse your power over others
- Be aware of different forms of communication, actions and treatment which can come across as offensive
- Be aware of the situation you are in. In our field, there can often be grey zones and ambiguous separation between work and private life
- Be conscious of your alcohol consumption in work-related settings
- Tell someone if you witness or experience harassment, discrimination or other unwanted behaviour
Risk Assessment
Ultima hires many freelancers to work on assorted projects. Work regulations and organizational structures in the freelance sector can present challenges that are common to all types of practice. It requires a cross-disciplinary approach and cooperation between different institutions and interested parties. For freelancers, reporting harassment or assault can feel like too much of a risk. No one should have to keep silent about harassment for fear of being perceived as difficult or ruining future job opportunities. It can be hard to lay down hard and fast divides between work and social situations. This complexity is ever present in our scene, and has to be taken into consideration when we are working with the prevention and handling of such unwanted incidents.
Warnings and Reporting
Ultima encourages a positive culture of comments, and a low threshold for reporting anything perceived as unacceptable, uncomfortable or objectionable – so that we can improve our relations and ensure an inclusive, accessible and safe environment.
If, in connection with rehearsals, work situations or events run by Ultima, you experience or witness undesirable behaviour, we encourage you to report it in our Alert Form. The type of occurrence could include unwanted attention, racism, sexual harassment, threatening behaviour and harmful, dangerous or criminal actions.
We wish to be an inclusive promoter, employer and festival, and we will do everything in our power to ensure that Ultima is accessible to as many people as possible. Therefore we want to hear from you if you experience any type of exclusion at the festival, or any aspect which is poorly arranged for certain groups of people.
In the Alert Form you can choose to remain anonymous and withhold your name and email. However, by giving us your name and contact details, Ultima will have the chance to contact you and get a better insight into the case, as well as further details about the unwanted act or other objection, and thereby deal with it through sensitive and confidential dialogue.
You may also contact Ultima’s director or other festival staff if you prefer. Contact info can be found in the staff overview
More information
Ultima is a member of the equality organisation Balansekunst, and has received their Balance Mark – a stamp of quality against discrimination and sexual harassment in the arts.
Balansekunst offers free legal advice about cases involving discrimination, sexual harassment and abuses of power in the cultural field. You are welcome to make use of their telephone advice hotline, whether you are a performer, employee, member of the public, employer or colleague. If you are unsure of what you have experienced, or hoe you can pursue a complaint, you can get help from a lawyer. All incidents are treated in strict confidence, and you may remain anonymous. Tel: +47 400 38 800.
Find out more about discrimination and the campaign for equality and diversity with Balansekunst’s digital courses
