Fairness and Diversity

New International Encounter (NIE) stands in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and all those fighting injustices of systemic racism. We know that we can do more to tackle racism as an organisation.

We have been taking time to educate ourselves, and are making a commitment to do that work and take steps in becoming actively anti-racist. With our partners across the world, we join in the non-violent fight for justice, equity and peace. We are taking time to educate ourselves by reflecting on our actions and history.

• At NIE we believe in playful stories that connect us all.
• NIE wants to empower artists and young people through our work.
• Story is the means to empower. Story is a means to tell and share experience with a wider audience. Story is a means for change.

We commit to the Assitej UK[1] quality of difference manifesto. We will work in conjunction with partners, venues and the ‘Performances for Young Audiences’ sector to share understanding, challenge our process, support and be pro-active in a wider network seeking to tackle racism. https://tya-uk.org/articles/tya-manifesto-for-diversity/

As part of this we will:

• Detail our commitment to anti-racism in our contracts, policies and company handbook and revisit this work annually to ensure it is up-to-date, embedded with our team and best practice.
• Encourage young people who are from ethnically and culturally diverse backgrounds to enter the creative sector through support and mentoring. Support those already in the sector through leadership roles and other avenues of personal and professional development.
• Commit to diverse representation in our cast and creative teams (Freelancers) to reflect the communities they work in and the diversity of the UK.
• Work with venues and partners to support them to develop their audiences, and ensure they are more representative of their area and of audiences across the UK.
• Hold unconscious bias and anti-racism training for our staff and board members annually, and formalise it into our induction processes.
• Share the actions we are taking to tackle racism on an annual basis, including workforce data, to ensure we are clear and transparent about progress.
• Promote awareness and share information through our social media, in support of organisations working to tackle racism and colonialism.
• Actively work to diversify our senior leadership and workforce, ensuring that that the artistic vision and governance of NIE is relevant to and representative of contemporary society and the communities we serve.
• Be open to criticism when we get things wrong, learn from our mistakes, and take action to change.
• Hold ourselves accountable and listen.

This statement is the beginning from a small but committed team. We will continue to be transparent and update on our activity and our ongoing commitment to combat racism as an organisation.

We welcome feedback.

If you have any questions, comments or would like to have a conversation with us about this statement or the work of NIE, please get in touch (email Artistic Co Director, Alex Byrne alex.byrne@nie-theatre.com  (UK) or Kjell Moberg (Norway) kjell.moberg@nie-theatre.com

#BlackLivesMatter

[1] UK branch of the international association of theatres, organisations and individuals who make theatre for children and young people

Here is the comparative NIE UK workforce data 21-22 which we will update annually.