Our Commitment to Diveristy, Equity, Inclusion, and Ethical Conduct:
At the Netherlands Expressive Arts Association, we are deeply committed to fostering a diverse, equitable, and inclusive learning environment. We recognize that diversity, equity, and inclusion are essential to our mission and our success.
We acknowledge that we live in a dynamic and sometimes confusing world, where issues such as politics, safety, environmental, and economic concerns abound. We want to include these topics in the fabric of our organization, because that’s what the arts are also for. We encourage respectful dissent and debate, and to help ensure that the freedoms, rights, and responsibilities of everyone in NEXAA are protected and put into actual practice, we have developed a framework/policy to guide us in the process. This framework is an evolving thing, and you, as a member are always welcome to add your thoughts and voice.
NEXAA is deeply committed to fostering a vibrant, diverse, and inclusive community where all members feel welcome, respected, and valued. This commitment extends to ensuring a safe and ethical environment for all interactions and expressions within our association.
As part of joining NEXAA, we ask all members to agree to adhere to our ethical guidelines and principles. These guidelines underscore the fundamental importance of respectful communication among all members and articulate a clear commitment to the rejection of discrimination in any of its forms. Furthermore, NEXAA maintains a firm stance against hate speech, which we understand to encompass any expression that promotes violence, incites hatred, or disparages individuals or groups based on attributes such as race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or other protected characteristics. Such expressions are incompatible with the values and principles that guide NEXAA.
The arts have prompted and driven human development for thousands of years, on every part of the globe, for all people. As an arts-oriented organization, we aim for our work and membership culture to reflect the full spectrum of human possibility and expression. Diversity encompasses a wide range of identities, including but not limited to race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, age, ability, and socioeconomic background. Equity ensures fair and just treatment for all, addressing systemic disparities, while inclusion creates an environment where everyone feels valued, respected, and supported.
We welcome interested participants of all skin colors, ancestries, religions, sexes, national origins, genetic backgrounds, sexual orientations, ages, citizenship statuses, marital statuses, physical abilities, gender identities and/or expressions, or degrees of neurodiversity.
We are committed to continuous improvement and working towards a truly diverse, equitable, and inclusive space and culture. We encourage all leaders, members, and participants to uphold our DEI values and contribute to building a better world for everyone.
We use the principles developed in the DIVERSITY & INCLUSION CODE, a DEI system designed for those in the Netherlands who swim in the creative and cultural waters of our society. You can see what this entails here:
Code – Diversity and Inclusion
Conflict Resolution and Transformation Practices
Conflict is the principal means by which significant social, economic and political changes have taken place throughout history. It’s a natural part of being part of a community and does not need to be avoided or ignored. But how conflict is approached and handled can mean the difference between being able to grow and survive as a healthy and durable community, or being ripped to shreds and falling apart completely, even when the intentions are good.
We are interested in and committed to not merely settling conflicts, but to preventing, resolving, and transforming them by turning them into portals of dialogue and learning, and springboards towards community and collaboration. The arts are inherently transformative and we see in the possibility for change that the arts so abundantly offer, the frameworks or philosophy of how we can manage conflict in ways that foster deeper understanding and acceptance, and nourish growth and success in achieving our mission.
Although not explicitly coded into our Statutes, we strive to use interest-based methods – instead of power or rights-based ones – for resolving conflicts that arise between members, or between the organization and others outside of it, and to integrate peace and concepts of social justice into our lexicon and ethos in order to fully embraces the principles of equality and inclusion that we articulate above.
These include, but are not limited to, informal problem-solving, prejudice reduction, collaborative negotiation, team and community building, consensus decision-making, public dialogue and mediation.
In the coming months we will work on elaborating and elucidating what this means in real life and practical ways. We welcome community involvement in this task also.
STATUTES
To learn more about our bylaws and standards, you can view our organizational statutes here. We have specifically developed sections on how we handle conflicts arising between members.
NEXAA STATUTES ENGLISH
NEXAA STATUTEN NEDERLANDS