I have been told many times, mostly by people older than me, that I need to “consider” the politicians. Give them something. Make sure they get something out of it so they cooperate. I understand that this advice comes from experience. But we also need to question whether that same way of doing things is part of what keeps us stuck.
Why should we have to offer anyone a favour, political loyalty, or credit for something our community deserves? Especially when we have the data to back it up. If the need is clear and the evidence is there, why does moving forward still depend on making a politician feel considered?
For as much as I respect institutions, respect does not mean obedience. And it does not mean the community has to keep waiting until someone in office sees a benefit for themselves. It has become time for us to come together and start making decisions for ourselves too.
This matters for the development of our cultural and creative industries, the CCIs. We have people doing the work every day, who understand what is needed because they live it. Yet we are still expected to convince politicians to support work they don't always understand, and then find something to offer them in return.
Access to public support should not depend on who we know, which political colour we wear, or whose name gets attached to the result. We need transparent decisions based on evidence, community needs, and the knowledge of the people actually doing the work, and NOT based on minister's wishes and their upcoming political future.
And we need to organise ourselves. Bring our knowledge and data together, agree on what we need, and make decisions about how we want our sector to develop. We cannot keep leaving our future in the hands of people we have to bargain with just to get them to do their jobs.