Love letter to fairness and fair practice
Written by Kerstin Wit and Stein van der Ziel, co-hosts of the upcoming Satellite BEYOND, “Pay, Passion, or Prestige? On the development of Fair Practice awareness in the European cultural sector” taking place in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 8-9 May, 2026.
This letter is a part of Culture Action Europe’s At the Heart series, “Love Letters to Culture.” This February, we’re inviting hosts of the upcoming 2026 Satellite BEYOND events to write their own love letter. Not necessarily to a person, but to something that holds meaning within their Satellites: a location, an object, a site, an event, a fleeting moment between people, or something more abstract, like potential, hope, care, continuity. These letters speak to what members love about culture, why this matters where they are, and what makes their Satellite more than just a programme.
What an intimate privilege to see where care blossoms across our network’s communities. Learn more and join us at a Satellite near you.
Dear F,
I have a confession to make, and I am aware that by doing so I am risking our progress thus far and putting myself in a vulnerable position – but I want more of you.
I remember when I first saw you a decade ago. You arrived in the direst of times for us, as we were forced to let go of parts of ourselves, we thought we couldn’t live without. Then there you were. Your contours still a bit vague, but full of promise.
Promise of a future more resilient.
Better paid.
A future with more transparency, solidarity, safety, and inclusion.
Simone de Beauvoir wrote on authentic love as an ethical undertaking; one that can be spoilt by either devotion or selfishness.
Don’t get me started about those two, as they are precisely what you shelter me from.
Thus, if this is meant to work, we should be ethical and equal.
Over the past years, we worked together to bring you into focus. We defined shared conditions and goals. And slowly, you became our moral compass. Our code. Chiselled into marble, for all to see.
Yet, as we bound ourselves to your clearly defined ideals, we also began to sink through the pink cloud on which we had been riding all this time. As we landed, we realised how much we changed – and are still changing. Are we to blame for still not being satisfied?
Although our union is far from perfect: I see a future for us. A near future that enables us to understand each other, to take care of one another. We need to communicate and collaborate.
Let us build on solidarity. Let us accept that the conditions we find ourselves in are never immune to change – because only then are they able to grow.
A solidarity that crosses borders. That is built on empathy and the space to evolve openly, with care and responsibility. It is that empathy that Dutch primatologist Frans de Waal considers the glue that holds humanity together.
In a certain way, you are that glue.
Trust must continue to grow between us. Through listening. Through dialogue. Through shared action.
So, allow me to continue to rewrite you – and our bond – in the same way we are constantly changed and rewritten. So that you may evolve and grow alongside us.
Be my undertaking and my glue.
For I wish to be like you.
Fair.