The FAIR Working Group is a collaborative platform within the European Dance Development Network (EDN) that brings together members, partners and experts to explore and advance fair and sustainable working conditions for dance artists and professionals across Europe.

Through shared inquiry and collective exchange, the FAIR Working Group investigates models, practices and policy approaches that support more equitable career pathways, better labour conditions, and fair treatment in the contemporary dance ecosystem.

Focus and Mission

The FAIR Working Group engages EDN members and their collaborators around key questions such as:

• Career sustainability — What models can support stable and dignified careers for artists, administrators and independent professionals
• Working conditions and labour practices — How can contracts, pay structures and working relationships be made more transparent, equitable and sustainable?
• Cross-sector learning and experimentation — What can we learn from other cultural sectors, regions and fields regarding fair practice frameworks?
• Collective advocacy — How can the dance sector advance shared values and policy priorities around decent work, social protection and fair treatment?

The FAIR Working Group is part of Embodied Transformations, EDN’s EU-funded network project designed to foster a transformative and interdependent dance ecosystem across Europe (2025–2028).

Activities and Engagement

The FAIR Working Group convenes a range of activities to support collective inquiry, co-research and the sharing of experience:

• Monthly online coordination meetings — Regular virtual gatherings where members bring questions, tools, examples and priorities from their work, helping shape the group’s direction from lived experience.
• Onsite Ateliers — In-person sessions that deepen thematic exploration, foster experimentation and build connections across contexts.
• Staff exchanges — Professional exchanges enabling participants to learn from peers in different organisational or national environments.
• Think-in consultation event — Collective discussions that connect group insights to broader sector dialogues and consultative processes.
• Advocacy conference — A shared space for positioning fair practice priorities within wider policy and sector dialogues.

Together, these activities create ongoing opportunities for members to explore what fairness means in practice and to test new approaches that address structural challenges within the dance profession.

Participants

The FAIR Working Group includes representatives from EDN member organisations and their professional communities, convening artistic creators, administrators, and experts interested in work-related transformations in the sector.

Participation is shaped collectively: topics, methods and priorities emerge from the shared contributions of participants rather than from a fixed programme.

Next meeting

Friday, 27 February 2026
09:30–10:30 CET
Online

About the project

The FAIR Working Group is part of Embodied Transformations, EDN’s EU-funded network project. It connects contemporary dance professionals, organisations, and communities across Europe to foster a transformative and interdependent dance ecosystem.