During the seventh edition of Diversity Day in the city on Sunday, companies and locations across Groningen will host performances sharing stories and shedding light on a range of life experiences through various art forms.
This year’s edition coincides with the Human Library event at the University Library in Groningen. The annual event gives visitors a chance to check out human “books”: people who represent a minority group or have unconventional life experiences. Visitors can sit down with the participating human books to hear what their story is. Another university facility, the University Store on the corner of the Academieplein, will host spoken word and musical performance from 2:15 until 4:30.
At Hema on the Herestraat, hip hop dancers will be doing demos throughout the afternoon and the shop will be selling rainbow-decorated tompoucen in recognition of LGBTQI+ acceptance. Money raised by the sales of the desserts will go to COC Nederland. At Leescafe Belcampo, visitors can sample food prepared by a Syrian chef and hear from Iraqi members of Vreed Jongeren, a Muslim organisation focused on peaceful society.
Musicians in restaurants
It may seem like an unusual location for a concert, but musicians will be performing at KFC from 1 to 5 p.m. At another participating restaurant – Soepwinkel on Oude Kijk in ‘t Jatstraat – visitors can listen to storytellers and singer-songwriters and participate in a human rights dialogue, hosted by Amnesty International.
Kitchen and cooking supply store Dille & Kamille will host spoken word performances, poetry readings and music. City poet Lilian Zielstra and other poets will provide spoken word pieces at Hand made Hopes, a concept store on the Oosterstraat. For foreigners and locals alike, City Central at the AaKerk will provide portrait shoots for anyone who calls themselves a Groninger. Graffiti artists will be creating designs on a trailer from 1 to 5 p.m. at the Vismarkt.
Group routes
Participants can either visit each of the locations on their own, or participate in one of two walking routes: route 1 starts at KFC at 1 p.m., and route 2 starts at Leescafe Belcampo at 1:45 p.m. The event is organised by Discriminatie Meldpunt Groningen and Urban House Groningen.
Dagblad van het Noorden reports that the use of local shops across town in this year’s edition is part of a new approach for the annual event, thanks to the involvement of the retailer association, the Groningen City Club. In years past, Diversity Day was more centrally located in the city centre, but the 2018 is deliberately spread through the city.
