United in Diversity

What does it mean to be united in diversity? Since the motto’s implementation by the European Union (EU) in 2000, this question has been asked many times. According to the EU’s limited explanation, the motto symbolises the EU’s efforts to connect diverse cultures and achieve a common goal while maintaining peace and prosperity throughout Europe. However, some scholars questioned the feasibility of the motto as the concepts ‘unitedness’ and ‘diversity’ seem rather contradictory. In this study, the extent to which the two concepts are stimulated by the EU is examined. By doing so, this study contributes to our understanding of what is meant by the EU’s motto and how the motto is put into practice. A total of 541 projects of the Creative Europe Programme, an EU initiative that supports the cultural and creative sector in Europe, were analysed using a mixed-method approach. Firstly, a qualitative content analysis was used to categorise each project as stimulating either ‘unitedness’, ‘diversity’, or ‘both’. Additionally, a multiple regression analysis using the project's EU grant, call year, number of participating countries, and stimulus (‘unitedness’, ‘diversity’, or ‘both’) was carried out. The total costs of each project were added as a control variable. The findings of the content analysis revealed that the majority of projects aim to stimulate ‘unitedness’ and ‘diversity’ simultaneously, which goes against the notion that the two concepts are contradictory. However, further examination showed that projects that aim to stimulate ‘both’ have a negative effect on the amount of subsidies granted. In contrast, projects that foster ‘unitedness’ and ‘diversity’ have a positive effect on the amount of subsidies granted, meaning that these projects receive significantly more subsidies than projects aiming to stimulate ‘both’. These findings suggest that the Creative Europe Programme might agree with the scholars and also doubt the effectiveness of stimulating both concepts simultaneously. Nevertheless, the programme still demonstrates its commitment to the ‘United in Diversity’ motto as projects that stimulate ‘unitedness’ and ‘diversity’ have an equally positive effect on the amount of subsidy and receive an equal amount of funding. It is important to note that, as in all studies, this study also has limitations. Even though the total costs were added as a control variable, there are other variables that could have an impact on amount of EU grant provided, which were not taken into account. Although I have communicated with the Creative Europe Programme, they were unable to offer me information on these unaccounted-for variables. I would, therefore, suggest that future research is done in collaboration with the Creative Europe Programme, in order to obtain all data that could potentially impact the dependent variable ‘EU grant’.