From August 2025, DansiT joins the campaign Apartheid-Free Zones. By doing so, we commit ourselves to supporting the campaign’s goals and demands – including taking an active stand against Israel’s apartheid regime, occupation, and genocide of the Palestinian people, and avoiding collaboration with actors who directly or indirectly contribute to this.

It is important for us to emphasize that we acknowledge our position and existence as part of both Norwegian society – which benefits from the oil fund – and a global economy where large multinational corporations hold definitional power, and whose services we also use. For us, joining this campaign is still about taking responsibility – through conscious choices where we can, and through acts of solidarity.

Apartheid-Free Zones are part of the international call for boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) against the state of Israel. The BDS movement was initiated by Palestinian civil society in 2005 and uses economic, academic, and cultural pressure as means to promote international law and justice. In Norway, the campaign is coordinated by the Palestine Committee.

An apartheid-free zone declares itself free of Israeli goods and services until Israel complies with international law and ends its occupation and human rights violations in Palestine.

An apartheid-free zone can be anything from a café, restaurant, or shop, to small and large businesses, sole proprietorships, organizations, or trade unions. Today, there are nearly 300 apartheid-free zones in Norway, including several institutions and organizations within the arts and culture field.

Our Guidelines

Art – and dance in particular – has a unique ability to make visible what is marginalized and suppressed, to give body to what is silenced or difficult to put into words, and to open spaces for empathy, reflection, and action. DansiT’s ethical guidelines already highlight our position and willingness for active societal engagement by pointing out and working to change uneven power structures. For us, an apartheid-free practice reflects this. By joining the Apartheid-Free Zones campaign, we take part in a larger, collective pressure for justice and freedom.

We have therefore developed our own guidelines that specify how we, as an organization, will adhere to the framework of the campaign in our daily operations and activities. This involves both practical measures and principled considerations, adapted to our role and capacity.

1. Boycott Israeli goods and companies

  • All employees use the NoThanks app when making work-related purchases. Israeli goods and companies shall be boycotted as far as possible.
  • The commitment to the campaign does not entail discarding previous investments. However, we will map what we already own and use of Israeli goods and services, and then make conscious and reflected decisions about what we can and should replace – either immediately or over time.

2. Avoid goods and companies that support, finance, or in other ways are complicit in violations of Palestinian rights

  • All employees use the NoThanks app when making work-related purchases. Goods and companies that support, finance, or are otherwise complicit in violations of Palestinian rights shall be boycotted as far as possible.
  • We will map what we already own and use of such goods and services, and make conscious and reflected decisions about what we can and should replace – either immediately or over time.

3. Boycott cooperation with Israeli art, culture, and research institutions, as well as artists/companies representing such institutions or funded by Israeli authorities or state campaigns

  • We do not boycott individual artists or companies based on nationality.
  • As part of contract negotiations, partners must sign DansiT’s ethical guidelines. If a partner’s project, directly or indirectly, involves conditions that contradict the above point, a contract will not be entered into. If such conditions are uncovered after a contract has been signed, we reserve the right to terminate the contract.

4. Maintain and establish contact and cooperation with Palestinian artists and organizations, recognize the structural obstacles they face due to occupation and blockade, and highlight Palestinian cultural heritage

  • Maintain contact with and follow the situation of Palestinian artists we have already collaborated with. Support Palestinian artists with letters of intent, guest performances, residencies, etc. Strengthen and promote Palestinian dance culture locally.