The Cultural Initiatives 1.0 and 2.0
The Cultural Initiative I was a 15-point action plan in the field of cultural policy adopted by the majority government after the parliamentary elections in 2005. Running until 2009, the action plan included a long-term goal of allocating 1 % of the state budget to culture and the arts by 2014, and introducing a Culture Act.
The Cultural Initiative II was adopted by the incumbent majority government after the parliamentary elections in 2009. It is a 17-point action plan. The government reaffirms its commitment to allocating 1 % of the state budget to culture and the arts by 2014. Other objectives set forth in the action plan include strengthening the voluntary culture sector, opposing genre chauvinism and providing a framework in which the culture sector can reflect the diversity in society, and improving the living conditions for artists.
Art, culture, sport and voluntary activities enrich a society and are essential to people’s quality of life, sense of community and development.The Cultural Initiative gives culture a higher status as a policy area. The Government’s vision is for Norway to be a nation in which culture is given prominence in all sectors of society.
The Cultural Initiative is implemented through targeted measures and a general increase in allocations in the government budget to art, culture and voluntary activity. The Government aims to increase allocations for art and cultural activities in 2012. The figure below refers to resources allocated from 2007 through 2011.
US $2,143,120,000.00
An expert committee has been appointed to assess the total impact of the Cultural Initiative. The Committee is supposed to propose future directions for cultural policies. The report of the Committee -- a Green Paper -- is scheduled for submission in 2013.