Maintaining and developing cultural diversity as key political mission

“Maintaining and developing Austria’s cultural diversity and open climate” is defined as the key mission in the field of cultural policy in the programme of the Austrian Federal
Government for the 24th Legislative Period (2008 – 2013). Furthermore the programme explicitly refers to the UNESCO Convention, stating that “within the scope of international and bilateral trade agreements, the Government will also continue to give consideration to the preservation of special features of our country’s cultural sector and the special character of its cultural assets and services (…)”. Against the backdrop of this programme, the Austrian Federal Government has initiated a range of measures, contributing to the implementation of the UNESCO Convention. The following are examples of such measures.