8.2 Administration and governance
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Governance
The Norwegian Ministry of Culture is responsible for the development of national cultural policy through legal and financial instruments. National funding for art and culture is primarily allocated via the Ministry’s budget.
The Arts Council Norway is the main governmental operator for the implementation of Norwegian cultural policy. Development and production of the art fields and cultural heritage aimed at young audiences is one of the focus areas of the Council. In total, the Council grants approx. NOK 125 million annually for arts and cultural initiatives aimed at children and young people through several different schemes. This may include collaborative projects between established artists and young people.
Arts for Young Audiences Norway [Kulturtanken], is the Norwegian Ministry of Culture’s agency responsible for art and culture for school pupils. The agency is responsible for the nationwide programme The Cultural Schoolbag [Den Kulturelle Skolesekken], which is one of the main tools for implementing national cultural policy for children and youth in schools.
Municipalities are responsible for public libraries and school libraries, while the counties are responsible for tasks related to supervision, coordination and development. The Ministry of Education is responsible for academic and research libraries affiliated with universities and colleges. The Ministry of Culture is responsible for overall national library responsibilities, primarily through allocation of funds appropriated by Parliament over the state budget.
Municipalities are responsible for local cultural schools that focus on music and the arts for children and young people. The cultural schools are both owned and run by the municipalities, and it is the municipalities themselves that determine the content and scope of the provision in their schools.
Cross-sectorial cooperation
The Ministry of Culture, and the Ministry of Education and Research (and its underlying executive agencies), cooperate on drafting and implementing policy on youth culture, as many of the youth culture programmes are aimed towards young people in schools. Although Arts for Young Audiences Norway [Kulturtanken], is an agency of the Ministry of Culture, it works very closely with the Ministry of Education and Research, which is responsible for the institutions where The Cultural Schoolbag [Den Kulturelle Skolesekken], is implemented.