Governance

Youth work policy, a cultural policy

Youth work policy is a cultural policy. There is a Youth Minister and a youth department in charge of the implementation of the youth work policy in the French-Speaking Community. 

One particularity in the field of youth policy is its strong ethos of subsidiarity. Youth associations are the main service providers at the local level. The autonomous status of associations is indicative of their potential flexibility. 
This autonomy allows responses to local specificities. In this context, the national youth policy doesn’t address specific target groups in the youth population. Associations are free to focus their action on a specific target group.
Several decrees determine the implementation of youth policies at the local level by Youth Organisations and Youth Centres. 

Cultural policies target the whole population including young people

For other cultural policy matters (books, territorial action, artistic creation, etc.), there is a Minister for Culture. These cultural policies target the entire policy including young people. 

On the administrative level, there is 7 administratives departments : 

The General Administration of Culture is composed of 6 General Services: 
1.    Books and Letters General Service
2.    Audio-visual and Media General Service
3.    Cultural Heritage General Service 
4.    Artistic Creation General Service
5.    Youth and Permanent Education General Service : specificity of the Youth Department : it depends on the Minister of Youth and target youth work policies. 
6.    Territorial action General Service

7. Culture Inspection Department.  
 

Cross-sectorial cooperation

The main cross-sectorial cooperation regarding culture and young people is the decree of 24 March 2006 revised on 3 April 2014 which aims at supporting cultural and artistic activities in schools. The Minister of Culture and the Minister of Education share the responsibility for this decree.
The Culture-Education Service implements the decree. It runs its own budget. See 8.8 Synergies and partnerships.