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1. Acquiring cultural and creative competences through education and training

2. Specialised training for professionals in the education, culture and youth fields

3. Providing quality access to creative environments

Acquiring cultural and creative competences through education and training

The development of cultural and creative competences is an important transversal educational objective in secondary schools in Luxembourg. The Ministry of Education, Children and Youth encourages and supports cultural projects and initiatives as well as musical education. A wide range of projects and materials for secondary schools are developed by the Coordination service for educational and technological research and innovation (SCRIPT; Service de Coordination de la Recherche et de l'Innovation pédagogiques et technologiques) to promote education to and through culture for young people of all age groups (see: Cultural education).

The Forum Geesseknäppchen, run by the National Youth Service, is a youth centre specialised in the domain of creativity. The centre integrates active participation of young people and the supervision and infrastructure support to the development of creativity. This offer is open to all young people between 12 and 30 years of age. The Forum offers spaces for creative and artistic activities for young persons who are interested in the creative use of new technologies or who want to discover the world of digital creation. With its adapted equipment and professional instructions, this space gives the youth an opportunity to experience actual handling of digital equipment and offers them the opportunity to realise their own digital projects. The Forum also offers spaces for artistic activities such as the 'creative sewing', as well as support by professionals if needed.

The Centre Marienthal (Centre de Jeunesse Marienthal), run by the National Youth Service and funded by the Ministry of Education, Children and Youth, offers activities in the field of audio-visual technologies. Actors from the youth sector can utilize its services to organise training courses, study sessions, conferences and seminars. The centre also organises several events, such as 'Crème fraîche', a film contest which is open to all young people between 12 and 30 years of age. The contest takes place in the framework of the Luxembourg City Film Festival and is organised in cooperation with the National Audiovisual Centre. Young people can submit short films and trailers, which are evaluated an awarded by a jury.

The 'Créajeune' festival, a cross-border video competition, is organised in cooperation with other partners in the Greater Region. The competition offers young people a space to show their own short films. It aims at getting young people involved in the arts and promoting an intercultural exchange through the medium of video.

The National Youth Service has established partnerships with different music festivals, which give young newcomers the opportunity to perform on stage. The Festival 'On Stéitsch' takes place once a year and gives young people the opportunity to demonstrate their talents in different domains (dance, video, photography, visual arts, street theatre, and music).

The National Audiovisual Centre provides educational opportunities and training in order to develop cutural and creative competences. Its education department hosts workshops and other courses on audiovisual techniques for young people. The workshop 'Youth Corner' is aimed at children aged 6 to 14 who want to discover photographic and audiovisiual creation in their free time. The programme 'Vision Lab' is a tailor-made educational program for students from primary school through to university. 

The aim of the Youth Prize (Jugendpräis) is to offer a promotional platform, beyond the youth sector, to the most outstanding and innovative projects in the field of youth. The Youth Prize is organised every two years by the National Youth Service. In 2023, 'One for creativity' represented one of the four thematic categories.

The National Literature Award also presents a special award for young writers between the ages of 15 and 25 years with the aim of encouraging young people to write.

Specialised training for professionals in the education, culture and youth fields

On the web pages of Childhood and Youth (Enfance Jeunesse), the National Youth Service offers specialised training for professionals in the youth field (National Youth Service, 2020), which are funded by the Ministry of Education, Children and Youth.

The Training Institute of National Education (IFEN; Institut de formation de l'Éducation nationale), an administration of the Ministry of Education, Children and Youth, is in charge of the continuing training of teachers. Information and communications technology (ICT) is one priority of the training offered by the IFEN. This priority includes two issues: First, the integration of information and communication technologies in teaching practices, and second, the development of students' skills related to the creation and use of media (media literacy).

The national cultural institutions (theatres, museums, concert halls) also offer training programmes for professionals. For instance, the Rotondes (cultural centre for visual arts, conferences, group projects and workshops) offers specific training for teachers in the domain of acting, creative writing or hip-hop, and the Philharmonie offers guidance to prepare teachers for a concert visit with their school class.

Providing quality access to creative environments

The projects and activities of the National Youth Service, especially at the Forum Geesseknäppchen, aim at widening the access of young people to creative environments (see: Acquiring cultural and creative competences through education and training).

Some regional and local youth centres provide rehearsal rooms for musicians and bands. The Ministry of Education, Children and Youth supports the youth centres in the implementation of music activities through a convention with the specialised provider Axwai. In addition, the Ministry of Education, Children and Youth supports the Hariko project, which aims to be a place of exchange, sharing and creativity between artists and young people aged 12 to 26. Since the academic year 2022-2023, the Ministry of Education, Children and Youth offers a very large part of music, dance and performing arts classes in music education at the municipal level free of charge for all children and young people up to the age of 18. For older students and for low-income households, special fees apply (Law of 27 May 2022 organisations of musical education in the municipal sector). 

The National Federation for Music of Luxembourg 'Union Grand-Duc Adolphe' (UGDA; Fédération Nationale de Musique du Grand-Duché de Luxembourg 'Union Grand-Duc Adolphe') is the main provider of music education outside school on the local level. The local music schools are funded mainly by the municipalities which receive reimbursement from the state. UGDA offers placements, summer camps, training and exchange programmes in a variety of artistic fields. The young people can participate in music, singing, dance and theatre, during school holidays and on weekends.

The project IN:CUBATOR provides support services to youth initiatives and non-profit organisations when founding an organisation and refining project or activity concepts. The project grants financial support and offers free access to coworking spaces in addition to free participation in workshops and professional trainings.