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1. Governance

2. Cross-sectorial cooperation

Governance

The Norwegian Ministry of Culture and Equality is the main governmental authority responsible for national cultural policy, including measures targeting children and young people. National arts and culture funding is allocated through the Ministry’s budget.

Kulturtanken – Arts for Young Audiences Norway [Kulturtanken] is the state agency responsible for art and culture for school pupils and has the national responsibility for The Cultural Schoolbag (DKS), one of the central measures for delivering cultural experiences to young people in schools

The Arts Council Norway [Kulturrådet] administers national measures that support artistic development and cultural participation for all audiences, where children and young people is a part of Arts Council wider work. Kulturrådet is a council consisting of members appointed by the Government, and its role is to make independent funding decisions and provide expert advice to the Ministry on matters related to art and culture. Arts and Culture Norway [Kulturdirektoratet] is the government’s cultural directorate and functions as the administrative body for cultural affairs. The directorate holds responsibilities within museums, diversity efforts and international cultural cooperation, and only has a more indirect role for youth and children.

At regional and local levels, counties are responsible for regional cultural development and coordination, while municipalities are responsible for local cultural infrastructure, including public libraries, school libraries, youth clubs and municipal Schools of Music and Performing Arts (kulturskoler). Non‑public actors such as cultural organisations, youth organisations and professional associations contribute to policy development through consultations and advisory processes.

This multilevel structure ensures that national cultural policy goals are implemented in ways that reflect regional and local needs.

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.

Cross‑sectoral cooperation is well established in Norwegian cultural governance, particularly between the Ministry of Culture and Equality and the Ministry of Education and Research. Because several national measures aimed at children and young people—such as The Cultural Schoolbag (DKS)—are implemented in schools, the two ministries collaborate closely on policy development and follow‑up.

Kulturtanken, which is administratively placed under the Ministry of Culture and Equality, works in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Research and its underlying agencies to support the integration of cultural experiences in the education sector. Cooperation includes regular dialogue between ministries, joint planning processes and shared work on implementation and quality development for DKS and other youth‑related cultural measures.