Introduction

In Turkey, the main public actor in the area of culture is the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. In addition to the general culture and art policies and activities of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, culture and art policies aimed at the youth appear in the National Youth and Sports Policy Document. Culture and art policy approach aimed at the youth is discussed in the policy part entitled Culture and Art of the National Youth and Sports Policy Document. Parallel to the targets of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, transfer of the cultural heritage to the next generations and the youth is in the centre of works of the Ministry of Youth and Sports in the culture field. Furthermore, the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism have projects and support programs encouraging youth entrepreneurship in various art branches.

In order to establish a strong tie between culture and art pursuits, the Protocol on Culture, Art Cooperation (Kültür Sanat İşbirliği Protokolü) was signed between the Ministry of National Education and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. The aim of the protocol is to ensure the students are informed of various art branches and their awareness on art is created, to increase their interest in the art and artists, to help them unearth their artistic talents in cooperation with the Ministry of National Education and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

In the Youth Centres within the body of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, projects aim at binding young people from any section through various cultural activities and education. With the artistic and cultural activities organised, it is aimed to turn the youth that faces the risk of social exclusion into an equal part of the social body.