The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science depends on cooperation with other ministries. Consultations with the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Economic Affairs must be undertaken constantly in order to safeguard the interests of arts and culture. In some cases, committees for interdepartmental cooperation are installed – the duration of their existence may vary. Some examples of inter-ministerial or intergovernmental cooperation are:
- Several ministries work together on ‘top sector’ policy, which was implemented nationwide in 2011. The creative industries are (next to agriculture & food, chemicals industry, energy, high tech industries, life sciences and health, horticulture, logistics and water) one of the nine top sectors. In this policy field, the Ministries of Education, Culture and Science, Foreign Affairs and Economic Affairs cooperate together. The aim is to increase the added value of the creative industries (encompassing dance, pop, broadcasting, printed and other media, design – including fashion and gaming –, architecture, urban development, landscape architecture and e-culture) to society and the economy (see chapter 3.5).
- The Ministries of Security and Justice, Finance and Education, Culture and Science initiated a Gift Inheritance Tax Act (Geefwet) to stimulate philanthropy, including a cultural multiplier for gifts to culture, by making it fiscally more attractive (see chapter 4.1.4).
- The Ministry of Security and Justice is responsible for copyright legislation. The Copyright Act (1912) and the Neighbouring Rights Act protect literary, scientific and artistic works, and the creative achievements of artists. The Ministry of Justice implements the acts (see chapter 4.1.6).
- The Ministry of Interior and Kingdom Relations has established a subsidy scheme which aims to allocate a certain percentage of the construction costs of government projects to be spent on works of art (see chapter 4.2.4).
- The Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment cooperates with the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science on cultural heritage and spatial planning. Together, the ministries formulated the 2011 policy letter Character in focus: vision for heritage in spatial planning (Kiezen voor Karakter). With this letter, they aim to stimulate and improve the modernisation of monumental care and its incorporation in spatial planning (see chapter 3.1 and chapter 4.2.2). The government wants to ensure that heritage management not only takes account of the monument itself, but also its setting and the area around it. Local authority zoning plans must reflect the cultural heritage present in the area. Linked to this are the efforts of the Ministry of Interior and Kingdom Relations to create a new Surroundings Act (Omgevingswet), compelling municipalities to form a vision that combines all long-term policies affecting the physical living environment.
- Since 1997, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science share the responsibility for international cultural relations, one of the priorities of Dutch cultural policy. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is responsible for cultural attachés in embassies, representing Dutch culture abroad, activities carried out within the Council of Europe and UNESCO, and for the geographically strategic regions. The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science takes responsibility for cultural policy and the funding of BIS institutions with international potential. There is also cooperation in a programme on internationalisation of the creative industries and the performing arts. Both ministries support the organisation DutchCulture. This centre for international cooperation supports the implementation of Dutch international cultural policy and contributes to the foreign agenda and cultural image of the Netherlands.
The Board of State Advisors (College van Rijksadviseurs) advises the cabinet on matters concerning quality of environment. Recently, they launched Panorama Netherlands: a perspective on the future of the spatial design of the Dutch environment, combining issues such as climate change, architecture and housing, renewable energy, population ageing etcetera.
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