Both culture and education are competences of the Flemish Community, but each resides under a different policy area and government department. Compulsory education (see 5.2), higher arts education (see 5.3), and part-time education in the arts (see 5.4) are subsumed under the Ministry of Education and Training. Support for independent cultural organisations that offer (both formal and informal) arts and culture education is part of the policy field of Culture. These include the organisations for socio-cultural work for adults, amateur arts organisations, participatory artistic initiatives (see 6.4), educational services of cultural heritage organisations, and local circus schools. Next to Culture and Education, cultural education also spans the Flemish policy fields of Youth (through which youth organisations and projects for cultural education are supported; see 6.4), and Media (through which Mediawijs, an expertise centre on media and digital literacy, is supported) (see also 2.5.3).
The relationship between culture and education has received quite some attention in policy statements and studies (ordered by the government) in the past decade.[1] In 2016 and 2018, the (now former) ministers of Culture and Education launched joint action plans, with the aim of enhancing the role of culture in education programmes in Flanders.[2] The action plans resulted in the creation and revision of a number of policy instruments — some of them devised to stimulate collaboration between schools, cultural organisations and artists (see 5.2). As initiatives on cultural education cross different policy fields, networks have been set up, involving people and organisations in culture and education and government departments. There are teams dedicated to the topic of cultural education in the Ministry of Education and Training (CANON Cultural Unit) and in the Department of Culture, Youth and Media.
[1] For an overview, see Kunstenpunt, ed. 2019. Landschapstekening Kunsten: Ontwikkelingsperspectieven voor de kunsten anno 2019. Brussel: Kunstenpunt, 117-119.
[2] Crevits, Hilde, and Sven Gatz. 2016. ‘Cultuur en onderwijs – Samen voor meer en beter’; —. 2018. ‘Cultuur en onderwijs: samen voor nog meer en beter II – Integreren en verankeren’.
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