1. Cultural policy system
Denmark
Last update: March, 2012
In Denmark, cultural life and the authorities have
had a mutual commitment to one another since the Middle Age. The
Reformation of 1536 transferred responsibility for culture from the
Church to the Court. Until the June Constitution of 1849 and the advent
of democracy, it was almost exclusively the King and the members of his
court who, to varying degrees, showed interest in and funded culture.
Thus art and culture in Denmark already had a solid feudal tradition and a well-established infrastructure, consisting of absolutist secular and ecclesiastical cultural institutions, upon which to build.
The demise of Absolutism in 1849 transferred responsibility for culture from the Court to the state in the new Ministry for Church and Education, called the "Cultus Minestry". The Ministry assumed control of a number of cultural institutions, including the Academy of Fine Arts and the Royal Theatre.
The Cultus Ministry was responsible for cultural affairs from 1849 until 1916. In 1916, responsibility for church affairs was transferred elsewhere, but cultural matters remained part of what was now known as the Ministry of Education up until 1961, when culture was granted its own ministry.
The development of public cultural policies and institutions in Denmark have since then been closely linked to Enlightenment Philosophy and the specific interpretation and implementation of these ideas by intellectuals and in the cultural and political movements that fostered Danish democracy and the welfare state. When Denmark adopted its first democratic constitution in 1849, responsibility for support to the arts and culture gradually shifted from the Royal Court to the newly constituted civil administration.
Cultural policies under the absolute monarchs was elitist, but cosmopolitan compared to the new bourgeois culture that emerged from the increasingly influential merchant and civil servant classes in Copenhagen around the middle of the 18th century. The bourgeoisie, which was predominantly Danish in contrast to the mainly German aristocracy, argued for a national orientation of cultural policy.
Parallel to the national dimension in the dominant bourgeois transformation a liberal movement of intellectuals, the so-called cultural radicalism, emerged in the capital of Copenhagen with focus on enlightenment, freedom of individual citizens and political republicanism.
After 1864, a cultural policy inspired by N.F.S.Grundtvig and his philosophy of one nation, one language, one people, afforded the Danish landowning class, whose political power had increased in step with its economic muscle, the opportunity to revitalise the otherwise practically moribund rural culture. The rural liberal culture they sought to promote was not a counterculture in opposition to bourgeois culture. It was more of a parallel culture, separate from the culture of the bourgeoisie, albeit allegedly with the same objective, i.e. to promote national sentiment.
The rapprochement between the Social Democratic labour movement's class-based perception of culture and the Radical Party's popular education philosophy, during the period of reconciliation in the 1930s, laid the political foundations for the formation of the welfare based cultural policy after WWII and the setting up of the Ministry of Culture in 1961. The price paid was that culture was now perceived and defined, first and foremost, as a national phenomenon.
Although the public cultural policy was a part of the post-war national construction process, the general objectives and means were defined in the universal concepts of enlightenment philosophy. What had not been culturally realised in the traditional bourgeois public sphere since the French Revolution and the revolution of 1848 should now be realised in the framework of the welfare state. Public cultural policy, initiated, financed and organised by the state and municipalities, was meant to guarantee artistic freedom and cultural diversity. Art, culture and publicly organised cultural institutions were thought as means for building up the cultural and aesthetic competence for all citizens and regions of the country, to enable them to take part in the development of a democratic welfare society.
Allocation of grants, through autonomous arts councils, experts committees, institutions and other "arm's length" bodies, inspired by the Danish tradition of self- governance, were organised to guarantee the independence of arts and culture from economic and political interests.
As suggested by the original name of the first Danish Ministry of culture, The Danish Ministry for Cultural Affairs (Ministeriet for Kulturelle Anliggender) was created in 1961. Its role as a state authority was first and foremost created within a political and administrative framework designed to improve the conditions for the arts and culture, but not to interfere with the content. Neither politicians nor civil servants, but independent peer groups, should grant money to the arts, i.e. through The Danish Art Foundation (Statens Kunstfond) established in 1964. Ideally, the primary role of the cultural ministry was as an architect to build a house of culture with rooms for all. Various principles and strategies were implemented by different governments to realise this overall aim.
In the 1960s, the focus of Danish cultural policies was on the dissemination of professional art. The strategy was called democratisation of culture. The welfare state distributed cultural goods to all Danes, whether they lived in Copenhagen, small provincial towns, or urban districts. All parts of the country and all social groups were to have access to theatre, music, libraries, etc. of a high standard and provided by professionals. They were to have the opportunity to encounter and thereby learn to appreciate "art of good quality". Therefore, state support of the arts should be given to the very best that the Danish artistic community produced. The same applied to the public cultural institutions and activities, whether organised on national, regional or local level.
However, it soon became evident that not all Danes appreciated what some considered as the "incomprehensible fine art of modernism". As a result, a broader concept of culture was introduced into the cultural policies of the 1970s. The new ideal was conceptualised as cultural democracy. The strategy of cultural diversity showed more respect for cultural diversity and the right to pluralism. It guaranteed the right of creativity and self-expression.
Decentralisation was strengthened. Decisions on cultural policy should be taken as close to the citizens as feasible. The state should support amateur as well as professional activities. In a broader sense, it also meant that the state should support diverse cultural groups including minorities.
In the 1980s, the aims of cultural politics took another course. Cultural activities were often considered as tools to serve social purposes in line with the growing economic crises. Culture and the arts were to solve problems of unemployment, reintegration of young people etc.
From the 1990s, the social instrumentalisation of public cultural policies was combined with economic and political goals. Attracting tourists to support economic development and securing highly skilled employees to the creative industries in the globalised knowledge economies, were put forward in the agenda of public cultural policies. Performance contracts with cultural institutions and their management were introduced in the cultural arena to stimulate efficiency in the implementation of the overall aims.
The overall aim still was to support the creative arts, cultural education and research, cultural heritage, media etc. with the mission to promote general education and cultural development of the citizens. In 2003, the Ministry's administration of the different councils for theatre, music and literature etc. were merged into a new common administrative construction called the Danish Arts Agency (Kunststyrelsen). As of 1 January 2012, the Danish Arts Agency has been merged, along with the Heritage Agency of Denmark and the Danish Agency for Libraries and Media, into a new agency called The Danish Agency for Culture. The separate councils for theatre, music etc. were put together in a common body called the Danish Arts Council (Kunstrådet) with the aim to stimulate a common platform for arts policy, like the national arts councils in Norway and Sweden. The goal was to facilitate better coordination among the individual councils and to create new inter-aesthetic approaches.
At the same time, the economic rationale of cultural policy has been still more emphasised as a part of the "experience economy" since the late 1990s. A new orientation in the policy of promoting artistic creativity was introduced by the report entitled Denmark's Creative Potential 2000 (Danmarks kreative potentiale 2000) launched by the Danish Ministry of Culture together with the Ministry of Business and Economic Affairs, with the purpose "to draft a new joint agenda for cultural policy and trade and industrial policy". The follow-up report Denmark in the Culture and Experience Economy - 5 new steps,published in 2003, strengthened this focus on the economic potential of art and culture as artefacts in the global experience economy and the formation of the new creative industries and social classes. This line has been improved by the present government parallel with the overall aim to give priority to professional arts policy, improving the conditions for the most talented artists and to develop new artistic talents.
‘De-concentration’ has been strengthened in recent years. Denmark is in the middle of a fundamental structural transformation of the public sector. The Local Government Reform (kommunalreformen), passed by the Parliament in 2005, has decreased 275 municipalities and 14 counties to 98 municipalities and 5 regions. The reform came into force on 1 January 2007 and will be fully implemented by 2012. According to the reform, the former cultural responsibility of the counties, now abolished, has been transferred to either the state level or the new municipalities. The new municipalities have been given the full political, administrative and financial responsibility to handle cultural institutions and activities with a natural local affiliation including libraries, museums, sport facilities, amateur activities etc. On the other hand the responsibility, financing and regulation of the 42 state institutions aremore clearly defined as a state obligation (see organigram A in chapter 1.2.1).
Finally cultural policies in Denmark have been rethought in light of globalisation, migration and digitalisation. The cultural discussion today is to a high degree focusing on what constitutes "danishness", Danish cultural heritage and national identity as coherent narratives in a multicultural world. In 2005, the former Danish Minister for Culture, Brian Mikkelsen (2001-2008), compiled a comprehensive Danish Cultural Canon corresponding to the 7 main art forms within the Danish Ministry of Culture's remit. The overall aim of the Danish Cultural Canon was to stimulate and consolidate national identity as a force of social cohesion and cultural assimilation of public dialogue, discussions and activities on identity and nationality (see chapter 2.1).
These guidelines continued to be pursued by Carina Christensen of the Conservative Party, who became Minister for Culture in September 2008. The new Minister placed a higher priority on improving the national aspect of social cohesion in local societies in the provinces of Denmark published in a new strategic plan Culture for All on 2 December 2009.
On 23 February 2010, the government undertook a comprehensive cabinet reshuffle, which saw the former Foreign Minister Per Stig Møller taking over as Minister of Culture. The new government presented the working programme Denmark 2020 – knowledge, economic growth, wealth, and welfare, including a passage on cultural policy priorities (see chapter 2.1).
The transformation of aims and measures in Danish cultural policy 1960-2012 may be summed up in 4 phases characterised by different values and strategies in the production and circulation of art, cultural and symbolic meaning in society: Dissimilation of the arts (1960-1975), stimulating local and amateur activities (1975-1985), social and economic instrumentalisation (1985-2001), economic and national revitalisation (2001-2012).
With the bourgeois-liberal government known as the VKO-government (2001-2011), primordial revitalisation of Danish national identity, deconcentration of the organisational structure and economic responsibility for cultural institutions, increasing private financing by sponsorship and donations, stimulation of the experience economy and securing high quality arts were the dominating values on which the public cultural policy in Denmark was built (see chapter 2.1).
On 3 October 2011, a new government consisting of the Social Democrats, Social Liberals and Socialist People’s Party, with Helle Thorning-Schmidt from the Social Democrats as the Prime Minister took over, with Uffe Elbæk (Social Liberal Party) as Cultural Minister. He is the founder of the internationally acclaimed school for innovative leadership, "Kaospiloterne" and for 20 years he has been a vital part of Danish cultural life through his membership of many committees. On 6 December 2012 Marianna Jelved replaced Uffe Elbæk as Danish Minister for Culture.
The new governmental programme A Denmark That Stands Together (DST), published in October 2011, states that Denmark is a country where respect between people regardless of their background is promoted. A prosperous Denmark is a Denmark where diversity thrives and this requires mutual respect, respect regardless of the difference between us – whether gender, age, faith or ethnicity.
The identity values introduced by the new government, as well as the economic crises, have given rise to debate on paradigms of identity displayed in public cultural policy, the role of arts and public cultural policy in late-modern societies dominated by migration, globalisation and Europeanisation. This is also the case with the distribution of economic resources especially to theatre institutions and the different fields of music (see chapter 2.1).
Main features of the current cultural policy model
The Danish cultural model can primarily be conceptualised as a variation of the architect model. According to the architect model, the state fashions the framework for a country's cultural development through a ministry of culture, which follows overall policy objectives and approaches from a general perspective. Decisions about overall cultural policy are made – in theory – by the government, after public debate and representations to the minister and ministry of culture.
Cultural policy is designed to serve democratic objectives, training in democracy being considered an important social goal in itself, to guarantee artistic freedom by subsidising the arts and to promote equal access for all by funding centralised and decentralised cultural institutions. The state builds the house, but leaves it up to the tenants to decorate the rooms. The financial conditions faced by artists and permanent institutions depend primarily on public-sector funding and are, to a lesser extent than under the facilitator and patron models, subjected to commercial conditions in the form of sales of works, ticket sales, private donations or sponsorship. Although the high degree of public funding of the cultural sector is a characteristic paradigm of the Nordic cultural architect model, the present government has given high priority to improve the ticket-income of the institutions and to stimulate private investment and funding of cultural life. So the intention is to transform the Danish cultural model into a facilitator model (see The Nordic Cultural Model- Summary)
This transformation of cultural policy in the direction of a facilitator model has been a general trend in most European countries in recent years. However, in some respects, the Danish architect model continues to stand apart from other architect models in Europe:
- it is to a high degree a decentralised model. In 2006, approximately 2/3 of the public sector spending activities in arts and culture were financed by the municipalities (see chapter 7.1.2). The decentralised financing and implementation of the local cultural institutions, such as local heritage museums, local theatres etc., is being improved according to the decentralisation and recentralisation process of the new local governmental reform, although local cultural activities such as museums and libraries still have to be in accordance with laws decided by the government (see chapter 1.2.2); and
- there is great emphasis on the egalitarian dimension in cultural policy that means equal assess for all citizens to cultural goods regardless of income and settlement. The citizens' equal access to participation has been emphasised as a main objective in all the governmental reports on culture from 1961–2012. Today, Denmark has a high proportion of people aged 15 years and older who have been to theatres, museums, art exhibitions, libraries, cinemas, concerts, galleries, historic sites and who access the Internet, e.g. approximately 70% of the population, over 15 years of age, had been at least once to a public library during the previous year (see chapter 6).
Cultural policy objectives
The idea of Danish cultural policies goes back to the European Enlightenment (and to the system of patronage in early modern Europe). With the advent of the welfare state post WWII, the political and cultural education of the people was raised to a matter of national interest. Funding the arts and similar cultural activities was seen as an instrument in the hands of politicians to pursue this goal. The people not only needed to be educated, but should be culturally informed. At the same time, the idea of a state funded cultural policy might appear illegitimate if the overall direction of cultural activities were not also linked to the interests of peoples and nations.
In a related, if slightly different phraseology, the same idea was expressed as the indispensability of cultural activities in the national fight against "the damaging consequences of the commercial cultural industries" - a fight for people's souls. Indeed, a fight for the soul of the nation. Politicians and cultural experts feared that cultural industries like television, records, video etc. would catch the imagination of the public, causing a general disregard for high quality products and reduce the country's potential for cultural diversity to entertainment and crude consumption (Duelund 2003, p. 489). The people should be saved from themselves’
The institutional thinking behind the establishment of the Ministry of Culture in 1961 was pragmatic and administrative. The official explanation was that the Ministry of Education, which previously had the main administrative responsibility for funding culture, was becoming too big an unmanageable from a cultural perspective. As a result, "it was considered appropriate to assemble the administration of all matters concerning culture under the auspices of a special ministry." (Centraladministrationen 1960, White Paper 301, 39). The Ministry was also supposed to be responsible for, in conjunction with the universities, research, art and culture – an interesting starting point in light of the contemporary debate, in which calls have been made for a closer symbiosis between art, science and teaching.
However, no explicit objectives were defined as a starting point for the setting up of the Ministry of Culture. As suggested by the original name - the Ministry of Cultural Affairs – it was, and should be, merely a political and administrative framework designed to improve the societal conditions for culture, but not interfere with the content.
The overall objectives, therefore, must be sought in the history of ideas outside the Danish Ministry of Culture, in the laws of culture implemented since then (see chapter 4.2.1) and in the public cultural debate - The Danish Minister of Culture, Julius Bomholt, on the occasion of the opening debate of the Danish Parliament, in October 1963, set out to formulate the "arm's length" principle as a motto for cultural policy, in order to allay suspicions among members of Parliament and others, who feared state control and political interference in the arts and cultural life generally:
A true cultural policy must be extremely liberal. If one wants to cultivate democracy, one must first democratise the structural conditions determining cultural activities based on the motto: "Funding yes, control no!" (Julius Bomholt, October 1963).
Although there have been several amendments in the legislation and regulation concerning Danish Cultural Policy since 1963, this overall objective has remained intact under the different governments since then.
From the middle of the 1990s, cultural policies were reinvested with new goals:
- to promote and tighten the link between arts and businesses;
- to reduce state regulation of the cultural industries;
- to encourage private patrons and companies to act as sponsors and purchase art and support art institutions;
- to increase the political regulation of arts and cultural institutions by means of performance contracts, via administrative centralisation and by transforming the "unspecified means" allocated on the basis of expert evaluation to "earmarked" pools for specified and politically defined purposes; and
- to revitalise the national dimension in cultural policy in order to strengthen the national identity of the people and promote social cohesion in response to globalisation, migration and individualisation.
Especially, cultural policy defined in terms of national identity policy has been vital in the periods 2001-2011 under the cultural policy of the different VKO- governments.
But the economic instrumentalisation, as well as the new public managements regulation of the cultural field in Danish cultural policy, was initiated by the Social Democratic / Social Liberal Government in the 1990s, before the VKO took over in 2001. A new orientation in the policy of promoting artistic creativity was introduced by the report entitled Denmark's Creative Potential 2000 (Danmarks kreative potentiale 2000) launched by the Danish Ministry of Culture together with the Ministry of Business and Economic Affairs, with the purpose "to draft a new joint agenda for cultural policy and trade and industrial policy" (see chapter 2.1).
With the new governmental programme, and especially the visions of the new cultural Minister Uffe Elbæk, the primordial orientation of Danish cultural policy in the VKO- period 2001- 2011 seems to has been transformed to an more open and cosmopolitan direction, dominated by a modern conception of cultural diversity, citizenship and cultural policy (see chapter 2.1). On 6 December 2012 Marianne Jelved replaced Uffe Elbæk as Danish Minister for Culture.
Last update: March, 2012
Last update: March, 2012
Danish cultural policy is both centralised and decentralised; one of the reasons is that the development of public cultural policy and institutions in Denmark is closely linked to the cultural and political movements that fostered Danish democracy and the welfare state. Different concepts of culture have been a central wheel in this process. Since Denmark adopted its first democratic constitution in 1849, social movements and a broad range of popular associations have flourished in Denmark. Liberal Movements for agricultural cooperatives, folk high schools and the later worker movement included culture as a social dimension and as a process in which everyone should participate. According to the bourgeois position in the late 18th century, cultural policy should concentrate on national art promotion dominated by the urban elite in the capital of Copenhagen. Present Danish cultural policy is constructed in this complex spectrum, from national patriotism focusing on the arts to the popular movement's broader conception of culture.
The political responsibility for public cultural policy is placed with the Danish Parliament (Folketinget), the government and the Ministry of Culture. The state level sets the overall framework for national and local cultural policies (see chapter 1.2.1 state level) and puts forward guidelines for international cultural exchange and cooperation.
The national level
The overall coordinating executive power for policy initiation, planning and implementation lies with theMinistry of Culture. The final legislative and budgetary powers rest with the Parliament. A special parliamentary Committee of Culture (Folketingets Kulturudvalg) deals with cultural policy issues. The powerful Ministry of Finance (Finansministeriet) sets, after an amendment in the Parliament (Folketinget), the financial framework for budget allocations to arts and culture.
The competence of the Ministry of Culture encompasses creative arts, music, theatre, film, libraries, archives, museums, protection and preservation of buildings and monuments, archaeology and higher education and training. Furthermore, its responsibilities include intellectual property rights, radio and television, sport and international cultural cooperation, with a primarily focus the EU, Nordic Cooperation, the Council of Europe, UNESCO and the UN.
Since the Ministry of Culture was established in 1961, actual policy implementation and competence has been increasingly delegated to a complex framework of cultural agencies, councils, committees and cultural institutions with different tasks, competences and degrees of autonomy (see chapter 1.2.1 organigram A and B):
The current role of the Ministry and its associated bodies is as follows:
- The Ministry. The Ministry acts as an architect, providing the framework for an overall cultural policy and – in co-operation with the Parliament – sets the objectives, financial frameworks, subsidy arrangements and the organisational structures that form the basis of cultural policy in Denmark. The Ministry of Culture and its departments focus on strategic planning and govern through information provision and performance contracts.
- The Agencies. The agencies handle administrative, advisory and implementation tasks for the Ministry of Culture in the following areas: libraries, cultural heritage, the arts, archives, media and film. They are defined as state institutions (see the new central structure below).
- Councils, committees and other arm's length bodies within the different agencies. The basic allocating and advisory bodies in the different fields are the expert committees and boards within the agencies, councils and foundations. E.g Funding for the arts is allocated by the Danish Arts Foundation (Statens Kunstfond) and the Danish Arts Council (Statens Kunstråd) through a number of independent expert committees (see organigram B in chapter 1.2.1). These committees operate according to the "pure" arm's-length principle. This means that their decisions are final and cannot be overruled by appeal to another administrative or political body. But the autonomy and competence of these arm's length bodies differ. Other bodies, such as the majority of committees connected with the Danish National Cultural Agency (Kulturarvsstyrelsen) including its new centres for Libraries and Media, Digitalisation and IT, Cultural Heritage and Architecture, Cultural Institutions and Operational Support and also the Danish Film Institute and The Danish State Archive have a mainly advisory role (see Organigram A)
- State Institutions. The Ministry of Culture has responsibility for state cultural institutions in the fields of creative arts, cultural heritage, education and research and support as well media, sport, architecture and design. The Ministry of Culture funds the national state institutions. Appropriations from the state budget are allocated yearly, directly to cover the operating costs of cultural institutions. The minister and his department has the fully responsibility to appoint the head of institutions. In extension to the legislation and political agreements amended in the parliament with which the state institutions are obliged to act, the state institutions are also aim- and results managed by performance contracts negotiated between the institutions and the Ministry. The institutions are obliged to evaluate the results annually. Nevertheless, the institutions enjoy considerable freedom, autonomy and independency in how to realise the results defined in the contracts, and how the perennial financial provisions are used.
Some of the important state institutions are: the Royal Theatre (Det Kgl. Teater), the Royal Museums of Fine Arts (Statens Museum for Kunst), the National Museum of Denmark (Nationalmuseet), the Royal Library (Det Kgl. Bibliotek) and the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts (Det Kgl. Danske Kunstakademi) encompassing the School of Visual Arts (Billedkunstskolerne), the School of Conservation Konservatorskolen), and the School of Architecture (Arkitektskolen).
Approximately 700 independent cultural institutions around the country are partly funded by the state.
In principle, the independent institutions with state funding and the independent institutions financed by the state and municipalities together, in principle, also have to follow the overall objectives defined in the legislative frameworks for the institutions and the management schemes of the performance contracts corresponding to the state institutions. However, the resulting obligations required to realise the overall aims defined by law, the strategies, activities and administrative requirements defined by the performance contracts and demands of continual evaluation are less extensive, depending on how big a share of the total economy of the institution the state is supplying. Examples of these institutions are the regional theatres: Aarhus Theatre, Aalborg Theatre and Odense Theatre, and the five provincial symphony orchestras of Aarhus, Aalborg, South Jutland, Odense and Zealand.
New organisation of the Ministry of Culture
The Danish Ministry of Culture has reorganised its assignments on 1 January 2012 to take advantage of professional synergy, create greater impact and be able to handle the Ministry of Culture’s future economic challenges.
Management Level
At management level, two agencies have been established:
- The Agency for Castles and Cultural Properties (transferred from the resort of the Palaces and Properties Agency and cultural properties from the Ministry of Culture).
- The Danish Agency for Culture, which is an amalgamation of three agencies: The Danish Arts Agency, the Heritage Agency of Denmark, and the Danish Agency for Libraries and Media.
Corporate Level
At the corporate level, five administrative units have been established which physically are located in either the Department of the Ministry of Culture, the Danish Agency for Culture or the Agency for Castles and Cultural Properties:
- Finance (Department);
- Communications (Department);
- HR (Danish Agency for Culture);
- IT and digitisation (Danish Agency for Culture); and
- Building activities and Purchasing and Supply (Agency for Castles and Cultural Properties).
The ambition of combining the different administrative units is to share professional synergy and to create efficiency. The administrative units will have to manage tasks across the Danish Agency for Culture, The Agency for Castles and Cultural Properties and the Department of the Ministry.
An Executive Board has been created consisting of the Departmental Director and the two directors of the Danish Agency for Culture and The Agency for Castles and Cultural Properties. The Executive Board will have to ensure coordination of tasks that cross-cut the various entities.
The new Agencies
The new Danish Agency for Culture merged by the former The Danish Arts Agency, the Heritage Agency of Denmark, and the Danish Agency for Libraries and Media. The Danish Agency for Culture was created to:
- to improve professional synergies;
- to bolster the interplay among art, cultural heritage, libraries and media;
- to improve the coordination of national and municipal efforts in cultural fields;
- to promote the development and exploitation of an increasingly digitalised culture and media landscape;
- to develop new proposals and forms of communication for citizens;
- to strengthen international cultural collaboration within all professional fields;
- to create a greater impact in other policy areas;
- to increase cooperation among, inter alia, education, teaching, research, the environment and nature, and business development, including architecture and tourism; and
- to make it possible for the Danish Ministry of Culture to grapple with future economic and communicative challenges.
The Danish Agency for Culture consists of five centres, an Executive Secretariat and a HR unit. The five centres are:
- Libraries and Media;
- Digitalisation and IT;
- Cultural Heritage and Architecture;
- Cultural Institutions and Operational Support; and
- Support for the Arts.
Basically, the 5 centres follow the same divisions as the previous structure. Users will not experience major changes in terms of the merger. The new Agency for Culture will still become the secretariat for the Danish Arts Council and the Danish Arts Foundation – just as the Danish Arts Agency was previously. The Danish Agency for Culture will be led by an executive committee consisting of the Managing Director and two Regional Directors. (for further information see http://www.kunststyrelsen.dk/english; http://www.kunst.dk/english).
The Agency for Castles and Cultural Properties
The newly constituted Agency for Castles and the Cultural Properties has the purpose of safe operation and maintenance of a number of government palaces, gardens and cultural properties and conservation. The aim of placing the Agency in the Ministry of Culture is gradually to develop and standardise the operation and maintenance of cultural properties in the different fields of the Danish Ministry of Culture. The ambition is to improve professionalisation and aim for large-scale gains and economic efficiency through greater volume in obtaining the services and materials for cultural buildings e.g. The Royal Theatre will get an increased specialisation in property management (see chapter 2.1 The Royal Theatre Crisis).
The Faeroe Islands and Greenland
Within the framework of the United Kingdom of Denmark (Rigsfællesskabet), the Faeroe Islands and Greenland have extensive freedom to improve, manage and finance their internal affairs, i.e. public cultural policy. The Faeroe Islands is an autonomous nation within the realm of the Danish National State of Denmark, governed by the Lagtinget (Parliament) and Landsstyret (the government). Pursuant to the Faeroese Home Rule Act of 1948, the government is in charge of cultural affairs. Consequently, the parliament legislates while administration of the cultural fields is the responsibility of the Faeroese Home Rule Government.
Similarly, Greenland is an autonomous nation within the realm of Denmark. By establishment of the Home Rule Government in 1979, Greenland took over the responsibility for its own libraries, archives, museums, art institutions, high schools, Greenland Radio / TV and the church. The common constitution of the United Kingdom of Denmark primarily manifests itself in the common royal house, common currency and common foreign policy.
The Greenlandic self-government system
On 21 June 2009, the Law on Greenland's Self-Government System (Self-Government Act) came into force, whereby the Greenland Home Rule system was superseded by an autonomous system. The Act is based on the Greenlandic-Danish Self-Government Commission report No. 1497 from 2008. (The report is available at http://www.nanoq.gl)
With this new act, the Greenlandic people's autonomy is widened to the greatest extent possible within the existing national community between Denmark and Greenland (see chapter 2.6).
Levels outside the public system
Outside the system of public cultural policy, a large number of agents in the civic society and the private sector have considerable influence on the planning, implementation and innovation of cultural activities. The political parties have, according to the Danish Constitution, the responsibility for passing legislation on culture in the Parliament. The political parties, artists unions and other institutions in civic society have indirect influence on the implementation of cultural policy e.g. through the nomination of members to boards for management schemes, e.g. the Danish Arts Foundation (Statens Kunstfond) and the Danish Arts Council (Kunstrådet). The Ministry of Culture supports increased cooperation between the creative sector and the business world through the public financed Centre for Culture and Experience Economy, and thereby encourages the private sector to play a part in cultural development (see chapter 3.5.1 and chapter 7.3).
In recent years, the private sector has gained more influence in the cultural sector, due in part to the very liberal Law on Private Foundations of Public Utility, which makes it easy for private foundations, companies and individual citizens to support cultural institutions, activities and new projects with tax exemptions. Several new institutions and projects have been realised according to the private foundation model; an excellent example is the new Danish Opera House,which was opened in Copenhagen in 2005 as the new residence for The Opera of the Royal Theatre (see chapter 4.1.4).
Last update: March, 2012
Denmark is in the middle of a fundamental structural transformation of the public sector. The Local Government Reform (kommunalreformen), passed by the Parliament in 2005, has decreased 275 municipalities and 14 counties to 98 municipalities and 5 regions. The reform came into force on 1 January 2007 and will be fully implemented by 2012.
According to the reform, the former cultural responsibility of the counties, now abolished, has been transferred to either the state level or the new municipalities e.g. the state has taken over the responsibility for regional theatres, orchestras, museums etc., while the new grand municipalities have been given the full political, administrative and financial responsibility to handle cultural institutions and activities with a natural local affiliation including libraries, museums, sport facilities, amateur activities etc. In case of libraries and museums the municipalities still has to act according to the legislative framework agreed upon on a national level.
The new regions do not have ongoing responsibility for cultural activities.
Last update: March, 2012
The Council of Municipalities (Kommunernes Landsforening, KL) is a co-ordinating organisation for the 98 municipalities in Denmark, with the mission to promote the interests of its members. KL is an important actor in the negotiation, planning and implementation of cultural policy, especially after the abolishment of the counties and the transfer of more cultural responsibility to the municipalities.
Information is currently not available.
Last update: March, 2012
Since 2000, the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Danish Ministry of Culture have through a collaboration agreement been working to promote Denmark's international cultural exchange. International Coordination is an independent team at the Danish Agency for Culture (Kulturstyrelsen). It acts as the operating staff to carry out the Danish Agency for Culture's duties in connection with the collaboration agreement. Among others it is the to negotiate cultural agreements and programmes as authorised by the Danish Ministry of Culture and the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and to follow up on and administer cultural agreements entered into.
In their collaboration on international cultural exchange through the Danish Agency for Culture, the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Danish Ministry of Culture also aim at strengthening the collaborative network among all Danish institutions etc. working with international cultural exchange.
The Danish Centre for Cultural Development (DCCD) (Center for Kultur og Udvikling), organised within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is responsible for international cultural exchange organised for developments purposes.
The Ministry of Economic and Business Affairs (Erhvervsministeriet) promotes cooperation between the cultural sector, i.e. Danish design, and the business sector. The Ministry of Education (Undervisningsministeriet) takes care of cultural education in schools and provides subsidies to various activities devoted to leisure and cultural minority groups. Cultural activities for children are improved by the Network for Children's Culture (Børnekulturens Netværk) established in cooperation with the Ministry of Family and Consumer Affairs (Familie- og Forbrugerministeriet)andthe Ministry of Education. Voluntary organisations and amateur activities are primarily regulated and financed by the Law of General Education managed by the Ministry of Education.The Ministry of Refugees, Immigration and Integration Affairs (Ministeriet for Flygtninge, Indvandrere og Integration)is responsible for several projects targeted at minorities, immigrants and refugees, often together with the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Education.
Last update: March, 2012
There has been no re-allocation of public responsibility for culture in recent years, e.g. privatisation or outsourcing of activities. However, the ambition is that a bigger part of the cultural activities and institutions should be financed by support from companies, foundations and other private patrons (see chapter 4.1.2). It is also a clear strategy that private companies and the cultural field should cooperate to strengthen the cultural field in the business area, and to include more creativity in the more traditional business world.
Last update: March, 2012
Table 4: Cultural institutions financed by public authorities, by domain
| Domain | Cultural institutions (subdomains) | Number (Year) | Trend (++ to --) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cultural heritage | Cultural heritage sites (recognized) | ||
| Museums (organisations) | |||
| Archives (of public authorities) | |||
| Visual arts | public art galleries / exhibition halls | ||
| Art academies (or universities) | |||
| Performing arts | Symphonic orchestras | ||
| Music schools | |||
|
Music / theatre academies (or universities) | |||
| Dramatic theatre | |||
| Music theatres, opera houses | |||
| Dance and ballet companies | |||
| Books and Libraries | Libraries | ||
| Audiovisual | Broadcasting organisations | ||
| Interdisciplinary | Socio-cultural centres / cultural houses | ||
| Other (please explain) |
Last update: March, 2012
Most of the cultural institutions have undergone major changes in the legal and financial status according to the Local Government Reform that came into force on 1 January 2007. The reform implies a new responsibility between the state and local level in the Danish cultural model (see chapter 1.2.2 and chapter 4.2). No institutions have been transformed to e.g. private companies.
In recent years, the government has be active in stimulating a new partnership between public cultural institutions and private sponsors and foundations through the contract management system (see chapter 2.1), experimental projects for artists and the cultural industries (see chapter 3.5.1) and tax exemptions for private companies, foundations and sponsors (see chapter 4.1.2).
Last update: March, 2012
Denmark's international exchange and cooperation activities are conducted on two separate fronts:
- Councils, Expert Committees & Art Professional Centres; and
- Administrative and political bodies and agencies
The work of the various bodies on these two fronts is coordinated by an International Cultural Panel presided by the Ministry of Culture.
The Ministry of Culture co-operates with other ministries and authorities e.g. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Udenrigsministeriet) with regards to the cultural dimension in the Danish Embassies around the world
Councils, Expert Committees & Art Professional Centres
The Danish Arts Council promotes artistic development in Denmark as well as outside of Denmark. The Council's two principal tasks are:
- to provide support for artistic endeavours within the fields of literature, performing arts, visual arts and music,
- to advise public authorities regarding matters within the Council's sphere of activity. The council has committees within each of the four branches of the arts.
The role of the Danish Arts Foundation is to promote the creative arts in Denmark. Its main task is to provide grants for creative artists. The Foundation has committees for Visual Arts, Crafts and Design, Architecture, Film and Performing Arts, Literature, Classical Music, Popular Music and Art in Public Spaces.
The role of the Danish Film Institute is to support and promote the Danish film and cinema industry – in Denmark and abroad.
Danish Crafts (DC) is the national information centre for Danish crafts and design. It works to promote the international branding of Danish craft and design and help professional crafts people and designers gain a foothold in the international market.
The Danish Design Centre (DDC) is Denmark's professional knowledge centre for design and innovation. The main task is to carry out design and innovation activities aimed at Danish businesses with the purpose of improving their competitiveness. Furthermore it works to brand Danish design internationally.
The Danish Architecture Centre's (DAC´s) mission is to initiate partnerships designed to foster the development and wider awareness of Danish architecture and buildings, thereby establishing their cultural and commercial value, both nationally and internationally.
Administrative and political bodies and agencies
The Danish Agency for Culture is an administrative body under the auspices of the Danish Ministry of Culture. Among other things, the Agency acts as secretariat for the Danish Arts Foundation and the Danish Arts Council and has the regulatory responsibility for sites and monuments, listed buildings and state-subsidised museums. The Danish Agency for Culture is well-equipped to promote and provide services for Danish culture and art in the broadest sense on the domestic, European, and international fronts.
The Danish Cultural Institute (DKI) is an independent non-profit organisation funded by the Ministry of Culture. It aims to promote international cultural collaboration and exchange and to create enduring international connections and networks – not least through education and social awareness. The Institute's head office lies in Copenhagen with divisions in Edinburgh (UK), Brussels (Belgium / Benelux), Hanover (Germany), Vienna (Austria), Kecskemét (Hungary), Gdansk (Poland), Riga (Latvia), Tallinn (Estonia), Vilnius (Lithuania), St. Petersburg (Russia), Beijing (China), Buenos Aires (Brazil) and Cairo (Egypt). Three other institutes also operate abroad (in Rome, Athens and Damascus) focusing primarily on the fields of humanistic and cultural research and cooperation.
The Danish Centre for Culture and Development (DCCD) promotes international cultural collaboration between Denmark and the developing countries in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America, and the Middle East.
The Danish Embassies / Danish Ministry for Foreign Affairs and foreign missions are actively involved in promoting Danish art and culture as part of their public diplomacy efforts.
Cultural Contact Point Denmark (CCPD) is part of the European network of cultural contact points charged with informing and advising on the EU Culture programme (2007-2013). The Danish Ministry of Culture established CCPD to promote the cultural framework programme of the European Union for the previous period 2000-2007 and with that the participation of Danish cultural bodies in cross-national cultural collaboration. Cultural Contact Point Denmark takes part in a network of similar Cultural Contact Points in all EU, EU-candidate and EEA-countries, in order to assist in helping foreign cultural bodies and organisations seeking Danish partners for projects and networks. Cultural Contact Point Denmark is governed by the Danish Agency for Culture (see chapter 7.2.2).
The Council of Municipalities (LGDK, Kommunernes Landsforening) and, to a high degree, the municipalities themselves are important actors. Increasing European integration implies that Danish legislation and activities of the local authorities are affected by decisions made in the EU. Consequently, the EU Office of LGDK represents the association at the Council of Europe, EU and the global union of local authorities, with the purpose of indicating Danish local governments' interests and positions as to the EU, including the following: the global union of local authorities UCLG (United Cities and Local Governments), the European section of CEMR (Council of European Municipalities and Regions) and the EU Committee of the Regions. The work in the Committee of the Regions ensures that LGDK is informed and gains knowledge of future EU moves, thereby helping it to be prepared in advance of discussions at the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament. LGDK is also a member of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities which is part of the Council of Europe, in line with the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the Committee of Ministers and the European Court of Human Rights.
The major instruments used in international cultural relations are co-operation treaties (EU, the Nordic Council of Ministers, UNESCO, WTO etc.). Co-production agreements on specific areas (e.g. film co-productions in EU and the Nordic Council of Ministers, see chapter 1.4.2) are also used. Finally, all the cultural institutions directly or indirectly funded and regulated by the state i.e. The Royal Museum of Fine Arts (Statens Museum for Kunst), The National Museum of Denmark (Nationalmuseet), the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts (Det Kgl. Danske Kunstakademi) and other advanced educational institutions of Arts and Culture, Denmark's Radio (Danmarks Radio), Central Libraries etc. are obliged to cooperate and develop international cultural relation on a Nordic, European and global scale.
A major development in trans-national co-operation in the field of cultural education and training and other fields of international cultural cooperation in recent years has been a change from a Nordic focus to a European one - especially after the wall came down in 1989 and the inclusion of new member countries in the EU in 2006.
It's difficult to assess the trends in public financial support for international cultural co-operation in Denmark because it is calculated in the general budgets of the institutions. However, the international cooperation of the institutions has increased in recent years thanks to a higher priority in the performance contracts with the institutions and special initiatives taken by the Ministry of Culture.
The International Cultural Panel
The role of the International Cultural Panel is to coordinate the activities of all those Danish institutions involved in international cultural exchange and cooperation. The aim is to further communication and networking between the Danish and international key actors in order to strengthen the Danish arts and brand Denmark as a cultural nation.
The panel is presided by The Ministry for Culture and made up of representatives from the above-mentioned bodies as well as from the Danish Ministry for Economics and Business Affairs and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Denmark.
The International Cultural Panel acts according to the Danish Government’s strategy on cultural exchange (pdf) (can be downloaded from http://www.kum.dk)
(Read more about the organisation of international work: http://www.danisharts.dk; http://www.kunst.dk; http://www.kum.dk/english/Cultural-Policy1/).
Last update: March, 2012
EU
In recent years, as a member of the EU, Denmark worked to achieve:
- the current artistic and cultural exceptions, stated in Article 128 of the Maastricht-Treaty and in the articles on culture that have been added since then, to be sharpened in order to secure the cultural dimension of EU-cooperation;
- that the Commission, as it has in recent years, will continue to play a proactive role inside and outside Europe concerning implementing and monitoring the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions;
- the extension and strengthening of the MEDIA 2007 programme, with special emphasis on support for productions;
- the extension and implementing of the Culture 2007 programme, with special emphasis on supporting large-scale projects that ensure visibility, innovation and creativity, as stated in the framework of the Lisbon Strategy for growth and jobs;
- cooperation in defining and executing challenges regarding online digitisation, where the digital library Europeana is the main asset;
- to avert the Commission's objection to Danish library support for authors, as well as other national and cultural support programmes like the Film support programme. The regulations are essential elements in Danish cultural policy, as well as other countries adhering to the architect model. Concerning the Danish library case, it was settled in December 2007, when the Commission decided to drop the case, as it was decided that the Act did not discriminate on the bases of nationality;
- to participate in defining the priority areas that make up the Work Plan for Culture 2011-2014. The Council's Work Plan for Culture for 2011-2014 will constitute the framework for part of the Council's work during the Danish Presidency. The Presidency will in particular place focus on culture in external relations;
- Denmark held the Presidency of the Council for the first six months of 2012 and the Minister of Culture, Uffe Elbæk, led the meetings of Ministers of Culture. According to schedule, the upcoming EU programme Creative Europe will be on the agenda. The Creative Europe programme is the support programme for Europe's cultural and creative sectors from 2014. The programme is currently under discussion in the Council of EU ministers and the European Parliament. According to the Commission's communication, Europe needs to invest more in its cultural and creative sectors as they contribute largely to economic growth, employment, innovation and social cohesion. The aim is that Creative Europe will safeguard and promote cultural and linguistic diversity and strengthen the competitiveness of the cultural and creative sectors. The programme is furthermore meant to help the cultural and creative sectors to seize opportunities of the digital age and globalisation, as well as helping the sector to contribute to the EU's 2020 goals for sustainable growth, jobs and social cohesion. Creative Europe aims at more funding for artists and cultural professionals to develop their skills and work across borders, to facilitate private funding and to ensure more funding for transnational cultural activities. As the programme is under discussion in the Council and the Parliament, the Danish Presidency has an obvious role in facilitating, and affecting the process.
The Danish EU Presidency
The Danish EU Presidency from January to July 2012 will picture a better Europe. On the basis of strategic co-operation in the context of the European Agenda for Culture and the future culture programme, the Presidency will work towards a continued focus on the promotion of cultural diversity, intercultural dialogue and creativity as well as the promotion of the role of culture in the Union's relations to countries outside the EU.
The Presidency wishes to continue cooperation on the strategic targets of the European cultural agenda, including the targets of promoting cultural diversity and culture as a catalyst for creativity. In continuation of this, the Presidency will work towards making the role and potentials of culture more visible – also within other policy areas.
One of the Presidency's targets is to promote the ratification of and follow-up on the UNESCO Convention on cultural diversity. The EU Culture Programme plays a particularly important role in cultural cooperation, including for the promotion of cross-border cultural projects with a European dimension. The Programme supports cooperation on and knowledge of Europe's cultural diversity and is as such of direct relevance to European citizens. During the Danish Presidency, the Council will need to consider the Commission proposal on a future cultural programme after 2013 within the framework of the proposal for a Creative Europe programme (see chapter 2.1). This will be a priority for the Danish Presidency. Similarly, the Council will need to revise the programme Europe for Citizens, which aims at promoting active European citizenship. The Danish Presidency will work towards renewing the programme in continuation of the Commission proposal for this.
Audio-visual issues
As part of the work towards promoting the production of European audio-visual content, the Council will need to consider the next generation of support programmes in the audio-visual field. The existing MEDIA programme focuses, amongst other things, on cultural and linguistic diversity, on the competitiveness of the European audio-visual sector, and on the dissemination of European audio-visual products, whereas the MEDIA Mundus programme supports cooperation between the European audio-visual industry and audio-visual producers from third countries. The Danish Presidency will actively endeavour to provide momentum in the consideration of the Commission proposal for a future MEDIA programme after 2013 - within the framework of the proposal for a Creative Europe programme. Moreover, the Council will need to deal with ongoing work regarding the digital agenda, including digitisation and on-line access to cultural and creative material and digital preservation.
With the European Agenda for Culture, from 2007 cultural cooperation is now targeted at the following overall strategic objectives:
- focusing on cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue;
- promoting and illustrating the importance of cultural and creative industries for growth and jobs; and
- promoting the role of culture in the Union's relations to countries outside the EU
This is achieved through support to Member States' activities in the field of culture and through cooperation with other international organisations working in the area of culture, such as the Council of Europe and UNESCO. In addition, the EU also promotes the strategic objectives by taking cultural aspects into account when drafting new legislation in other policy areas, e.g. education, research and ICT.
The current work plan covers the period 2011-2014 and focuses on, among other things, the mobility of artists, culture and regional development, the cooperation of museums and increased cultural cooperation with third countries.
The Lisbon Treaty constitutes the legal basis of cooperation in the field of culture. According to the Treaty, regulation and harmonisation of national cultural policies is excluded. Instead, cooperation is carried out through:
- exchange of best practice;
- financial support programme;
- recommendations to Member States; and
- Creative Europe
The principal focus of the Danish Presidency will be on the negotiations of the Commission's proposal for a Creative Europe framework programme, which will include the next generation of the Culture Programme that supports cross-border cultural projects, and of the MEDIA and MEDIA Mundus programmes that support the European audiovisual industry. The official launch event of the European Creative Industries Alliance will take place as part of the Innovation Festival (IF) Finale Conference, which will happen between 26 and 28 February 2012 in Milan. The event will also include presentations of other EU initiatives in support of the cultural and creative sectors – such as the Commission's proposal for a new Creative Europe programme – as well as exhibitions, music and fashion intermezzos of an innovative character. (Further information http://www.proinno-europe.eu/innovationfestivalevent).
The Danish presidency and copyright
The debate on copyright has been marked in recent years. A new digital world challenges our traditional view of perception and the way in which we have hitherto acted in relation to copyright. Movies, music, lyrics, sheet music and much more can be distributed and reproduced at a scale and with a speed that has not previously been possible. The news is that especially the EU's focus on the challenges and particularly the opportunities that this technology going forward can be used to create a hope that all kinds of lyrics and sheet music can be used by far more people, without copyright violation.
With increased digitisation, there is a greater exchange of copyrighted works across national borders. The development has led to the EU in these years to improve greater focus on copyright than before. The EU wishes to preserve its heritage and through digitisation ensure the availability of such texts across national borders. This must be done in a fair and transparent management of copyrighted works, which member states can agree on. It is therefore expected that during the presidency decisions will be taken on a number of areas which are not yet regulated within EU countries.
Orphan works
One area to be discussed during the Presidency is the European Commission's Directive on so called "orphan works". The term refers to a work where the licensee cannot be identified. The idea behind the proposal is to allow public cultural institutions, particularly libraries, to digitise works to protect the heritage. The Directive directs each institution wishing to digitise a work to firstly search for licensees before the work can be declared ‘orphan’. The directive also implies a principle of mutual recognition between EU countries. This means that the search effort that underlies that a work is declared orphaned need only be performed in one country. The proposal is before the European Parliament and the Council of Europe and is expected to be finalised during the first half of 2012 under the Danish EU presidency.
Out of Commerce
The European Commission, together with several international societies, libraries and non-commercial cultural institutions signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to ensure that books and journals can de digitalised and secured in the future when a work is no longer published or, for other reasons, is no longer commercially available in the market. It is now up to the various stakeholders involved to convert the MoU into practice through collaborations between these institutions and representatives of rights holders.
Collective management
Finally, the European Commission also looks at how to consolidate and disseminate the transparency of public administration to create a more level playing field for right holders, government organisations, users and suppliers throughout Europe. It places special emphasis on management of online music across borders. The Commission aims to ensure that licensees in Europe have a fair and uniform administration of their copyrights and copy fees. It is expected that the Commission will present a draft directive on collective management in the first half of 2012 (see http://www.tekstognode.dk).
Bente Skovgaard Kristensen, who is Head of the Culture Ministry's department for Copyright, Media and Sport, has stressed the importance of Denmark’s role in ensuring movement on EU copyright matters in the first half of 2012. The challenge for the Danish presidency is to find a compromise among Member States which must allow for national solutions for handling copyright-protected material - for example, according to the Danish agreement licensing model (see chapter 4.1.6).
Global discussion on copyright
The World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) also influences the debate on copyright in the EU. WIPO has recently been focusing on limitations and exceptions to copyright exclusivity. In November 2011, the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) discussed proposals for exceptions to copyright. The issues will be discussed at an upcoming diplomatic conference in June/July 2012 on "audiovisual performances". It will also fall to the Danish Presidency to coordinate the common EU approach to the questions (see http://www.tekstognode.dk, further information: http://www.wipo.int).
UNESCO
Denmark has been a member of UNESCO since 1945. The administration of the Danish UNESCO Commission is situated within the Ministry of Education. The Ministry of Culture has been the primary body for implementing and monitoring the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, which has beenratified by Denmark. The ratification did not demand any changes in Danish law, as much of it was already implemented. In 2009 and 2010 there will be follow-ups and hearings, in cooperation with different NGO's and actors from civil society. In 2011, all countries involved in the Convention will report on what concrete achievements have been made.
In 2009, Denmark also ratified the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.
At UNESCO's 35th General Conference, Denmark was chosen to as a member of UNESCO's Executive Board. On the Board, Denmark represents the other Nordic countries which all share the view that smaller countries should have influence within the Executive Boards, as well as generally within UNESCO. Denmark's representative will place emphasis on the efficiency of UNESCO's work, and promote better coherence between regular and extra-budgetary activities. Amongst other priorities, Denmark will advocate for Education for All, increased research, increased focus on intercultural understanding, dialogue and cultural diversity, and safeguarding freedom of expression, by focusing on the development of independent media, freedom of speech and safety of journalists.
Nordic Co-operation
Within the framework of the Nordic Council (Nordisk Råd) and the Nordic Council of Ministers (Nordisk Ministerråd), Denmark has been seeking the:
- contribution and promotion of Nordic cultural diversity, as well as strengthening and promotion of the Nordic dimension in the cultural life of the respective countries;
- promotion and strengthening of the Nordic dimension in the cultural lives of the Nordic countries;
- promotion and strengthening of the quality, and power to compete, of the cultural life; and
- ensuring that Nordic cultural co-operation makes art and culture available for all the Nordic countries.
A new structure for cultural co-operation was proposed and prepared during the Danish presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers in 2005. The aim was to add more energy, visibility and new working methods to Nordic cultural co-operation and to add more focus to the national contributions. The Reform was passed by the Nordic Council of Ministers in 2006.
The most profound changes in the reform are that the Nordic cultural co-operation has been moved from institutionalised, sectarian thinking, towards thematically defined projects and time-limited programmes. This will result in more funds for new initiatives and projects and the new organisation, with less institutions and committees but bigger programmes, will make cultural co-operation more user-friendly and visible to the public. The reform also implied that the following cultural institutions were to be closed down on 1 January 2007: Nordiskt Center för Scenekonst - NordScen, Nordisk Institut för Samtidskonst - NIFCA, Nordiska musikkommittéen – NOMUS, Nordiska litteratur- och bibliotekskommittéen - NordBok.
The cultural reform launched by the Nordic governments in 2007 was implemented with the overall aim to allocate more money for projects. Fewer resources should be spent on administration.
One of the main structural changes was the establishment of Culture Contact North, which replaced the former expert committees in literature, music, visual arts, performing arts, culture and media, youth cooperation, children and culture, as stated below.
Culture Contact North is responsible for handling applications and providing information and advice to the cultural sector in the Nordic countries and autonomous territories. The department also functions as a service centre for the Nordic culture ministers.
The Nordic Ministers of Culture are responsible for the existing Arts and Culture Programme. Experts are appointed by the national Ministries of Culture to carry out assessments of the awards in several arts areas and to make decisions on the allocation of support within the political frameworks. The number of experts is very limited compared to the previous system of separate art institutions and expert committees in the different artistic fields. The experts in the new system often make their decisions without consulting others - even in areas which are outside their cultural competences.
The experts are nominated by national cultural authorities and appointed by the Ministerial Council for Culture. Culture Contact Point is the new administrative framework to support the experts in their work and to put their decisions into practice. In principle, there is therefore a sort of arm's-length organisation. The question remains how does it correspond with the objective and bureaucratic and political independence in the real world?
Cultural Reform in consultation
The Cultural Reform of 2007 was debated at a public hearing in Copenhagen organised by the Nordic Council in April 2009. Central to the debate was the desire for dialogue and popular support. Both professional and amateur artists took part in the debate about the main points of reform. The consultation was intended to enable the Nordic Council to explore the Nordic cultural perception of the ongoing reforms in the cultural field. The consultation culminated in a series of specific recommendations. The overall conclusion deemed that it was premature to draw definitive conclusions on the reform's impact. In addition, there is a paucity of experience. A position on Nordic cultural cooperation and future values of the organisation also requires thorough scientific analysis that examines the experience of cultural cooperation in the Nordic Council of Ministers, the Nordic Council and the Nordic Culture Fund in a global perspective, assessing them against the cooperation of new surroundings and challenges. This is a huge research task.
Reform of the Nordic cultural cooperation in 2010 will be subject to a higher evaluation. (Further information see: http://www.norden.org; The Nordic Journal of Cultural Policy no. 1/2009, Tema: Det officielle Nordiska Kultursamarbetet under forandring, http://www.hb.se/bhs/kpc).
The specific focus of Nordic cultural co-operation given priority in the period 2007-2010 has been the:
- Nordic Computer-Game Programme. The aim of the programme is to stimulate the Nordic computer game agencies to produce high quality computer programmes for children and the young;
- Mobility and Residents Programme. The aim of the programme is to guarantee greater mobility for artists and cultural editors, promote cultural networking and strengthen artists' residencies; and
- Nordic Art – and Cultural Co-operation Programme. This programme was due to run from 2007, with the aim of focusing on production and communication, development of competencies, and the promotion of the critical science of art. The work of this development programme will decide the direction of all other cultural programmes and projects in the Nordic Council.
A new cultural campaign aims to improve the position of the Nordic Region in global competitiveness and to strengthen the creative industries and international dialogue, according to the Nordic ministers of culture, who in April 2008 agreed on a joint globalisation cultural initiative.
According to the five Nordic Ministers of Culture, Nordic co-operation is to play a more active role in international competition on issues of welfare, values and jobs. The ministers agree that culture and the arts should help to improve Nordic competitive power and raise the region's international profile. Sweden's Minister of Culture, Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth, current chair of the Council of Ministers for Culture stated that: "We are looking forward to playing an active role in the globalisation work started by the prime ministers. The demands of globalisation require us to develop a future-orientated strategy for the international challenges facing co-operation in the areas of culture and the media".
As the first follow-up to the ministers' globalisation initiative, the ministers of culture will approach the Nordic ministers of trade directly with a proposal for joint ventures in the creative industries. The Nordic Game Programme has produced excellent results in the form of educational computer games for children and young people. The Nordic Film and TV Fund has supported the development of quality productions. These two areas will be further developed and put to better use in international marketing of the Nordic countries as a creative region. Lena Liljeroth stated that: "There is no doubt that creativity, innovation and products which create identity are of increasing importance in international competition. The Nordic countries have excellent qualifications to take the lead within those very areas. We already have a high international status in, for example, films and TV and, not least, in relation to the new media. This raises completely new economic perspectives in a common branding of the Nordic Region".
The enlargement of intercultural co-operation constitutes the other major part of the ministers of culture's globalisation agenda. The ministers want, amongst other things, to strengthen the profile of Nordic traditions for cultural dialogue and democratic discourse. The aim is to optimise development conditions for both cultural life and business life through a greater cultural exchange between other regions and countries.
Read more: http://www.norden.org/webb/news/news.asp?id=7858&lang=6
Denmark takes part in the nomination of candidates for Nordic cultural prizes. The Nordic prizes are the following:
- The Nordic Council's Literature Prize is awarded for a work of imaginative literature written in one of the Nordic languages. The intention of the prize is also to increase interest in the literature of neighbouring countries, as well as in Nordic cultural fellowship. The prize is worth 350 000 DKK;
- The Nordic Council's Music Prize recognises creative and practical musicians of a high artistic standard. The prize is awarded to a piece of music by a living composer and to a small or large ensemble of high artistic and technical standards. The prize was launched as early as 1965 and was originally awarded every third year. Since 1990, the prize, which is worth 350 000 DKK, has been awarded every year. In 1997, the autonomous territories (Greenland, Faeroe Islands, Aland Islands and the Saami Areas) were granted permission to make their own nominations for the prize;
- in 2005, the Nordic Council established the annual Nordic Council Film Prize which is awarded to scriptwriters, directors and producers. The criteria for winning the prize is the creation of an artistically original film, rooted in Nordic cultural circles. The Nordic Council Film Prize is worth 350 000 DKK and the prize money is to be shared between the scriptwriter, the director and the producer.
The Nordic Culture Fund (Nordisk Kulturfond) is a Nordic body of cooperation, whose task is to support cultural cooperation in the broad sense between the Nordic countries. The Nordic Culture Fund awards about 25 million DKK every year to cultural projects in the Nordic Region or Nordic projects outside the Nordic Region. The projects that are supported reflect the entire cultural life and involve all areas including visual art, theatre, music and dance, literature and new media. Education, research and trans-sector projects are also supported, but these projects must have a clear connection with art and culture. Projects that can receive support from the Fund must include at least three Nordic countries or autonomous areas (the Faroe Islands, Greenland and the Aaland Islands).
The Nordic cultural agreement was 40 years in place in 2011. The Nordic Council Session held in October 20122 in Copenhagen included a debate on cultural diversity: What is Nordic and who is Nordic? Is multiculturalism the way forward or should we return to a stronger national identity? These issues that were discussed, inter alia, by Manu Sareen, the new Danish Minister for Nordic Cooperation, and the Nordic Council's elected president Haarder in the shadow of the Norwegian tragedy that occurred in Utøya in summer 2011.
Further information on Nordic cultural cooperation is available at http://www.norden.org.
ASEM
Among other global initiatives that Denmark seeks to stimulate and take part in is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' ASEM-co-operation.
Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) is the informal forum of dialogue between the Heads of State and government of 25 countries and the President of the European Commission. The purpose of ASEM is to promote and deepen the relationship between Asia and Europe in three main areas 1) political dialogue, 2) economic issues and 3) social, cultural and educational issues.
In July 1994, the European Commission had already published Towards a New Strategy for Asia, stressing the importance of modernising its relationship with Asia, and of reflecting properly its political, economic and cultural significance. The Commission Communication of September 2001 Europe and Asia: A strategic framework for enhanced partnerships reaffirmed this objective. Summit-level meetings were held in Copenhagen in September 2002, Hanoi in October 2004 and Helsinki in September 2006. The ASEM 5 Summit in 2004 adopted the ASEM Declaration on Dialogue among Cultures and Civilisations, reaffirming that cultural diversity, as the common heritage of humanity, is an important driving force for economic progress and social development, conducive to building a more stable and peaceful world. ASEM partners' efforts helped to rally support for the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. ASEM partners are committed to developing cultural exchanges as well as protecting and promoting cultural expressions. Three ASEM Ministerial Conferences on Culture and Civilisations have taken place. The last ASEM 7 was organised in Beijing on 24 and 25 October 2008 covering issues in economic, political, social and cultural areas, including issues related to sustainable development. Four ASEM Ministerial Conferences on Culture and Civilisation have taken place – the last one in Poland on 8-10 September 2010 – where the main theme of the meeting was Heritage and the Challenges of the Present. The last ASEM 8 was organised in Brussels on 4 and 5 October 2010. This meeting aimed at helping to shape the policies required to respond to the financial and economic crisis. Furthermore, this meeting worked towards strengthening the political dialogue between the two regions, enhancing their trade and investment relationship, and expanding further their cultural exchanges. The next ASEM Summit will be held in Laos in 2012.
Several initiatives have been launched, including the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF), with headquarters in Singapore, which strives to promote the international and inter-cultural dimension of the ASEM process. ASEF arranges and sponsors seminars, exhibitions and other international and inter-cultural events.
Town Twinning
Of special interest to municipalities is Town Twinning, as a springboard to closer international cultural cooperation. Denmark has formed a historic tradition for international contacts across national borders of twin-towns. Today, local authorities are leading this international cooperation. In 2006, local authorities were cooperating with corresponding local authorities of 3 twin towns in Europe. Twin town cooperation was, to a high degree, developed between towns in the Nordic countries, often supported by the Nordic Council of Ministers. Today, the EU's Foundation for Town-Twinning is often used by the local authorities in Denmark to develop twin-town cooperation on a European scale. LGDK´s homepage (https://lobbyfacts.eu/representative/f378f173662941afae402d838aebf626/local-government-denmark) includes a survey of foreign local authorities requesting town twinning cooperation or local government partnership in Denmark.
Last update: March, 2012
Numerous Danish cultural and art institutions, artists' associations and regional administrations are engaged in international cultural exchange and in the presentation of Danish culture abroad. Most importantly, artists, curators and cultural institutions from all branches of the arts cultivate contacts and networks abroad, resulting in performances and exhibitions, as well as invitations to foreign artists to visit Denmark.
In June 2010 a report on the government's strategy on promoting Danish arts and culture internationally was launched. The goal is to develop Danish art and culture, increase knowledge on Danish culture abroad and promote dialogue between Danish culture and other countries' cultures. The government wants to promote Danish art and culture and make sure that it is a part of the global art and culture scene. It is also part of a strategy to promote Denmark in general abroad with an export- economic perspective.
In addition to artists' fees, private donations and corporate sponsorships, government funding is made available to artists who engage in international cultural exchanges. The Danish Arts Council (Kunstrådet) provides financial support for the promotion of Danish literature, music, performing arts and visual arts, and awards grants on application to support activities such as the participation of Danish artists in events abroad, translations of Danish literature, and visiting programmes for artistic or cultural representatives from abroad. The Danish Arts Council also supports the presentation of significant foreign art in Denmark.
The Danish Arts Councils grant-programme for artists-in-residence is called DIVA and supports foreign artists in the visual arts, music, performing arts and literature, invited by Danish culture and arts institutions to stay and work and exhibit in Denmark. The aim is to strengthen Danish art by this international exchange and each year 25-30 foreign artists visit Denmark as part of the programme. In 2012 the programme was allocated 2 million DKK by The Danish Arts Council (see chapter 7.2.1).
Literature
The Danish Arts Council's Committee for Literature provides support for the following international purposes:
- translation of Danish literature into foreign languages. Foreign publishing houses may apply for grants. Translators may also acquire travel bursaries;
- sample translations of extracts from Danish literature with a view to publication abroad. Translators and foreign publishers may apply for grants; and
- exchange schemes. Support is provided to enable Danish authors to participate in literary festivals etc. abroad. Visits by foreign authors to Denmark for the same purposes may also be supported. The event organisers etc. may apply for grants covering fees and travel and accommodation expenses.
Libraries
The Danish National Library Authority plays an active part in international cooperation within the field of libraries, documentation and information. The Authority also plays an active role in the work of a number of international organisations, as well as participating in several networks where dialogue and cooperation can provide inspiration for continuous development of the Danish library system - i.e. IFLA, LIBER, NORON and NAPLE. International initiatives within the Danish National Library Authority are, among others, the following:
- the Authority arranges a number of study visits for foreign librarians each year; as well, Danish librarians travel abroad to visit foreign libraries;
- the director general and members of the staff regularly participate in international conferences and present specific experiences from the Danish library world; and
- The Knowledge Exchange Office is situated in Copenhagen and was established together with four related organisations in other EU-countries. The aim of The Knowledge Exchange Office is to develop closer working relationships between the key national agencies and bodies within Europe that are responsible for the development of infrastructure and services to support the use of ICT within tertiary education and research.
Visual arts
The Danish Arts Council's (Kunststyrelsen´s) Committee for International Visual Art (Det internationale billedkunstudvalg) realises international activities in the field of the visual arts and provides international information on Danish visual arts. The Committee for International Visual Art:
- selects Danish artists for exhibition in the Danish pavilion at the Venice biennale;
- selects Danish artists for exhibition at the Sao Paulo biennale;
- selects, on the basis of applications, Danish artists for the Committee's residency programmes in Los Angeles, New York, Berlin, Istanbul and Cuba;
- selects, on the basis of applications, foreign artists for the Danish Arts Council's residency programme in Denmark, DIVA; and
- initiates new joint projects with international partners.
Furthermore the Danish Arts Foundation's (Statens Kunstfond´s) Committee for Visual Arts (Billedkunstudvalget) provides grants to individual artists for international purposes.
Film
The film agreement from 2010 covers the period 2011-2014. Three new elements have emerged: Globalisation, digitalisation and economic considerations. In terms of globalisation, it is recommended that Danish films will be even more active and constructive on the international film scene - at the same time as the need is identified to continue producing films in Danish targeted at the Danish public. Digitalisation is seen as an opportunity in terms of production and distribution, but the agreement is attentive towards challenges that these processes pose to Danish cinemas. Danish film faces constant competition from abroad and the agreement sees this as an opportunity to develop new business models. The challenge is in striking a good balance between private capital, contributions from the TV stations and public support from the Danish Film Institute.
The main points of the film agreement 2011-2014 are:
- Sound and sustainable environment for film production. The Danish Film Institute is supposed to support 60-75 feature films that have a Danish main sponsor. The films are supposed to be in Danish (4-8 are allowed to be aimed at an international public). During this period, 120-140 documentaries are to be supported. The TV stations are also active in financial contributions to Danish films. The model is therefore that the Danish film Institute and a TV station (DR or TV2) are supposed to ensure that the major part of financing comes through these institutions.
- Flexible and adaptable support system. The Danish Film Institute is supposed to give at least 673 million DKK to development, production and dissemination of feature films. The TV stations DR and TV 2 are supposed to contribute 53 million each. There are still two different support agreements, one for films with artistic qualities and one for films that have potential to attract large audiences.
- Long-term investment in Danish talent. In total 147 million DKK will be allocated to developing talent.
- Strengthening of Danish computer games. 20 million DKK will be allocated to developing Danish games as a viable alternative to foreign games. This will be done partly by continuing the Nordic Computer Games programme which is administered from the Nordic Council of Ministers.
- Balancing the cinema sector. This is mainly a reaction to digitalisation. Smaller cinema theatres in particular are challenged by investing in tools to screen digital films in good quality and each cinema can receive assistance of 200.000 DKK.
- Marketing of Danish film abroad. Danish films are a strong brand in the international film world and the film agreement puts focus on keeping this position.
- Vivid and manifold film culture. The agreement wants to support a vivid film culture by for instance supporting film festivals in Denmark.
The Committee for Film and Theatre (Film- og scenekunstudvalget) and the Danish Art Foundation (Statens Kunstfond) support and stimulate individual film directors international exchange, studies etc. through travel grants etc.
Music
- The Danish Arts Council's (Kunststyrelsens) Committee for Music (Kunstrrådets Musikudvalg) works to support, consolidate and raise the profile of Danish musical life internationally, e.g. as co-ordinator and medium for a number of musical activities abroad.
- Furthermore, the two Danish Arts Foundation´s (Statens Kunstfond´s), the Committee for Classical Music (Tonekunstudvalget for den klassiske musik) and the Committee for Popular Music (Tonekunstudvalget for den rytmiske musik) support international cultural co-operation within the area of music for individual composers.
- The Danish Arts Council's Music Committee has formulated an overall strategy and vision for international music exchange. The goal is to promote Danish music internationally, primarily rock and pop music, but also other genres. A new focus in this strategy is also to enhance management and marketing.
- The organisation Music Export Denmark, or MXD (http://www.mxd.dk), has been supported by the Ministry of Culture since 2004 for international tours and projects within rock / pop, and organised Danish presentations in international rock / pop festivals and trade fairs.
- The Danish Rock Council (ROSA, Dansk Rock Samråd)promotes Danish rock music and related genres abroad and handles co-operation between the Danish and the international rock music scene. These networking activities are financed by the Danish Arts Council's Music Committee (Kunstrådets Musikudvalg). ROSA organises and participates in Danish music presentations abroad and international visits to Denmark by promoters, journalists and musicians.
- The Danish Centre for Culture and Development (Center for Kultur og Udvikling) works to implement and support musical exchange projects between Denmark and the developing countries.
Performing arts
The Committee for Film and Theatre (Film- og Scenekunstudvalg) and the Danish Art Foundation (Statens Kunstfond) support and stimulate individual performing art directors to participate in international exchange, studies etc. through travel grants etc.
The Committee for the Performing Arts administrated by theDanish Arts Council (Kunstrådets Scenekunstudvalg) co-ordinates a number of international activities in the field of performing arts and provides support for guest performances by Danish theatrical companies abroad etc.
Cultural heritage
The International Council of Museums Denmark (ICOM) is the Danish national committee of the international museum organisation ICOM. The purpose of ICOM Denmark is to manage and facilitate communication between the Danish members and the international organisation.
ICOM Denmark cooperates with the Danish department of UNESCO.
Additional resources:
Mobility trends and case studies
Examples of mobility schemes for artists and cultural professionals in Denmark