Luxembourg

Last update: February, 2023

The governmental programme makes it clear that culture must have a more important and transversal place within the education system.[1] This also concerns heritage-related education especially taking into account that a large part of the population is not at all or very little familiar with the history of Luxembourg and the richness of Luxembourg's cultural heritage, calling for strengthened (incl. digital) transmission from museums, cultural institutes or religious communities holding often unknown cultural treasures, in collaboration with education and research institutions.[2]

Similarly, KEP has identified important challenges and given a lot of attention to cultural and arts education. It has, among others, called to “Reserve a more important place for artistic and cultural education in teaching by promoting a transversal approach” and to “Offer cultural mediation training to teachers during the pedagogical internship and strengthen this offer in other continuing education” in Recommendations N^o 42 and 44, respectively.[3]

Many cultural institutions and other cultural structures have developed the educational component in their cultural programming. Indeed, through new agreements signed with the ministry of Culture (since 2014), the educational component is part of the missions of most cultural institutions, thereby ensuring the long-term development of educational programs.[4]

Also, an inter-ministerial working group between the ministry of National Education, Children and Youth and the ministry of Culture was set up in 2016. The ministry of National Education, Children and Youth, is an essential partner of the ministry of Culture.[5] The KEP has nevertheless called for further “strengthening of exchanges and collaborations between the ministry of National Education, Children and Youth and the ministry of Culture” in Recommendation N^o 41.[6]

The ministry of Education “encourages and actively supports cultural projects and initiatives of educational interest. Every year a cultural heritage week is organised in Luxembourg’s public schools. A wide range of projects and materials is also developed by the ministry of Education’s Service de coordination de la recherche et de l'innovation pédagogiques et technologiques (www.script.lu) to promote education to and through culture among young people of all age groups”[7] in a holistic approach and often in cooperation with cultural actors. The SCRIPT also collaborates with Esch, European Capital of Culture 2022 in terms of outreach and in order to propose a coherent programme that can also be transposed later on to other regions in the country.

[1] Les partis de la coalition DP, LSAP et déi gréng (2018) Accord de coalition 2018-2023, p. 84.

[2] Les partis de la coalition DP, LSAP et déi gréng (2018) Accord de coalition 2018-2023, p. 87-88.

[3] Kulturentwécklungsplang 2018-2028, p. 147.

[4] Kulturentwécklungsplang 2018-2028, p. 144.

[5] Kulturentwécklungsplang 2018-2028, p. 144.

[6] Kulturentwécklungsplang 2018-2028, p. 147.

[7] https://men.public.lu/en/themes-transversaux/themes-pedagogiques/education-culturelle.html; Accessed 18 November 2021.

Last update: February, 2023

The analysis done for KEP has concluded that the place artistic and cultural education occupies in school programs as insufficient[1], though many of the measures put in place by the SCRIPT have in the meantime addressed this topic in national primary and secondary education.

Music education is strongly supported, with around 18,000 students taught by 750 music teachers[2] learning at various local courses, in three conservatories, eight music schools, four regional music schools in agreement with UGDA and more than 25 music courses provided by UGDA.[3]. Nevertheless, both the governmental coalition programme and the KEP have called for significant improvements in music education. The government programme 2018-2023 foresees the reform of the law on music education (now in realisation) with the objective to strengthen the role of music as a cultural vector and to facilitate access to music lessons for children and young people, guaranteeing access to music education for the entire resident population, and improvement of cooperation between music schools and conservatories and educational and childcare establishments. Assuming that every student should have access to free music lessons, free admission to the first years of music education has been introduced in 2022 in consultation with music schools and conservatories and municipalities throughout the country. In addition, the fees among the different music schools will be harmonized to guarantee equality for students wishing to participate in music lessons.[4] For instance, individuals can benefit from public financial aid to attend a music school.[5]

More generally, artistic education forms part of the school curricula, though at different degrees depending on the level and the subdivision in the secondary education. In classical secondary education for instance, students can chose between eight thematic sections to pursue their baccalaureate, amongst them a section “Arts” and a section “Music”. In general secondary education, students can continue with the initial vocational training in one of five streams, notably an “arts stream” (the oldest such school, the Lycée des Arts et Métiers, was founded in 1896 and offers courses namely in animation drawing, graphic director, cinema and audiovisual, game art and art design).

Private schools such offer rich arts programmes, often linked to international opportunities for their students, from participating in a Luxembourg-British drawing class to earning a certificate from the esteemed London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA).

[1] Kulturentwécklungsplang 2018-2028, p. 145.

[2] https://men.public.lu/en/actualites/communiques-conference-presse/2021/05/210504-bachelor-enseignement-musical.html; Accessed 18 November 2021.

[3] Kulturentwécklungsplang 2018-2028, p. 145.

[4] Les partis de la coalition DP, LSAP et déi gréng (2018) Accord de coalition 2018-2023, p. 89.

[5] See more: https://www.ugda.lu/fr/ecole-de-musique/enseignement-musical/aide-etatique

Last update: February, 2023

Due to the size of the country, programmes for higher arts education are rather limited in Luxembourg. Hence, a large part of academic training of Luxembourg-based art and culture professionals is taking place abroad (for instance, a recent survey among jazz artists has revealed that as much as 68% of them had studied abroad[1]), with specific documentation and brochures on culture and arts studies abroad available at the Centre for Documentation and Information on Higher Education (www.cedies.lu).

Consequently, the KEP has called for “Reflection on the development of cultural training at the University of Luxembourg” in recommendation N^o 46. In terms of music education, for which the demand has been booming in the country, some progress has already been made and a new bachelor's degree in music education for academic year 2021/2022 was set up by the University of Luxembourg, in collaboration with the three conservatories of the country (http://bem.uni.lu). It will provide quality training for future teachers and ensure the recruitment of new teachers for the needs of music education establishments in Luxembourg.[2]

The University of Luxembourg is also stepping up research on culture within its Institut d’Études Romanes, Médias et Arts (IRMA) and the Luxembourg Centre for Contemporary and Digital History (C²DH), notably in the context of a collaboration with Esch2022 European Capital of Culture[3].

[1] Manuel Ribeiro (2021) Jazz Music Panorama in Luxembourg, https://www.kulturlx.lu/en/panorama-category/jazz-music/; Accessed 18 November 2021.

[2] https://men.public.lu/en/actualites/communiques-conference-presse/2021/05/210504-bachelor-enseignement-musical.html; Accessed 18 November 2021.

[3] https://wwwen.uni.lu/c2dh/news_events/university_launches_a_website_for_its_esch2022_projects; Accessed 22 November 2021.

Last update: February, 2023

While the KEP calls to “Consider, develop and further promote non-formal artistic and cultural education” (Recommendation N^o 43[1]), there are many initiatives that promote arts and cultural engagement and learning out-of-schools, be it by major cultural institutions (Casino’s Scol’Art, MUDAM’s school programme and Mudam Akademie, MNHA’s Luxembourg for Kids, MNHN’s Young Audiences), at the municipal level (e.g. Creativity School) or by associations (e.g. Up Foundation).

In the online sphere, eduart.lu is the official web platform for art education in Luxembourg, which “offers the general public, the school public (pupils and teachers) and any other art lover a showcase of all possible facets of the branch. Visitors will find useful links to the official sites of Ministry of national education and of high schools as well as national and regional cultural institutions. Educational content developed by the Luxembourg teaching community can be consulted and/or downloaded and serves as creative inspiration.”[2]

[1] Kulturentwécklungsplang 2018-2028, p. 147.

[2] https://schouldoheem.lu/en/activites/eduartlu; Accessed 18 November 2021.

Last update: February, 2023

Whereas professional arts and culture education is not extensively developed (see point 5.3.), there is quite an offer in the framework of life-long learning with the ministry of Education’s adult education catalogue. It lists courses in a wide range of domains, from woodworking and ceramics, to sculpture and music, provided by a range of organisations throughout the country: local communes, public and private schools, associations and companies. Similarly, more than 80 training courses in "Arts and Crafts" are offered by eight training providers listed at www.lifelong-learning.lu, the portal for lifelong learning.

Continuous vocational and professional training is available at House of Training, an organisation created in 2015 by the Chamber of Commerce and the Luxembourg Bankers’ Association (ABBL). Nevertheless, only few of its programmes are targeted to the cultural and creative sector (https://www.houseoftraining.lu/en_GB/training/domain/culture-creativity-377) and are being held by the ministry of Culture in partnership with the Œuvre Nationale de Secours Grande-Duchesse Charlotte.

Other training offers are of a more punctual nature, such as the training cycle for architects and engineers by OAI (federative organisation for five liberal professions, www.oai) and the UNESCO Site management on the subjects: « Comment choisir les matériaux pour une restauration réussie », « Restaurer des immeubles en zones protégées » ; « Visite guidée de la ville de Luxembourg - focus sur le projet d’éclairage ». The National UNESCO Commission also occasionally proposes classes, such as « Initiation au patrimoine « Luxembourg, vieux quartiers et fortifications » in the context of the «  Public History » course at the University of Luxembourg.[1] Within the University of Luxembourg, the Faculty of Law, Economics and Finance – in association with the Christie’s Education London – has developed an academic training programme targeting professionals active in (or contemplating a career in) the art world willing to improve their knowledge of the financial, legal, accounting, tax and logistics aspects of art related transactions.[2] Furthermore, via its Competence Centre [3], the University has organised a new for-credit continuing education programme on art investing in the context of Luxembourg High Security Hub.

[1] Rapport d'activité du Ministère de la Culture 2020, p. 82. Accessible at: https://data.public.lu/fr/datasets/rapports-dactivite-du-ministere-de-la-culture/#_

[2] https://www.abbl.lu/events/owning-and-investing-in-art-opportunities-challenges-and-risks/; Accessed 18 November 2021.

[3] https://www.abbl.lu/events/owning-and-investing-in-art-opportunities-challenges-and-risks/; Accessed 18 November 2021.