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In the Finnish political system, the plenary sessions of the government (Council of State) and its standing committees and working groups have a strong role in controlling and guiding individual ministries and in co-ordinating their work. Inter-sectoral co-ordination has been perceived as an important issue, but few institutional mechanisms to maintain it have been introduced. Finnish EU-membership has also brought forth a need for inter-ministerial co-ordination. There is a special Committee of Ministers for the co-ordination of EU-affairs and, on the top civil servant level, an Inter-Ministerial Committee of EU-Affairs, with a number of sector specific preparative sub-committees, among them... read more →

Like the overall Finnish political and administrative system, the Finnish cultural policy system is simultaneously highly decentralised and highly centralised. This is due to the fact that the local government system is strong and autonomous. On the other hand, with the advent of the social welfare state, the main burden of maintaining modern public services including cultural services, were shouldered by municipalities; while the state set the legislative frameworks and was legislatively committed to compensate a statutory share of expenditure. In the late 1980s and in the 1990s, this system, which had earlier covered public libraries and adult education, was... read more →

The following organigram gives a detailed overview of the Finnish national system of cultural policy decision-making and administration in its wider administrative, political and social setting. The core of the system is the Department of Culture and Sports and Youth policies of the Ministry of Education and Culture. The organigram also depicts in detail the other core of the Ministry, Department for Education and Science Policy, which is responsible for general and professional education in the arts and culture.

The formation of Finnish national cultural policies from the mid-19th century to the late 20th century can be roughly divided into three stages: the period of the Patron State, from the 1860s to the 1960s;the arrival of the Welfare State and the articulation of explicit cultural policy objectives from the late 1960s to the 1980s; andthe move beyond the Welfare State in the late 1990s. Historically, four forces have shaped these developments: the civic movements which, despite linguistic and ideological divisions, contributed to the development of Finnish culture;the ambitions of the newly formed state to strengthen Finnish cultural identity, by... read more →

In 1996, the Parliament approved The Act on Non-Profit Organisations and Foundations, which gives NGOs, associations and foundations a clear legislative framework. The adoption in 2002 by the Parliament of the document The Conception for the Development of Civil Society in Estonia was expected to have the effect of making the project-funding and grant-making practices of the central and local governments more transparent and, thus, reducing the possibility of arbitrary decisions. The law requires for a NGO to have at least two founders or members. Since the 2000s, the number of NGOs started to grow rapidly and a non-governmental organisation... read more →

According to Estonian Statistics’ research, the total number in 2018 of amateurs participating in permanent hobby groups (choirs, folk dance ensembles, hobby theatres and -orchestras etc.) was 83 205 people. These amateurs are members of approximately 2 800 organisations and these organisations have about 4 790 conductors and coaches. Table 6: Participation in hobby groups, number of people 201020112012201320142015201620172018TOTAL83 79083 48784 81087 47689 96888 72988 72888 34283 205Hobby theatres5 6976 2506 2446 3436 5076 4966 2866 1615 442Choirs41 61940 04540 13242 34942 93840 41240 43740 17137 829Other vocal music3 3943 7273 8633 8594 1574 3544 2354 2223 962Wind orchestras3 0572 9262... read more →

Out-of-school activities and education is governed by the Hobby Schools Act (2007) and the Youth Work Act (1999). In 2006, the Government approved the Youth Work Strategy 2006-2013. The objective of the strategy was to devise and implement coordinated and purposeful actions following the actual needs and challenges of young people in different spheres of life. Youth work is one of the activity areas thereof besides education, culture, health care and other fields. In 2013, the Government approved the Youth Field Development Plan for 2014-2020. The general goal of the development plan is for young people to have wide opportunities... read more →

Higher education is primarily regulated by the Universities Act, the Institutions of Professional Higher Education Act, and the Private Schools Act. The Estonian higher education system is binary and consists of universities (ülikool) and professional higher education institutions (rakenduskõrgkool). All higher education organisations are under supervision of the Ministry of Education and Research. There are six universities under public law, one private university, eight state professional higher education institutions and five private professional higher education institutions in Estonia. Among the public universities, the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre, Estonian Academy of Arts, University of Tartu and Tallinn University offer... read more →

In the field of integration, diversity education is one important topic. It must be possible for Estonian-speaking children and children whose native language is not Estonian to study together in Estonia’s schools, to learn the Estonian language, while also preserving their own cultural identities. Due to the segregation of kindergartens and schools based on language, there are insufficient communication means, friends from different ethnic groups and joint activities developing in society. The national curricula for basic schools and upper secondary schools contain important themes related to fundamental human values and social values, such as freedom, democracy, respect for native language... read more →

The national curricula establish the standard for basic and general secondary education. The curricula are implemented in all basic and upper secondary schools of Estonia, regardless of the schools’ legal status, unless otherwise stipulated by the law. The curricula and requirements are set by the regulations of the Government. The subject field of art subjects comprises visual art and music, compulsory at all stages of basic education. Visual art and music are taught from the 1st to 9th grade. The design of required learning outcomes and contents in the subjects of the art field is based on the following division... read more →