Norway/ 4.2 Specific policy issues and recent debates  

4.2.8 Social cohesion and cultural policies

To democratise culture has been a central aim of Norwegian cultural policy as long as the public authorities have had an active cultural policy. The ambition has been to ensure that the socio-economic background or geographical place of residence is no obstacle to participation in cultural activities. Similar to many other countries, the strategy for culture and social cohesion in Norway changed from the "democratisation of culture" to "cultural democracy" during the 1970s. Today, it is more accurate to describe the strategy as a combination of the two. During the last few years, cultural diversity has been given more attention in the cultural policy in Norway. Connected with the Norwegian Year of Cultural Diversity in 2008, the Minister of Culture proclaimed that cultural institutions with permanent governmental funding should be evaluated with regard to the extent to which they initiate and accomplish measures that aim to promote cultural diversity.

The Minister of Culture has emphasised social inclusion as one the most important target areas in the years to come. In 2011, a white paper on culture and social inclusion is expected.

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