Switzerland acceded to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) on the 18th of June 1992. This one guarantees economic, social and cultural human rights. One of them is the right to education and the right to take part in cultural life.
Therefore, promoting the arts and culture is part of the fundamental right of expressing oneself. It is part of what contributes to the formation of society and State, as well as encouraging innovation and forward-thinking on new technologies, new media, and the place of new generations. Art. 16 of the federal constitution guarantees freedom of expression. Art. 21 guarantees freedom of art.
Directly under the main topic of Cultural Participation are the notions of cultural rights and equal access to culture. In 2019, the National Dialogue published a handbook, in which this issue is closely examined through different lenses and challenges. This is already a priority in the Swiss landscape and will be one of the main issues for the coming period; both in the area of social cohesion and in modernising what access to culture means.
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