1 Background and summary of the content

1.1 The Cultural Initiative and the value of a cultural policy for children and youth

The Government’s goal is that Norway should be a leading cultural nation in which culture and the arts form an important part of every sector of society. The policy objective is that 1% of the national budget should be allocated to cultural purposes by 2014. By increasing support for cultural activities the Government wishes to place culture and the arts at the centre of Norwegian social development.

One of the Government’s main objectives is to provide favourable conditions for artistic creativity and cultural expression. The goal is that everyone should have the opportunity to appreciate culture and the arts and to express themselves through different forms of art and culture irrespective of gender, place of residence, and social or economic background. Culture and the arts are resources that should be available to all.

Art challenges established thinking and provide alternative ways of looking at the world. Appreciating art and culture plays a significant part in the development of the individual’s personality and quality of life. Art, culture and the cultural heritage help to form our sense of identity – who we are and where we come from. This is not only valuable for the individual, it also plays a decisive role in the development of a society.

Art, design, entertainment and appreciation of cultural activities are also important for economic growth, innovation and value creation. There is an increasing demand in the business sector for culture-related values, such as creativity, new ideas, a sense of curiosity and flexibility.

Children and youth should have access to cultural activities in the same way as adults. Contact with culture and the arts throughout childhood can give children knowledge and experience that will stimulate their own creativity and increase their ability to evaluate the various forms of cultural expression. Understanding artistic expressions is often a learning process, and children must be given the opportunity to develop an appreciation of a broad range of cultural expressions, so that they are equipped to meet the challenges of the knowledge-based society.

The Government’s cultural policy for children and youth has a number of tools, such as Frifond (the allocation from Norsk Tipping, the state-owned gaming company, to voluntary work targeted at children and youth), the musical workshops scheme for jazz, rock, folk music and world music activities, the youth and student card giving discounts for cultural events, and grants for the purchase of musical instruments for school bands. The main policy instruments are the municipal schools of music and the arts, the Norwegian Youth Festivals of Art, and the Cultural Rucksack.

These three instruments have different objectives. The municipal schools of music and the arts are intended to give children an opportunity to learn about creative and performance music and other art forms as a supplement to the school syllabus for aesthetic subjects. The Youth Festivals of Art is a nation-wide cultural programme aimed at stimulating creativity and cultural activity among children and youth. Through regional and local festivals children and young people can take part in cultural activities and meet others in their age group with the same interests. The Cultural Rucksack is a national programme for culture and the arts for schools that is at the core of the Government’s policy for making culture and the arts available to all children and youth. It is intended to allow school pupils to become familiar with, understand and appreciate different forms of artistic and cultural expression at the professional level.

Thus in the municipal music and arts schools the emphasis is on learning , in the festivals it is on activity and in the Cultural Rucksack it is on appreciation . This means that the three programmes are able to supplement and reinforce each other. Close cooperation and a clear division of roles simplify the organisation of these programmes and support the role of culture and the arts in children’s and young people’s lives.

1.2 The Knowledge Promotion Reform and the school as a cultural arena

The purpose of the school is to learn and develop coping skills. The teaching is intended to equip children for working life and social participation, and give them the necessary knowledge to be able to cope with changing circumstances and an unpredictable future. Schooling is based on the acquisition of knowledge in a broad sense, with an emphasis on creativity and originality.

The Knowledge Promotion Reform for all school levels (see the White Paper A Culture for Learning , Report No. 30 (2003–2004) to the Storting, and the Curriculum for the Knowledge Promotion Reform, 2006) was introduced in 2006. The goal is that all pupils should develop the necessary basic capability and competence for active participation in society. The Norwegian school is inclusive, and is intended to give all children the opportunity to develop their abilities. The reform emphasises the principle of differentiated teaching and attaches more importance to learning. Culture and the arts are a means to this end.

The reform laid down a new national curriculum for primary and lower secondary school, which consists of three parts: a general part, a part dealing with the principles on which the teaching should be based, and a specific part, outlining the new curriculum for each subject, which includes the learning goals for that subject.

Part 1 sets out the overall objectives of the teaching, and the values, basic knowledge and understanding of the country’s culture that the pupils should learn. A whole section is devoted to “The human being’s natural creativity”. The emphasis is on creativity, intellectual curiosity and a scientific working method. The pupils should be given the opportunity to experience and appreciate different forms of artistic expression and to explore and express their own creativity. The teaching should show how human imagination, originality and inventiveness have shaped the conditions under which we live and the content of our lives.

Part 2 sets out the principles on which the teaching is based. It states that:

In order for the pupils to develop the cultural competence necessary for participation in a multicultural society, the teaching should aim to give them knowledge of different cultures and allow them to experience a broad range of cultural expressions. The teaching should promote cultural understanding and encourage the development of self-insight, a sense of identity, and the qualities of respect and tolerance. The pupils should become acquainted with forms of art and culture that have an original perspective but also those that show community between peoples, and that stimulate the children’s imagination and creativity. They should also be given the opportunity to use their own powers of inventiveness, imagination and originality in different activities and in different forms. This will form a basis for reflection, spontaneity and the expression of feeling.

The reform has resulted in a number of changes in school structure, organisation, content and educational philosophy. It makes great demands on the pupils in terms of capabilities and knowledge, but at the same time it frees the schools to differentiate their teaching so as to enable all pupils to attain the school’s goals. This has resulted in more varied ways of working, which also make good use of culture and the arts.

The Norwegian Centre for Art and Culture in Education was established in January 2007, as part of Bodø University College. Its main objective is to strengthen the position of culture and the arts in teaching and to build competence in this field in schools and day-care institutions. The target groups are preschool teachers, teachers in aesthetic subjects at schools and teacher’s training colleges, school owners, students, researchers and developers of teaching aids. The work of the Centre is based on research and development projects carried out in close contact with students and teachers. This is described in more detail in Chapter 5.2.2.

In spring 2007 the Ministry of Education and Research published the strategic plan Creative Learning – Art and Culture in Education 2007–2010 . The plan’s main objective is to develop creativity, competence in culture and the arts, and the aesthetic sense among children, pupils, students, and staff in day-care institutions, schools, and institutions of higher education. The plan sets out 27 measures. Many of them are targeted at cooperation between the education and cultural sectors in general, and the development of the Cultural Rucksack in particular. The Directorate for Education and Training has the main responsibility for implementing the plan and the Centre for Art and Culture in Education will play a central role in these efforts.

1.3 Background for the Cultural Rucksack

In accordance with cultural and school policy over the last few decades, increasing efforts have been made to bring children and youth in contact with art and culture provided by professionals. The White Paper on Culture for Our Time (Report No. 61 (1991–1992) to the Storting) emphasised that children and youth should be able to experience professional art and culture and make use of their own cultural resources. An action plan drawn up by the Ministry of Education and Research and the Ministry of Culture in 1996, on aesthetic subjects and the cultural dimension of the school, advocated closer cooperation between the school and the cultural sector. The National Curriculum for Primary and Lower Secondary Schools of 1997 (L97) emphasised the importance of school as a place where children and youth could encounter art and culture of high quality provided by professionals, and where their own activities in this field would be encouraged.

Over the last 15 years a number of counties and municipalities have developed coordinated cultural programmes for primary and lower-secondary school pupils. Most of the state-financed cultural institutions also offer cultural activities for this group on a systematic basis.

1.3.1 Allocations to the Cultural Rucksack over the government budget

In 2001 the Cultural Rucksack received a separate allocation for the first time over the budget of the Ministry of Culture, which was mainly inspired by existing local and regional programmes in this field. The allocation amounted to NOK 17 million and was a supplement to the ordinary allocations to institutions with cultural promotion activities for children and youth. The Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development allocated a further NOK 1.6 million to Kulturskatten i Telemark, which is responsible for the Cultural Rucksack in Telemark County, and the Ministry of Education and Research allocated NOK 5 million to competence-building for teachers in connection with the programme. Thus a total of NOK 23.6 million was allocated to the Cultural Rucksack over the 2001 government budget.

A steering group and a working group were appointed for the Cultural Rucksack, and the working group drew up a plan for the development of the programme based on the national curriculum L97. Large-scale development projects were initiated in nine counties and smaller projects in a further nine. Some of the funds were also used for developing productions and cultural presentations for primary and lower secondary schools.

In 2002 NOK 12.3 million was allocated to the Cultural Rucksack over the government budget. The funds were mainly administered at the regional level and used for introducing or strengthening productions and cultural presentations in primary and lower secondary schools.

In the government budget for 2003, NOK 12.8 million was allocated to the working group so that it could continue its coordination, administration and information efforts. The major part of the allocation, NOK 10 million, was used for developing and supporting programmes of activities for children at 20 museums of various kinds in different parts of the country.

In the 2004 government budget no funds were allocated to the Cultural Rucksack; instead allocations were made directly to the 20 museums involved in the programme in the form of permanent grants. The letters of allotment stipulated that the museums should organise activity weeks in connection with the Cultural Rucksack.

1.3.2 Introduction of a new allocation key in 2003

Since 2003 the Cultural Rucksack has received a considerable amount of funding from the surplus earned by Norsk Tipping. This was made possible by a recommendation from the Standing Committee on Family and Cultural Affairs proposing an amendment to the Act of 28 August 1992, No. 103, relating to gaming.

In accordance with the amendment, the share of the surplus allocated for sport and cultural purposes was increased over three years, so that as from 2005 half went to sport and half to culture, instead of one-third to each. Two-thirds of the funds for cultural purposes were to be distributed by the Storting and one-third by a Royal Decree every year. Of the funds distributed by Royal Decree, 40% were to be allocated the Cultural Rucksack, 30% to cultural buildings and 30% to the Frifond scheme.

The new allocation key meant that the Cultural Rucksack could be enlarged and expanded. Since 2005 the Norsk Tipping allocation for the programme has remained at about NOK 160 million. The implementation and expansion phases were completed in 2006, when the programme was established on a permanent basis. It is a principle of the programme that the funds allocated from Norsk Tipping may not be used for administration or competence-building, but only for cultural activities that will benefit the individual pupils.

Distribution of Norsk Tipping funds in 2007

In 2007 80% of these funds, or NOK 134 million, went to local and regional activities. NOK 122 million was distributed via the counties to the Cultural Rucksack in primary and lower secondary schools, NOK 6 million to a pilot project in upper secondary schools and NOK 6 million to the six Norwegian science centres. The funds to the counties are distributed according to a key based on pupil numbers, geographical distances and the cultural infrastructure in the county.

Twenty per cent of the funds are allocated to national measures for promoting art forms that face special challenges. In 2007 this amounted to NOK 33 million, which was distributed between music, film, theatre and the visual arts. This is dealt with in more detail in chapter 7.1 below.

1.3.3 The White Paper on the Cultural Rucksack, and its implementation

In spring 2003 the Government presented its White Paper on the Cultural Rucksack (Report No. 38 (2002–2003) to the Storting). The White Paper described the background for the introduction of the programme, the programme objectives and the values on which it is based. It identified the challenges facing the schools and the cultural sector when introducing and developing the programme under the new system established when they received the Norsk Tipping allocation for the first time. The White Paper was one of the basic documents during the expansion phase of the programme up to 2006. The Cultural Rucksack was also discussed in the White Paper on art and culture in schools ((Report No. 39 (2002–2003) to the Storting)).

In its deliberations on the White Paper, the Storting requested the Government to conduct an evaluation of the Cultural Rucksack during spring 2006 and lay the evaluation report before the Storting.

The Storting also decided that the larger part of the funds should be used for providing opportunities for children to appreciate culture, and requested the Government to evaluate how this could best be achieved and submit the results to the Storting. The Storting also requested the Government to allocate funds to Rikskonsertene – the Norwegian Concert Institute, for the purpose of expanding the school concerts programme.

In the budget proposal for 2005 the Government allocated 80% of the allocation to the Cultural Rucksack to activities at regional and local levels and 20% to those at national level. The counties were given the responsibility for coordinating the distribution of the funds to the various regional and local activities. They were to allocate one-third of the funds directly to the municipalities, one-third to regional activities, and one-third as the county considered appropriate (see also chapter 5.3).

At the national level, Rikskonsertene received funding for expanding its activities to cover the whole country. Funds were also allocated to national projects in the fields of theatre, the visual arts and film. As from the school year 2005–2006 a pilot scheme was introduced, whereby municipalities with more than 30 000 inhabitants could on request receive a direct transfer of the funds allocated by the county to be used for presentations of culture to schoolchildren, based on pupil numbers.

The task of evaluating the Cultural Rucksack was put out to competitive tender in autumn 2006, and the evaluation report was submitted in September 2006. The present White Paper presents the report and the responses from the public consultation. It discusses the challenges revealed by the evaluation and the responses, and makes recommendations for how the problems can be solved by the various actors involved in the programme. It also contains proposals for expanding the programme to cover upper secondary schools and how this can be financed.

1.4 Definition of culture, art and quality

The definition of “culture” has varied throughout history. It also varies according to context and the purpose for which it is being defined. The term culture can be used in a broad and in a narrow sense. In its broadest sense it refers to a set of values, norms, knowledge, symbols and forms of expression that are common to a group of people or a community. In its narrow sense it refers to activities in cultural life covered by cultural policy when considered as a separate sector. An important aspect of culture is that the individual is part of a large or small community of identity and community of meaning that develop through interaction between the members and with outsiders.

The concept of art also has different meanings. There is not always a clear division between what is considered to be art and what is not; forms of artistic expression may alter suddenly and radically. Art can be defined as any form of aesthetic expression that is in constant change, that gives rise to an experience of some kind and that challenges accepted ideas. An individual’s understanding of art is formed through childhood experience, education and participation in social and cultural life.

The term “quality” is relative, but not subjective. Quality in a work of art or a cultural expression is not determined by individual likes or dislikes but by its content and use. Thus a work of art may be of high quality in one situation and of low quality in another, but the decision as to its quality is objective in both cases. In a changing society, art, and what is considered to be good art at any given time, will also change. Thus quality is not a static concept. There is no particular set of criteria that applies in every case, but there are a number of criteria that can be combined in different ways, and that may even be in conflict with one another. However, quality is one of the first requirements for a cultural activity to be given priority under the Government’s cultural policy.

1.5 Content of the present White Paper

Chapter 1: Background and content

• The Cultural Initiative is the basis for the White Paper. The Government’s goal is that Norway should be a leading cultural nation in which culture and the arts form an important part of every sector of society.

• Everyone should have the opportunity to appreciate culture and the arts and express themselves through these media irrespective of gender, place of residence, and social and economic background.

• Children and youth should have access to cultural activities in the same way as adults.

• Understanding art and cultural expressions is often a learning process, and children must be given an opportunity to develop an appreciation of a broad range of cultural expressions, so that they are equipped to meet the challenges of the knowledge-based society.

• The main building blocks of the Government’s cultural policy are the municipal schools of music and the arts, the Norwegian Youth Festivals of Art and the Cultural Rucksack. In the municipal music and arts schools the emphasis is on learning, in the festivals it is on activity and in the Cultural Rucksack it is on appreciation.

• The first time funds were allocated to the Cultural Rucksack was in the government budget for 2001. The allocation was a supplement to allocations to existing institutions that made culture available to children.

• As from 2003 the Cultural Rucksack received a share of the funds allocated to culture from the surplus earned by Norsk Tipping. The amount, NOK 160 million a year, has remained approximately the same since 2005. These funds are distributed every spring through a Royal Decree.

• The basic document for the Cultural Rucksack during the expansion phase was the White Paper dealing with the programme. When the White Paper was debated, the Storting decided that the Government should have the programme evaluated in spring 2006 and lay the evaluation report before the Storting.

• The evaluation was put out to competitive tender in autumn 2005. The tender was won by NIFU STEP, which submitted its report in September 2006.

• The report, together with the responses to the subsequent public consultation, is discussed in the present White Paper. This White Paper also deals with the further development of the Cultural Rucksack, including its expansion to cover upper secondary schools.

Chapter 2: Evaluation of the Cultural Rucksack

• The evaluation report stated that there is some tension between the school and cultural sectors, related to the terms of reference, objectives, financing, organisation, structure and definitions of content and quality.

• The report stated that the organisation is too complicated, and that the system is poorly understood at every organisational level.

• The report discussed various ways of presenting culture to schoolchildren.

• It was pointed out that there is no standardised system of reporting, which makes it difficult to follow the flow of funds.

• In some cases the consultation bodies did not agree with the conclusions in the evaluation report concerning the successfulness of the programme.

• The majority of the consultation bodies expressed satisfaction with the fact that the current structure facilitates local activity, influence and ownership. A large majority declared that they saw no need for any major organisational changes.

• The consultation bodies emphasised that the terms of reference need to be clarified and a clear division of work established between the school and cultural sectors.

• Many of the consultation bodies considered that a clearer reporting system was needed, together with contractual standards and a standardised system for remuneration, per diem allowances and transport.

• Many of the consultation bodies emphasised the need for competence-building in connection with the production of cultural activities and the implementation of the programme.

• The Ministry of Culture has chosen to give greater weight to the comments of the consultation bodies than to the evaluation report. The Ministry notes that there has been a great improvement in the individual programmes of cultural activities available to schoolchildren, which have become better planned and more systematic. The Cultural Rucksack is in the main a successful and popular programme.

• On the basis of the public consultation the Ministry does not consider it necessary to make significant changes in the organisation of the programme.

• A number of improvements are needed. Objectives, principles and division of work between the school and the cultural sectors must be clarified. A better reporting system and more research and competence-building are required.

• Steps must be taken to ensure that the programme is well integrated with the school day.

Chapter 3: Objectives and principles

• The Cultural Rucksack is intended to enable pupils to come in contact with professional artists and others in the cultural sector.

• The programme should be based on both cultural policy and educational objectives.

• The objectives and principles of the Cultural Rucksack should be in line with the general school curriculum established by the Knowledge Promotion Reform.

• The Cultural Rucksack is not intended to be a replacement for aesthetic subjects taught by the school, but a supplement.

• Artists and cultural workers should not replace teachers but function in a purely artistic capacity.

• Local and regional room for action is one of the principles of the Cultural Rucksack. This ensures local enthusiasm, activity and involvement.

• It is important to ensure that pupils with disabilities are also able to take part in the Cultural Rucksack. The school is responsible for making this possible. The county or municipality also has a responsibility in its capacity as school owner.

• It is important to conduct a dialogue with schools before the Cultural Rucksack is introduced, in which the individual school is informed of the programme content and what action it needs to take in order to facilitate implementation of the programme.

Chapter 4: Content and quality of the Cultural Rucksack – status and further development

• The Cultural Rucksack is intended to ensure that school pupils are able to enjoy art and culture provided by professionals.

• Artists and cultural workers in and outside institutions who are involved in the Cultural Rucksack should provide cultural productions of a professional standard.

• The quality of art and cultural productions should be assessed within a qualified professional framework.

• Counties, and municipalities to which responsibility has been delegated, should ensure that productions under their auspices are subject to such quality assurance.

• The Cultural Rucksack should encompass all forms of artistic expression. Counties, and municipalities to which responsibility has been delegated, should ensure this.

• Culture and the arts should be presented in different forms. The cultural sector should continually revise forms of cultural production and develop new ones.

• For each field of culture there should be a national coordinator who is responsible for the activities of a cultural network, facilitate competence-building and provide advice and guidance in the field. These coordinators may also initiate activities and productions for the Cultural Rucksack.

• It is difficult to establish fixed criteria for assessing quality. It is therefore important to have a running discussion of quality in both the education and the cultural sector.

• The educational sector, including the individual schools and their principals, must be informed of the content of the programme at an early stage. A close dialogue between the cultural and school sectors is important for sound planning.

• The school sector, including the individual schools and their principals, is responsible for ensuring that cultural activities are integrated with the school day, the general curriculum and the various subject curriculums. The school should ensure that preparation and follow-up are carried out in connection with cultural activities.

• The school and pupils should have the opportunity to give systematic feedback on each activity or project. The county authorities are responsible for reporting feedback to the Secretariat for the Cultural Rucksack.

• Cultural diversity should be a permanent dimension of the Cultural Rucksack.

• Sami culture should also be a permanent dimension. The Cultural Rucksack should be used actively to promote knowledge of Sami culture in southern Norway.

• Counties and municipalities should bear in mind the language policy aspect when planning activities for the Cultural Rucksack. Pupils speaking bokmål should also be given the opportunity to experience productions in nynorsk.

Chapter 5: Organisation of the Cultural Rucksack – status and further development

• The steering group, with members from the political leadership of the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Education and Research, will be continued.

• The Secretariat will be moved to the Ministry of Culture. The Ministry will ensure that the work of the Secretariat is linked with the Ministry’s other administrative tasks, give priority to culture for children and youth, and strengthen the link between the Cultural Rucksack and the cultural sector in general.

• The Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Education and Research will continue the effort to improve coordination between the cultural sector and the education sector at the national and local levels. As part of this effort it will assess the role that the Norwegian Centre for Art and Culture in Education should play in the Cultural Rucksack.

• The reference group for the Cultural Rucksack will be discontinued. Instead the Ministry of Culture will facilitate the establishment of a flexible system of discussion forums for particular issues, for example dialogue conferences, consultation meetings, brainstorming sessions and ad-hoc groups.

• The counties will continue to have a special responsibility for administering and allocating funds to the Cultural Rucksack.

• An application from a municipality for its share of the Norsk Tipping funds for the county to be transferred directly will be granted if it satisfies the requirements for implementation, quality assurance and reporting.

Chapter 6: Special priorities for the further development of the Cultural Rucksack

• Expansion to upper secondary school: the Cultural Rucksack is to be expanded to include upper secondary school, and will therefore be available to a further 180 000 pupils. Since the counties are responsible for schools at this level, the most practical course would be to make the counties also responsible for introducing the programme. This should be done in close contact with the schools, whose wishes will also be taken into account.

• Better networks and meeting places: networks of national cultural institutions will be formalised. County networks will also be formalised, and efforts will be made to improve the functioning of networks within the various forms of art and culture. To ensure that cultural heritage is included in the Cultural Rucksack, steps will be taken to involve the cultural heritage authorities.

• Competence-building: competence-building is conducted in many different fields. With regard to the Cultural Rucksack, there will be a focus on competence-building in the implementation of cultural projects and the production of art and culture of a high quality. The principle that Norsk Tipping funds are not to be used for competence-building will be upheld.

• A strategy for research and evaluation: a strategy will be drawn up for including research and evaluation in the work of the Cultural Rucksack on a permanent basis.

• Better logistics and reporting systems: a set of obligatory reporting procedures will be developed that will provide more information on the quality, content and scope of the various programme activities. The logistics and reporting systems will be coordinated by the Archive, Library and Museum Authority.

• Employment contracts and transport: although the central government authorities should obviously not become involved in the details of employment contracts or transport arrangements, these need to be harmonised. The counties and municipalities should work on this.

• Gullsekken (the Golden Rucksack): this prize was awarded by the Cultural Rucksack for the first time in 2007. The award will be an annual event.

Chapter 7: Economic and administrative consequences

• The inclusion of upper secondary schools in the programme will require increased resources. In the present White Paper a new allocation key is proposed for the Norsk Tipping funds to the Cultural Rucksack.

• During the expansion period, the funds that have been earmarked for national activities, science centres and the upper secondary school pilot project (NOK 45 million) will be diverted to the efforts to include upper secondary schools.

• During the expansion period a sum corresponding to the amount currently allocated to national activities and science centres (NOK 39 million) will no longer be taken from Norsk Tipping funds but distributed over the budget for the Ministry of Culture.

• Institutions that currently receive state funding will continue to produce activities for the Cultural Rucksack even though they will no longer receive funds from Norsk Tipping. This requirement will be clearly stated in the allotment letter.

• A new allocation key will be introduced in 2009. The Government assumes that Norsk Tipping funds for the Cultural Rucksack will continue to be approximately the same as the 2008 allocation of NOK 167 million. If the amount turns out to be smaller with the new key, the efforts to include upper secondary school in the programme must be adapted accordingly.