Cultural, media and sports cooperation with countries in the South

On Friday 2 December Torbjørn Urfjell, political adviser to International Development Minister Erik Solheim, will launch a new Norwegian strategy for international cultural and sports cooperation. The launch will take place at UNESCO headquarters in Paris at 10.00. More than a hundred delegates from all over the world are expected to attend.

This new cooperation will have a budget of about NOK 160 million (approximately EUR 20 million) a year and will include cultural exchanges and support for the establishment and strengthening of viable cultural sectors in developing countries.

“Whereas the previous government got feedback from the Norwegian cultural and sports sectors, we will get feedback from our partner countries in the South when we launch our strategy in Paris. This makes the launch particularly exciting,” said Mr Urfjell.

The main points of the strategy are:

• Norwegian cultural, media and sports institutions will be given a bigger role in supporting exchanges between actors in Norway and in developing countries.
• The strategy is will also mean increased direct support for the cultural sector in Norway’s partner countries in order to promote a dynamic cultural and sports sector.
• The strategy aims to introduce sport as a component in development cooperation in the sectors of health and education, and in efforts to promote peace and reconciliation.

Press contact: Maria Gabrielsen, mobile: 0033 618600161