http://www.culturalpolicies.net/_grafics/logoprintbw.gif
Report creation date: 14.10.2008 - 11:13
Countr(y/ies): The Netherlands
Chapter(s): 1,2,21,22,23,24,241,242,243,244,245,246,3,31,32,33,4,41,42,421,422,423,424,425,426,427,428,429,4210,43,5,51,511,512,513,514,515,516,517,518,519,52,53,531,532,533,534,535,536,537,538,539,5310,6,61,62,63,64,7,71,72,73,8,81,811,812,813,82,821,822,83,831,832,84,841,842,9,91,92

Netherlands/ 1. Historical perspective: cultural policies and instruments

Cultural policy in the Netherlands is based on the premise that the state should distance itself from value judgements on art and science. Artistic development has, therefore, been the result of the activities of private citizens and a large number of foundations many of them related to culture. Over the years, the government has gradually assumed the role of moderator of cultural activities, apart from being the largest patron for public art and culture. A Department for Art and Culture has been in existence since 1945. Until ten years ago, political responsibility lay in the hands of ministers. In 1994, the political responsibility for arts and cultural affairs was given to a State Secretary, in combination with media affairs.Amsterdam by Night

Until the 1970s, Dutch society was characterised by pillarisation. Different social groups, or pillars - liberal, socialist, catholic, protestant - expressed their ideology via their own means of transmission including specialised newspapers or broadcasting channels and amateur art organisations. This development, however, had little direct effect on professional artistic life.

The period of German occupation was followed by an extension of government support to new areas such as film, theatre and literature. Financial support was a token gesture in order to repair the disrupted relationship between the artist and society. At that time is was generally assumed that state aid to art and culture should be for a limited period of time. Just after 1950, the Arts Council was installed by the cabinet. 

In the 1960s, the ideological pillars gradually became less important in Dutch society. In order to support as many different individual expressions of culture as possible the government started to subsidise works based on new criteria - quality. The definition of quality was left to advisory committees. The goal was to achieve a nationwide cultural infrastructure to host a cultural supply of a rather standardised quality. To this end, the government changed the nature of its financing of arts and cultural supply from a temporary to a more permanent basis. Municipalities were involved in building local facilities.

In the 1970s, cultural policy became an increasing part of the government's welfare policy. The benefit and relevance of culture to society as a whole became a priority, notably in terms of cultural participation. The social role of culture was perceived on both the levels of social class and geographical spread.

The economic stagnation of the early 1980s meant that the government had to reconsider its tasks in various fields, including culture. Two movements began in the field of cultural policy: on the one hand, the government continued to fund cultural institutions that could guarantee high artistic quality and professionalism. On the other hand, the state aimed at keeping public spending within specific boundaries. A question mark was placed against the reliance of cultural institutions on public funding when budget funding replaced operating subsidies. Institutions were now given the possibility to acquire extra earnings and their dependence on subsidies was reduced. At the end of this period, the government undertook to prepare a cultural policy plan every four years.

The 1990s witnessed a change in the attitude of the Ministry of Welfare, Public Health and Culture, later becoming the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science in 1994. Instead of providing across-the-board funding to cultural organisations, the government started to offer financial incentives. Cultural organisations were encouraged to become more independent financially and to look at their market, i.e. their audiences. They were particularly called upon to cater for the needs of a new, young audience and to an increasing population of ethnic minorities. In addition to the tasks of the state, private initiative and private funding were welcomed.

As a result of economic recession, a relatively long period of gradual and general growth in the state budget for culture and media ended in 2004. Increasing and decreasing budgets have been announced simultaneously: the budgets for cultural heritage and cultural education will increase slightly until 2008; the budget for the performing arts will at best remain stable. The funding for so called "support organisations" (documentation, research, mediation, professional services etc.) in the field of the arts and culture have been reduced by 10% (i.e. euro 5-6 million). Public broadcasting budgets will be reduced substantially; starting in 2006 with a budget cut of euro 60-80 million.

In June 2006, the State Secretary sent a policy paper to Parliament further refining her intention to bring about structural changes to the cultural policy-making system, as set out previously in her policy document "Making a Difference". Reasons for adapting the system include the explosive number of applications for government subsidy over the last few years and the continuing elaboration of procedures that weighed on the system. Under the motto "at arms length where possible, but involved where necessary", several changes are planned for the cultural policy-making system.

Netherlands/ 2. Competence, decision-making and administration

2.1 Organisational structure (organigram)

http://www.culturalpolicies.net/web/photosp/21/1340/en/netherlands_21_110207.gif 

Netherlands/ 2. Competence, decision-making and administration

2.2 Overall description of the system

Public governance in the Netherlands is organised in a three layer system: central government, provincial government and municipal government. Everywhere a system of dual responsibilities prevails: parliament, county councils and local council have the right to amend the financial and governmental works of the Cabinet, Provincial Deputies and of the Mayor and Aldermen. In everyday life cultural policy, initiatives are taken by the governing bodies, in most cases after consulting the official advisory bodies. Parliament and councils have give their consent to these initiatives (or not) after public discussion. The most important moment in decision making is discussing and fixing the year budget for the coming year.

In preparing and fixing regulation, laws and cultural policy programs, central government takes the lead in cultural matters, although it covers only one third of all expenses related to art and culture. Major cultural institutes like the Royal Library, the National Archive, the Netherlands Heritage Institute, a number of larger national museums, and almost all educational facilities like conservatories and other higher art education institutes are closely related to state government. The main task to be taken care of by central government is to guarantee a sound performance of these institutes and companies. Central government also subsidizes several hundreds of performing arts companies, visual art institutes, all kind of artistic initiatives and a number of infrastructural institutes and expertise centres. Next to arts and cultural heritage, central government is the first responsible for the national public broadcasting system.

Municipalities and provinces, spending almost two third of the national budget on arts and culture, add to the central government by taking care of distribution and mediation between local and regional supply and demand. The majority of Dutch museums is financially dependent on municipalities. Public cultural facilities like libraries are decentralised in the Netherlands. Central government only supports libraries by funding an expertise centre.

In order to understand the Dutch cultural policy system better, it is important to pay attention to four key issues: the relationship between state and other levels of government, the role of advisory committees, the role of funding bodies in the arts and, to start with, the introduction of law-based regulations for planning cultural policy four years ahead.

The Cultural Policy Act (Special Purpose Funding) [Wet op het specifiek cultuurbeleid 1993] determines aspects of cultural policy, such as the government's obligation to submit a cultural policy plan to parliament every four years. This four-year plan outlines activities for the forthcoming period as well as reviewing achievements from the previous period. Furthermore it regulates the government's option to issue subsidies to provinces and municipalities. In 2005, Secretary of State Medy van der Laan initiated a political discussion on the four years system. In a policy paper titled, Creating Differences (Verschil Maken), she proposed a redistribution of institutions in the subsidy system. In her plan, the status of middle sized institutions is not expected to change. The smaller ones - theatre companies, music ensembles - are to be taken out of the advisory channel of the Culture Council and placed within an art production funds regime. The bigger institutions (state funded museums, orchestras and - proposed by the parliament - larger dance companies) will be placed in an almost ever lasting relationship (30 years) with the central government, requiring a periodical audit undertaken by an international audit commission.

On 2 June 2006, the State Secretary sent a policy paper to Parliament further refining her intention to bring about structural changes to the cultural policy-making system, as set out previously in her policy document "Making a Difference". Reasons for adapting the system include the explosive number of applications for government subsidy of the last few years and the continuing elaboration of procedures that weighed on the system. Under the motto "at arms length where possible, but involved where necessary", several changes are intended to be made to the system.

The parliamentary discussion that took place on 16th October 2006 led to the following decisions: subsidy requests from smaller cultural institutions and companies will no longer make up part of the four-year cultural policy document (planning) cycle, but will be submitted to the Funds. The Funds will be empowered organisationally, in order to meet their extended responsibilities. More generally, a rearrangement of cultural institutions will be made, redesigning the dividing line between institutions that will belong to the basic infrastructure. The Council for Culture is to produce an analysis of the cultural sector, defining what makes up the cultural infrastructure. In order to realise the above, an amendment must be made to the Law by 1 June 2007. Cultural institutions can submit funding requests before 1 February 2008.

In the early 1970s, a debate began concerning the issue of decentralisation. In the 1980s, the division of tasks among the state, the provinces and the municipalities was reconsidered, in order to increase the efficiency of public cultural policy. The performing arts, for example, were centralised. A system of mixed responsibilities came to an end and the state took full responsibility for maintaining symphony orchestras, including regional orchestras, and performing arts groups with a national reach. Apart from a small number of state museums, museums in general were placed under the responsibility of municipalities and provinces. The same applied to libraries and archives. The Royal Library and the Netherlands Archive in The Hague are supported by the state. In addition, a number of infrastructural and umbrella organisations receive subsidies in order to provide support and other culture-related actives.

In a more general sense, the provinces were given the task of spreading, regulating and maintaining the supply of culture at a provincial level. The municipalities bore responsibility for maintaining the various venues and facilities and for scheduling performances. In practice, however, this division of tasks was not always applicable and centralisation and decentralisation tendencies became intertwined.

At present, municipalities and provinces are partners in a number of national cultural policy programmes. Since 1997, joint financing agreements between central government, regions and cities have been made for shared activities. These are mostly implemented by institutions, but shared responsibility is also taken in specific participation policy schemes. The partners involved are the eight convenant partners, as they are called, including the three largest cities, Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague and five clusters of provinces and bigger cities: Central Netherlands [Midden Nederland], Northern Netherlands, Eastern Netherlands, Southern Netherlands and Western Netherlands.

"Visual Arts and Design Funding" is allocated through targeted funding in twelve provinces and fourteen municipalities. Strengthening regional dynamics has the most chance of success in areas that can independently attract both artists and the public (audience, buyers and commissioners). Nine cities have been selected on the grounds of this potential. These are: home to art education institutions, galleries, art lending centres, museums and studios, etc. They have established positions in national and international networks. Besides these cities, five municipalities are eligible for funds that are specifically linked to the development and growth of artists and designers. The provinces use "Visual Arts and Design Funding" to identify and facilitate regional developments. In consultation with local authorities, they ensure that the required means are concentrated in those cities and institutions, which contribute to the strengthening of an infrastructure for visual arts and design.

The original principle of the Dutch government remaining neutral in assessing arts issues is still intact. The government is expected to focus solely on policy issues, which is the reason why the government leaves decision making about the arts mainly to various committees of independent experts.

The Culture Council (until 1995, the Arts Council) is a separate body that cooperates with the government on formulating policy. While the government is no longer (since 1997) obliged to consult the Council, a healthy amount of cooperation remains between the government and the Council.

Advisory bodies also exist at municipal and provincial levels including, for example, the Amsterdam Arts Council. At the provincial level, there are several cultural councils, whose tasks are usually advisory but which are occasionally involved in consultations, supply and demand mediation, support and public information activities.

The State Secretary of Culture frequently appoints external committees and private consultants to advise on politically and administratively charged reorganisational issues. In the 1980s, for instance, special committees were appointed to advise on restructuring the state policy on theatre, dance and music. In 1993, an expert report was produced, "Stimulating the Audiovisual Production in the Netherlands", which greatly influenced restructuring in the film sector. More recently, commissions were created to advise government about claims from private families to return paintings and other art treasures that became state property after World War II. In some cases art was given back to these families. In early 2006, 202 paintings of old Masters were give back to the legal heirs of Goudstikker (see also http://www.culturalpolicies.net/web/icons/intern.gifchapter 4.3).

Since 1997, minority organisations are represented by the Landelijk Overleg Minderheden (LOM), the National Ethnic Minorities Consultative Committee, which was set up to convey the opinions of minority groups on specific policy issues to government. The Committee also discusses other matters which concern minority groups with the Cabinet. It aims to contribute to the effectiveness of Dutch integration policy by providing support to minorities on policy issues that concern them directly. The following minority groups are represented in the LOM: Turks, Moroccans, Surinamese, Antilleans, Moluccans, South-Europeans, Chinese and political refugees. Besides the Minister for Immigration and Integration, other Cabinet members also participate in the LOM if, and when, necessary.

An organisation must adhere to certain criteria to be eligible to enter the LOM: (1) the board of the organisation must include women and second generation minority representatives; (2) the organisation must have a good working relationship with other organisations that represent the same minority; (3) the organisation must prove that it has enough experience in matters related to integration policy.

Every minority group may only be represented in the LOM by one organisation.

There are several public and semi-public funds that have traditionally supported the creative arts. The national governments responsibility goes no further than furnishing money and determining the specific conditions under which the fund must operate. The parliament has the final word when it comes to the size of the budget. Some examples are the Literature Fund, the Mondriaan Foundation and the Fund for Visual Arts, Design and Architecture. At present, the Cultural Council evaluates the funds every four years. A full list of operating funds can be found in http://www.culturalpolicies.net/web/icons/intern.gifchapter 7.1.

Netherlands/ 2. Competence, decision-making and administration

2.3 Inter-ministerial or intergovernmental co-operation

Since Cultural Affairs are only a small and relatively unimportant issue in the central government, the State Secretary of Culture is highly dependent on cooperation with other ministries. Negotiations with the Ministry of Financial and Economic Affairs have to be undertaken constantly in order to safeguard the interests of the arts and culture. In principle all kind of contacts between ministries are possible. In some cases, committees for interdepartmental co-operation are installed - the duration of their existence may vary enormously.

Some examples of inter-ministerial or inter-governmental cooperation are:

Netherlands/ 2.4 International cultural co-operation

2.4.1 Overview of main structures and trends

Globalisation, increasing migration and mobility, media developments and European integration, has all contributed to the need to make contacts with other cultures, and to allow foreigners to acquaint themselves with Dutch arts and culture. Dutch contributions to international cultural events are often of high quality and reinforce the idea of the Netherlands as an innovative country. But the arts scene is related to social contexts which, over recent years, have changed everywhere in the world.  The Netherlands, too, has been the stage for radical developments in a range of areas. Partly, as a result of these changes, and despite the successes that have been achieved, there have been sufficient reasons to redesign international cultural policy.

Policy changes

In the 1980s, international cultural policy served primarily to reinforce the international status of Dutch culture. In the 1990s the accent was transferred to cultural co-operation, not only promoting understanding between peoples, but also enriching both parties and clarifying the Netherlands' international profile. All together, current Dutch international cultural policy is aiming at four objectives: (1) presentation of Dutch culture abroad, (2) enrichment and inspiration of Dutch culture by means of encountering and collaborating with other cultures and artists from abroad, (3) testing the level of quality and the relevance of Dutch artistic and cultural practices against international criteria, and (4) preserving the cultural heritage which the Netherlands shares with other countries.

Although these objectives are still relevant, the last few years have seen a return to the notion of the importance of profiling Dutch culture abroad. In May 2006, the State Secretaries for Culture and Foreign Affairs jointly announced their intention to make Dutch culture more recognizable on the international map (Policy document "Setting the Course: More Cohesion in International Cultural Policy", 10 May 2006). In order to gain transparency and efficiency, a clear distinction between practical and strategic international cultural policy was presented, also in financial terms. The resources for the strategic policy went up to 50% of the HGIS Cultural Resources, also known as the Netherlands Culture Fund. (HGIS -Homogene Groep Internationale Samenwerking).

Strategic policy will be linked more directly to three specific categories. In the first place, the connection between national and international policy will be standard practice. For instance, "national" themes such as culture and economy and cultural diversity will be translated strategically into international cultural policy programmes from now on. Secondly, foreign policy priorities are no longer guided by the concept of so called priority countries (the 25 EU member states and the accession countries - Canada, Egypt, Indonesia, Japan, Morocco, the Russian Federation, Surinam, Turkey, the US and South Africa). Until 2006, the size of the Netherlands and the limited resources available made it necessary to focus on a few countries and regions. Priority countries were selected on the basis of such factors as their importance to Dutch culture, the opportunities for marketing Dutch culture there, the level and quality of local culture, and foreign policy considerations. As of 2006, relevant combinations between disciplines and countries will be implemented into policy programmes in a flexible way. Thirdly, international cultural policy will allow different approaches to the various cultural sectors: a sector specific approach.

Shared cultural heritage

Over the course of time, the Netherlands has maintained intensive relationships with a number of countries in the context of a shared cultural heritage. A number of stages in history gave birth to many intangible and tangible memories that are still referred to as common cultural heritage. Dutch society is the product of a long and sometimes difficult history that has to be understandable for Dutch inhabitants of the present day. This applies also to the countries with which the Dutch share a past.

Through cultural policy programmes, the cohesion that already exists with other cultural and social sectors will increase. Within the country specific policy frameworks, structural activity plans will developed, under which focus is given to present day themes within the wider expanse of cross border shared cultural heritage, such as the history of slavery, water, fortifications and strongholds.

In addition to a more structural approach, it is important both from the scientific perspective and from the perspective of the heritage field itself, that the innumerable and multifarious acquisitions of the shared cultural heritage continue to be preserved and to be accessible at a central location. With a view to this, private initiatives are welcomed that have been taken within the heritage field to set up provisions for the compiling and distribution of knowledge and expertise in this area, as will make it possible to forge relations with other heritage fields, such as world heritage.

Additional themes and programmes

The Netherlands, as a free port, has been a much-heard term in international cultural policy in the past years. Programmes that confirm this concept include the provision of art education scholarships for foreign students; assistance for well-known Dutch festivals to invite foreign journalists and undertake promotional campaigns to raise their international profile; artist-in-residence programmes to allow leading foreign artists to live and work in the Netherlands for lengthy periods; visiting programmes for intermediaries, policy makers and programmers to find out about the culture on offer in the Netherlands and the details of Dutch cultural policy.

Netherlands/ 2.4 International cultural co-operation

2.4.2 Public actors and cultural diplomacy

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science support international cultural policy, both financially and as regards substance. The international cultural policy frameworks for the current four-year period were put in place in 2004. On that occasion, the principle of geographical and thematic concentration was confirmed. Priority was assigned to EU member states, as well as Russia, the United States, Canada, Japan, Turkey, Morocco, Egypt, Surinam, South Africa and Indonesia. In the border regions (Germany, Belgium), several forms of international cooperation exist. In 1995, a Treaty was concluded with Flanders for educational, scientific and cultural purposes (Treaty of Antwerp, 1995).

Besides the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the various cultural funds and umbrella organisations have delegated responsibilities for administering international cultural policy, for which they receive special grants from the Netherlands Culture Fund in addition to their subsidies under the Cultural Policy Document.

Since 1999, the Service Centre for International Cultural Activities (SICA: http://www.sica.nl/) has been acting as a platform for the cultural arena and a link to the government. It collects and disseminates information on policy and activities, provides advice and surveys Dutch international activities. It also acts as the "Cultural Contact Point" for the EU's Culture 2000 programme. Cultural attachés at Netherlands embassies play an important role in implementing international cultural policy abroad.

Ten percent of the Netherlands Culture Fund, for the presentation of Dutch culture abroad, has been reallocated to the cultural funds to this end. The budget of the Fund for 2006 amounts to more than 8 million euro.

Netherlands/ 2.4 International cultural co-operation

2.4.3 European / international actors and programmes

The Netherlands participates in multilateral cultural relationships through its membership of the BENELUX, the European Union, the Council of Europe and the United Nations (UNESCO). Dutch membership of the World Trade Organisation is also relevant, where the cultural aspect of international trade is at stake.

A proposal was recently put forward by the State Secretary of Culture and the Minister of Justice to sign up to the 1970 UNESCO treaty to prohibit illegal international art trade. Until 2004, it was expected that the Netherlands would ratify the UNIDROIT treaty to attain the same goal. During the Dutch presidency of the EU (July-December 2004), special attention was paid to culture and media in a European context.

On a European (EU) level, the Netherlands is currently striving to create more synergy between the European Commission's cultural programmes and its own subsidy instruments. The Council of Europe's standpoint, that freedom of expression is paramount as a fundamental right, plays an important role in Dutch media policy. UNESCO has programmes to update legal instruments to protect cultural heritage in the world, to which the Netherlands contributes financially.

The Netherlands voted in favour of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, launched in Paris at the end of 2005. It has not yet ratified the Convention.

In the last few years, the Netherlands joined the European project "CinemaNetEurope" which promotes its domestic audiovisual industry by digitally distributing films to non-commercial cinema houses. Because of the quota system linked to the project, it was welcomed with some reservation. There were also doubts about the film picture quality, which was missing the specific celluloid characteristics. It is expected that these initial problems will be overcome within five years.

Netherlands/ 2.4 International cultural co-operation

2.4.4 Direct professional co-operation

The funds for the production of arts and culture have been asked to pay specific attention to fostering international contacts, in order to stimulate intercultural dialogue. At the initiative of State Secretary Van der Laan, an official delegation travelled to Morocco at the end of 2005, to visit some specific exchange projects in the fields of architecture, visual art and dramatic art. A similar trip to Indonesia was less successful because of home affairs taking place in the Netherlands at the exact time of the visit - the government fell in June 2006.

Travel bursaries are available for professional artists and creative professionals. These are distributed via the funds for culture and the arts. However, these bursaries are not specifically focused on cross-cultural training courses. Dutch universities announced, at the start of the 2006/2007 academic year, that they intend to encourage all Dutch students to spend a part of their studies abroad.

Netherlands/ 2.4 International cultural co-operation

2.4.5 Cross-border intercultural dialogue and co-operation

In 2004, the governments of Flanders and the Netherlands set up a joint venture in order to ensure that Dutch Flemish culture would get a firm rooting in the concept of a "Europe of many cultures". Together, they created the Flemish-Dutch House, which opened in June 2004. In Brussels, the House was given the task of presenting and documenting the culture of the Low Countries on a permanent basis, as well as providing a platform for debate on culture, society and politics in the Netherlands, Flanders and Europe.

The Prince Claus Fund (set up in1996 by His Royal Highness Prince Claus), operates on an intercontinental scale and aims at increasing cultural awareness and promoting exchange between culture and development, thereby focussing especially on developing countries. Next to granting subsidies and giving awards to mainly non-European artists and intellectuals, the Prince Claus Fund creates platforms for debate and stimulates creative processes and artistic productions. The Prince Claus Fund is a platform for intercultural exchange. It works jointly with individuals and organisations mainly in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean on the realisation of activities and publications reflecting a contemporary approach to the themes of culture and development.

The Hivos Cultural Fund, introduced by Hivos in 1995, supports artists and cultural organisations based mainly in developing countries. Fields of work include production, exchange, promotion, marketing and distribution, as well as capacity building.

The objective of the Hivos Cultural Fund is to support independent artistic initiatives in developing countries that take a critical view of social developments, contribute to developing and professionalizing the cultural sector, work for the broad dissemination of cultural products, and are proponents of exchange on an equal basis between artists, both nationally and internationally.

Hivos supports cultural and artistic expressions that contribute to the improvement of democratisation and multiple (diverse) forms of expression. This is carried out by promoting local productions in the fields of visual art, theatre, film, literature and media arts, setting up exchange projects and strengthening the cultural sector. Over the past year, Hivos has adjusted its culture policy by putting more emphasis on the strategic level. This includes an improved balance between donors, supporting regional initiatives and increased attention for the distribution and accessibility of productions.

For more information, see our Intercultural Dialogue section. 

Netherlands/ 2.4 International cultural co-operation

2.4.6 Other relevant issues

Information is currently not available.

Netherlands/ 3. General objectives and principles of cultural policy

3.1 Main elements of the current cultural policy model

According to the Cultural Policy Act (Special Purpose Funding), the Ministry of Science, Culture and Education is obliged to present a policy plan every four years. This policy plan reviews all foreseen and completed cultural policy activities. The predecessor of the Cultural Policy Documents, the Arts Plan [Kunstenplan] was drawn up in 1988. Is was extended in the cultuurnota (four-year planning document on cultural policy spending) to include the arts, museums, monuments, archives, libraries, performing and creative arts, film and literature, architecture and urban planning. The aim of this planning system is to impose a rational organisation on the issuing of grants and subsidies. According to the government, the financing system allows art and cultural institutions to adopt long-range programmes in the knowledge that they have sufficient financial support. The State Secretary is responsible for creating conditions conducive to maintaining, developing, disseminating (socially and geographically) cultural expression or expanding it in any other way. The State Secretary is guided in this task by considerations of quality and variety.

Cultural institutions wishing to apply for a structural subsidy for four years (within the cultural policy period) are required to submit an application a year before the start of a new cultural policy period. The four-year plan is expected to determine a series of substantive goals for the coming period as well as make arrangements for an evaluation of the past. Each plan is accompanied by a budget (income and expenditure). The former obligation to submit an annual activity plan stating how the basic principles of its policy plan are to be implemented for a one-year period has been dropped to reduce bureaucratic ineffectiveness.

A parliamentary discussion that took place on 16th October 2006 led to the following decisions: subsidy requests from smaller cultural institutions and companies will no longer make up part of the four-year cultural policy document (planning) cycle, but will be submitted to the Funds. The Funds will be empowered organisationally, in order to meet their extended responsibilities. More generally, a rearrangement of cultural institutions will be made, redesigning the dividing line between institutions that will belong to the basic infrastructure. Before 1 March 2007, the Council for Culture is to produce an analysis of the cultural sector, defining what makes up the cultural infrastructure. In order to realise the above, an amendment must be made to the Law by 1 June 2007. Cultural institutions can submit funding requests before 1 February 2008.

In November 2003, a policy document for the period 2004 to 2007 was published by Ms Medy van der Laan, State Secretary of Culture in the second government of Prime Minister Balkenende (a coalition of Christian Democrats, Liberals, and Democratic Liberals) and a member of the Democratic Liberals (D66). Her 2003 policy document, entitled "More than the Sum", contains three main cultural policy objectives: (1) less bureaucracy in support for arts and culture, (2) more connection and interaction in cultural life; (3) reinforcement of the cultural factor in society. The policy document will be dealt with in more detail in http://www.culturalpolicies.net/web/icons/intern.gifchapter 4.1.

The policy document indicates no major changes from a political point of view. Existing elements of cultural policy that had been in place for some time are to be continued, such as the Cultural Outreach Action Plan, the aim of which is to involve more people in culture, especially new audiences such as immigrants and the young. The term "culture" has a broad meaning here, covering not only traditional culture such as the performing arts and museums, but also popular culture such as pop music. The plan is to be effected by a coalition of central government, provinces and municipalities. However, for the sake of deregulation, the implementation of the agreements between state, provinces and municipalities, acting as contract partners has been simplified. Financial agreements between the state, provinces and municipalities will have a four-year rather than an annual basis.

Netherlands/ 3. General objectives and principles of cultural policy

3.2 National definition of culture

Following the description given in Cultural Policy in the Netherlands (2003) culture is understood to include:

Netherlands/ 3. General objectives and principles of cultural policy

3.3 Cultural policy objectives

Dutch cultural policy objectives reflect the Council of Europe's four cultural principles, particularly the principle referring to the promotion of identity and diversity, support of creativity and participation in cultural life. The Netherlands is stressing the multi-facetedness of cultural identity. Recently, however, the urgency of speeding up the integration of ethnic minorities into Dutch society has been placed at the forefront of the political agenda. Naturalisation courses for foreigners wanting to become Dutch citizens became obligatory in 2003. These courses also include a language provision: every new Dutch citizen must be able to speak Dutch. In cultural policy programmes, more stress is being placed on cooperation and exchange between cultural entities, and less on the cultural autonomy of ethnic groups. As this represents a new direction in political thinking, no concrete results or cases are available to report on yet.

For more information see http://www.culturalpolicies.net/web/icons/intern.gifchapter 4.2.1.

Netherlands/ 4. Current issues in cultural policy development and debate

4.1 Main cultural policy issues and priorities

"Culture as Confrontation" is a cultural policy document, presented by State Secretary Van der Ploeg (1998-2002). Government priorities identified were cultural diversity, audience-reach [publieksbereik] and cultural entrepreneurship. Van der Ploeg programmed cultural diversity as an important policy priority, especially in the Dutch multicultural society. He also emphasised the importance of audience-reach interacting with a broader more diverse audience. (cf. Cultural policy document 2001-2004 entitled "Make Way for Cultural Diversity" [Ruim baan voor culturele diversiteit]). His third priority focussed on cultural entrepreneurship. In his view, a strict division between the state domain and the commercial market was no longer realistic. Subsidy should also be used to get a grip on the cultural market, in order to make artistically high value performances more popular, and utterances of popular culture better in the sense of a more artistic content. Cultural entrepreneurship would open up possibilities to reach a multicultural or similarly diversified audience.

After the brief spell in office of Cees van Leeuwen (2002-2003), State Secretary Medy van der Laan was charged with political responsibility for art, culture and media. In her policy document "More than the Sum", published in November 2003 (for the expected duration of the second Cabinet Balkenende, 2004-2007), she focused on three main themes of cultural policy.

Netherlands/ 4.2 Recent policy issues and debates

4.2.1 Cultural minorities, groups and communities

In mid 2006, the Netherlands had a population of just over 16.3 million. The population is ageing, with approximately 14% in the over-sixty-five age group. By 2030, the percentage will have risen to nearly 25% (Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport: http://www.minvws.nl/).

The only official minority group in the Netherlands is the Frisian minority. In March 2005, the Minister of Interior and Kingdom Relations signed a covenant on the Frisian Language and Culture. This covenant includes agreements concerning education in the Frisian language, the use of Frisian by the judiciary, in the courts and in public administration, in the media and for cultural activities and amenities, as well as the use of Frisian in economic and social life. 

The covenant implements the commitments made by The Netherlands, when it ratified the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in respect of Frisian, and which were set out in the 2001 administrative agreement on Frisian language and culture. The covenant also implies that the country now complies with the conditions set by the Council of Europe's Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, which the Netherlands signed in February 2005.

The Netherlands, like many other countries in Western Europe, is in effect an "immigration country". This trend began soon after World War II, with a wave of immigrants from the former Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia. One special group of immigrants were the Moluccans, most of who had served in the former colonial army and brought their families with them. Over the past thirty years, the number of nationalities has increased considerably, with Turkey and Morocco as the main countries of origin. In the 1960s, Dutch companies that were having trouble filling vacancies, recruited Turkish and Moroccan workers. After Surinam became independent in 1975, a large number of Surinamese who had Dutch nationality decided to take up residence in the Netherlands. The last two decades have seen an influx of asylum seekers from various parts of Africa and Asia as well as Europe. Most immigrants live in or near the major cities. Whereas in 1960 there were fewer than 120 000 foreigners living in the Netherlands, by 1975 the number had risen to 320 000. Official figures put the foreign population, in 2006, at more than 3 million (not including illegal immigrants), about 19% of the total population (see Table 1 & 2).

Table 1:     Share of immigrants in the total population in the Netherlands, 2000-2006

Total
immigrants

Period

Total immigrants

% total population

2000

2 775 302

 

2001

2 870 224

 

2002

2 964 949

 

2003

3 038 758

 

2004

3 088 152

 

2005

3 122 717

 

2006

3 147 615

19.3

Source:      Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek, http://www.cbs.nl/

Table 2: Immigrants in the Netherlands by ethnic group, 2006

Immigrant groups

Total immigrants

% total population

Morocco

323 239

1.9

NL Antilles and Aruba

129 683

0.8

Suriname

331 890

2

Turkey

364 333

2.2

Other non-Western

570 905

3.5

Total non-Western

1 720 050

10.5

Western

1 427 565

8.7

Source:      Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek, http://www.cbs.nl/

The Grondwet (Dutch Constitution) provides the legal basis for the civic rights of immigrants (e.g. citizenship, education, health, social insurance etc.) and for their cultural rights (e.g. to participate in cultural life, to protect and develop cultural and linguistic identit(ies), to create, etc.). While there is no specific legislation covering these immigrant groups, the cultural policy document 2001-2004, entitled "Make Way for Cultural Diversity" [Ruim baan voor culturele diversiteit], gave special attention to the issue of cultural diversity. State Secretary Van der Laan's paper "More than the Sum" (2003) further combined the themes of cultural diversity and integration (see http://www.culturalpolicies.net/web/icons/intern.gifchapter 4.2.3).

There is a range of targeted measures and support programmes for immigrants from these groups in different arts, media and heritage fields.

Arts and heritage sectors

There has been a strengthening of production houses and ateliers in the performing arts and of presentation venues in the visual arts for primarily young artists. The Council for Culture has been asked to assess which of the above has the potential to grow into larger amenities with their own production budgets. The aim is to adopt some 10 to 20 production houses in the basic cultural infrastructure.

The main target group of Dutch museums is comprised of young people and ethnic minorities. In this context, the Netherlands Museum Association developed an Intercultural Museum Programme to introduce more variety into the presentations of Dutch museums as well as introducing the museums to a wider public.  Additional funding will be available for specific activities of the museums aiming at, inter alia, increasing participation of target groups (youth, ethnic minorities), upkeep and presentation of the cultural heritage of minorities and heritage education programmes for school children. An earmarked budget for such activities will be transferred to the Mondriaan Foundation. All museums in the country, and thus not only museums subsidised by the Ministry (about 30), will be eligible for grants from this budget.

The Mondriaan Foundation has introduced a "Development Award for Cultural Diversity" targeted at Dutch museums. It is endowed with 500 000 euros. In 2006, it was awarded for the first time to the Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven. The award is given for the best strategic plans for programming and communicating special exhibitions especially geared towards attracting minority audiences. For more information see: http://www.sgallery.net/news/05_2006/21.php

Media

In the field of media, diversity has been ensured by the establishment of the production company MTNL (Multicultural Television in the Netherlands: <http://www.mtnl.nl/>) and the radio station FunX (<http://www.funx.nl/>), the municipal public channel for multicultural youth (young people with a dual cultural background). In the course of 2007, the four large cities and FunX will explore its growth. FunX is received in the four large cities, which together contribute 50% of the costs. MTNL makes television programmes for the four large minority groups: Surinamese, Antilleans, Moroccans and Turks and transmits in the major cities.

Events e.g. festivals, special celebrations

In June 2006, Medy van der Laan continued to expand on the theme of diversity by indicating, in a policy paper to Parliament, several concrete actions to promote artistic enrichment through diversity, which also included the improvement of cultural cooperation with the overseas parts of the Kingdom of the Netherlands: the Antilles and Aruba. In the paper, a new initiative was suggested by introducing the Cultural Kingdom Games (as already exists for sports). The target date for the first event is 2007, in The Hague. The games will be prepared by the Mondriaan Foundation and the Amateur Arts and Performing Arts Fund, together with SICA (Dutch Service Bureau for International Cultural Activities).

Strategies e.g. citizenship participation

On 9 June 2006, the State Secretary for Culture and the State Secretary for European Affairs sent a joint letter to Parliament, setting out their vision on the establishment of a House for Cultural Dialogue. In order to build bridges between the different cultures represented in the Netherlands, they consider it necessary to intensify the dialogue between groups of "old" and "new" Dutch citizens. To this end it is of utmost necessity to provide a platform where citizens can learn more about each other's culture, background and values.

Artistic programming is announced to take place in the current year, 2006. A national 3 year pilot phase is envisaged, which will be financed by both Ministries to a sum of euro 2.5 million each in the first instance. Both Ministries will add an extra euro 1.5 million at a later stage.

The "House", as it is called, will be coordinated from a directive office. The four large cities (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht and The Hague), as well as several other Dutch cities, have indicated their willingness to participate in the initiative. Each city will develop its own activities, which will be funded in part from local funds and in part from central funds. Cultural manifestations, artistic events (exhibitions, literature, music, poetry, dance, film, new media), reflection and debate, are expected to draw a large public of differing backgrounds.

The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science has initiated a specific regulation, that 15% of the commission members of the Council for Culture should have a dual cultural background by 2007 (to some extent via Atana see <http://www.atana.nl/>, which educates young governors with dual cultural background for posts in governing boards in the cultural sector).

Netherlands/ 4.2 Recent policy issues and debates

4.2.2 Language issues and policies

There are two official languages in the Netherlands - Dutch and Frisian. In the cultural policy document 1997-2000, special emphasis was placed on the Dutch language and the implementation of measures stimulating the importance of maintaining and promoting the Dutch language both in the Netherlands and throughout the rest of the world. Emphasis was laid on Dutch language films, television dramas, and literature as well as on the creation of the Literary Museum. A Flemish-Dutch international television channel known as BVN has recently started to broadcast. It is intended for Dutch and Flemish ex pats.

Dutch language policy is carried out in what is referred to as the Dutch Language Union [Nederlandse Taalunie], together with the Flemish community, which combines Belgian nationality with the Dutch language. To emphasise the mutual cultural interests of the Flemish and the Dutch, a cultural treaty was concluded in 1995. In June 2004, a far more concrete step was taken by the opening of the Flemish-Dutch Institute [Vlaams-Nederlands Huis] in Brussels. The objective of the Institute is to promote Flemish-Dutch culture in Europe and to house debates on cultural diversity, society and politics in an increasingly unified Europe.

From a demographic angle, Frisian language is on the rebound, even as a second language. Only a few hundred thousand people are still Frisian native speakers. At the same time, the language is adequately taken care of as a specimen of cultural heritage. The cultural and literary value of the language-related Frisian heritage is preserved by the Frysk Academie in Leeuwarden, capital of the province of Friesland. Some time ago it was decided that all official government and parliamentary documents will be available in the Frisian language.

Netherlands/ 4.3 Recent policy issues and debates

4.2.3 Intercultural dialogue: actors, strategies, programmes

The ongoing influx of immigrants into Dutch society, most of them coming from outside Europe, has triggered the debate about "cultural identity". What does it mean to be Dutch in a cultural sense? What can be seen as cultural heritage taking, into account the wide variety of cultural references within the ethnically plural country of the Netherlands? According to the prevailing public opinion, all segments of the population (autochtones and allochtones alike) suffer from a lack of cultural and (national) historic knowledge.

The last Cabinet in power intended to stimulate innovative intercultural programming, whereby those from different backgrounds decide themselves in which manner they interconnect and cooperate. It stressed the urgency to intensify the dialogue between groups of "old" and "new" Dutch citizens. To this end, it was - and still is - considered to be important to provide a platform where citizens can learn more about each other's culture, background and values. This also implies that established institutions should have an open attitude towards intercultural activities and programming and that the multicultural institutions should attempt to interconnect with the established circuit. In addition, the Cabinet wanted more connection between artistic and economic processes (see also http://www.culturalpolicies.net/web/icons/intern.gifchapter 2.3).

To improve the cultural and historic knowledge of the population, it was proposed to introduce a "cultural canon", consisting of key facts and key collection items of Dutch culture and history. The Minister of Education, Culture and Science recently established the Van Oostrom Commission to advise her on the shape and content which this cultural canon should have. The committee finished its work in October 2006 and the canon should be established for a period of five or ten years. The results are available at: http://www.entoen.nu/. At the same time, the Cabinet decided to create a Museum for National History. The Cabinet's plan is to model this museum on the example of the German "Haus der Geschichte" in Bonn.

Dialogue with minority groups is an important issue in the Netherlands. Diverse initiatives have been taken by the Balkendende II administration (mid 2003 - June 2006). One of the most important of these was the Breed initiatief maatschappelijke binding [Broad Initiative on Social Cohesion], launched in 2005. The motive for this initiative was prompted by two events: the murder of the politician and member of the Rotterdam city council, Pim Fortuijn (LPF - political party "Pim Fortuijn"), on 6 May 2002, followed on 2 November 2004 by the murder of columnist, filmmaker and film director, Theo van Gogh. Both the above were known for their controversial opinions and statements; they frequently transgressed the rules of established societal and political order. The tension that resulted in society, as a result of the murders, led to the government's search for new ways of stimulating social cohesion, in particular between the native Dutch population and those minority groups that have their own cultural or religious identity. The reason for the tension was thought to be that typical Dutch tolerance had outlived its due-date, as well as to a general negation of social conflicts that had been taking place in Dutch society between different ethnic groups for a long period of time, in particular in the more underprivileged neighbourhoods in the large cities, which house an ever growing number of immigrants.

The initiative considers weighty themes such as labour and living conditions, but includes also other areas of social activity, such as arts and culture. The "Broad Initiative" should primarily be seen in its directive role. Most of the concrete activities take place at community and neighbourhood level: so-called street corner activities. The centrally organised site <http://www.en.nl/> guarantees a national overview. The primary responsible for the Broad Initiative is the Ministry of Justice.

The Department of Immigration and Integration, which falls under the responsibility of the Ministry of Justice, is the main public actor responsible for implementing the programmes and policies to promote intercultural dialogue. Other important actors in the field are the (large) municipalities.

In an earlier cultural policy document "Make Way for Cultural Diversity" Each city will develop its own activities (1999), special attention was to be given to cultural diversity. The objective was to support those activities promoting and organising the talents of persons with a non-Dutch background. After fundamental changes in the Dutch political climate in 2002 and 2003, priority was given to dialogue with, and the integration of, minorities rather than to the promotion of cultural autonomy for ethnic groups. Dutch cultural heritage is also acting as an increasing focal point when it comes to reflections on Dutch national culture.

In her policy paper "More than the Sum" (2003), State Secretary Van der Laan combined the themes of cultural diversity and integration. The intercultural situation is defined as follows: "What we refer to as Dutch culture is the result of centuries of intercultural interaction and constant change. Long-term cross-border dynamism has formed the recognisable, unique and yet mobile cultural supply in the Netherlands. Intercultural enrichment is achieved by giving space to cultural diversity, which, paradoxically, also serves to bind culture. Here, cultural heritage plays a key role, as cultural self-awareness is essential for the intercultural debate. The implementation of the cultural diversity policy should be differentiated: every institution should develop its own approach, in accordance with its target groups - which are not automatically the young or ethnic minorities. Diversity can be expressed in repertoire innovation and marketing, but also in the social composition of the board, management and staff. Greater emphasis should be placed - also by the Council for Culture - on the qualities of non-western cultural expressions".

Examples of good practice in the field of intercultural encounter are documented on the site <http://www.en.nl/>, which currently contains some 400 good practice initiatives. The site is part of the so-called "&-campaign", a partnership between government and private initiative that stimulates social cohesion in a society which is increasingly characterised by multiculturalism.

The campaign also awards the "&-arts and culture prize". This prize was presented at the Uitmarkt [a festival that launches the annual cultural season] on 28 August 2006, by Minister Rita Verdonk (Conservative Liberal party: VVD) of Immigration and Integration. In her speech, the Minister stressed the importance of the arts and culture for intercultural dialogue. Quotation [translated]: "The power of arts and culture is greater than one thinks. Issues that cannot be grasped fully by politics often become accessible when one approaches them from an artistic point of view. A performance, symphony, sketch, or a painting, can lift people up and above reality. Music, literature, film, and theatre are sometimes the key to a very different world than the one which imposes itself upon us daily. They reveal alternative possibilities, even solutions".

The Minister also (positively) connects art and migration. "Ever more immigrants are exhibiting their work in Dutch museums, artists from all corners of the globe meet at festivals and influence each other's dance, film, theatre and music. These arts forms are therefore perfect forums for encounter: music, dance, theatre and film tell us a lot about the customs and habits of those that practice them. Throughout the Netherlands, people with different cultural backgrounds meet each other daily in music schools, ballet studio's, film houses and theatres. All these influences have greatly enriched artistic supply in The Netherlands".

Cases of Good Practice

Introdans is one of the largest ballet companies in the Netherlands. The company performs inside and outside the country, for adults and children alike. Since 2005, Introdans has 66 employees and 6 interns, 39% of which do not have a Dutch cultural background. At Introdans, people of different background, age, education and with different ambitions and desires all work together: all in all, the organisation is characterised by diversity. Introdans exploits its staff's qualities by placing responsibility for projects as low as possible in the organisation's hierarchy. In this manner, the management, for example, stimulates the dancers to make their own choreographies for the company, and technicians develop lighting plans for performances. 

Krater Theater is an organisation that regards art and culture as a source of inspiration and a connecting link in the multicultural South-eastern part of Amsterdam. Krater Theater organises dramatic youth performances for children, from 4 to 12 years, in community centres and develops artistic dance, theatre, visual art, photography / film / video and music projects, in schools and in a socio-cultural context. The school projects allow children to become acquainted with, for example, drama, dance and visual art. Performances are geared towards children with differing cultural backgrounds who live in multicultural neighbourhoods.

The aim of the project, "Neighbourhood Belongs to all of Us", to increase solidarity between the various residents of the Slaaghwijk neighbourhood in Leiden which is highly multicultural. Various activities have been organised. For example, a municipal working group Leiden Stad van Vluchtelingen [Leiden, City of Refugees] started a wall-painting project. Five poems have been painted onto the walls of five blocks of flats. The five poems stem from the five largest cultural groups in the neighbourhood: Moroccan, Turkish, Surinamese, Chinese and Dutch. Each poem is accompanied by an image that either illustrates the poem, or is associated with the country of origin. Dutch and English translations of the poems can be found on a pillar that has been placed in front of the wall. The neighbourhood has welcomed this initiative. The president of the neighbourhood council has described the poems as creating a "world of difference" on the previously blank walls. He believes that the residents are proud of "their" poem. It is a sign of recognition, and a poem in one's own language makes one feel welcome and accepted.

LaZiz is a (monthly) recurring dance evening that takes place in Amsterdam´s pop venue Paradiso. The leading thread is Arabic pop music, or, in other words, the music that is played on the TMFs and MTVs of the Arab world. The musical styles that cross the floor during LaZiz are very diverse: Saoedi, Iranian, Lebanese, Egyptian, Moroccan. The evenings are an initiative of three DJ's and a VJ, who noted that there was hardly any platform for this type of music in the Netherlands. Paradiso chose to programme LaZiz in the framework of its so-called hotchpotch evenings, during which different music is played on different dance floors. This is to ensure that fans of other musical styles and genres come into contact with LaZiz. All visitors can participate in a workshop on belly dancing, the main style of dancing at LaZiz.

For more information, see:
Database of Good Practice on Intercultural Dialogue and our Intercultural Dialogue section.

For more information on the government's National Strategy for the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue please see: http://ec.europa.eu/culture/eac/dialogue/strategies_en.html 

Netherlands/ 4.3 Recent policy issues and debates

4.2.4 Social cohesion and cultural policies

Many social domains (labour, commercial enterprise, education, sports and street corner work) are explicitly mentioned in a recent Dutch government policy paper on social cohesion. Culture and related projects are currently absent from the documents.

On the other hand, cultural institutes are constantly working on programmes to foster closer ties between cultural groups - whether they are made up of artists or audiences.  A new initiative was undertaken by the Service organisation for artists, Kunstenaars & Co (artists and cultural entrepreneurship, see also http://www.culturalpolicies.net/web/icons/intern.gifchapter 8.1.3). Its programme is aimed at the (re) integration of artists into the labour market as well as at seeking new opportunities for art to play a role in rebuilding social ties, especially in places where these ties are virtually non existent and / or highly desirable.

In the ESF EQUAL project ArtWork(s), artists are engaged to help increase labour market opportunities of migrants, prisoners, mentally disabled people and youth at risk. It is the first EQUAL project in the Netherlands in which art plays a decisive role. To this end, the Kunstenaars & Co created partnerships with two prisons, a school, a reintegration company, a healthcare organisation, three artist groups, the Netherlands Institute for Care and Welfare and the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.

Individual initiatives are also very important. For example, theatre producer, Saskia Huybrechtse, works with 12 young people to create a play about their lives. She developed this programme together with the FouRstar Reintegration Service, an organisation that supports young people through training and mediation with future employers.  Set in a boxing school, these young people work alongside professional actors and boxers.  They learn both artistic and technical skills such as acting, dancing, set design and lighting. These young people have a hard time finding a job and lack the basic competencies (skills and attitude) necessary to find their own way in society. Their participation in the theatre programme enables them to gain basic skills like discipline, self-confidence, and perseverance, which they need to make their way forward in life and find a job. The result has been the creation of the performance piece Long Live Me which will premiere at the theatre festival Over het IJ Festival in Amsterdam in 2006 and will go on tour throughout Netherlands for two months afterwards.

Netherlands/ 4.2 Recent policy issues and debates

4.2.5 Media pluralism and content diversity

Through the Media Act, the diversity of the Dutch population, in terms of religion, political preferences and cultural differentiation, is more or less mirrored in the public broadcasting system. Broadcasting licenses can be obtained for ten years if the association asking for a license can prove to represent a sufficient number of members (see http://www.culturalpolicies.net/web/icons/intern.gifchapter 5.3.8). Next to the public broadcasting system, a commercial broadcasting system is active in the Netherlands. During the last years the public broadcasting system came under pressure due to a decrease in audience levels. A Parliamentary debate has started on how to strike a balance between the different functions of public and commercial broadcasters.

Before summer 2005, the Balkenende administration, presented a policy paper entitled, In View of Tomorrow, on the public broadcasting system in the context of an expanding market for commercial TV and radio. The paper proposed more strict regulations on public broadcasting programmes and a substantial decrease in state funding. Although many people involved in (public) broadcasting were convinced that a reorganisation had become necessary to strengthen the position of public broadcasting, almost nobody showed support for the ideas presented in the policy paper. The paper was viewed as a compromise between Christian Democrats, still in favour of membership based private broadcasting associations that more or less reflect the values and preferences of their members, and the Liberals, wanting a small but strong public broadcasting system, with a position similar to the BBC in the U.K. During the discussion in Parliament that followed in Autumn 2005, the idea of public broadcasting without advertisement (the BBC approach) was rejected by the majority of the MP's. At the beginning of 2006, the Liberals came with yet another proposal for the total withdrawal of public broadcasting. According to them it would be better to subsidise public services produced by commercial broadcasters. No decision has yet been taken.

The board of the NOS (public broadcaster) is working to find ways to increase ratings (viewership) in the face of an euro 80 million reduction in annual advertising income. It is generally feared that this will lead to less programmes on art and culture, because, by nature, they do not attract many watchers and listeners. In February 2006, some of the fears came true when it was decided to reduce the budget for public radio broadcasting by euro13 million. More than 80 people will loose their job and the number of cultural programme broadcast will decrease, despite protests from writers and artists.

Daily papers are suffering from an ongoing process of loosing subscribers. Young people do not read papers in the way elder people (still) do. Migrants seem to do without even in higher quantities. The merging process of nation wide papers with regional ones is speeding up. At the same time, weekly magazines have to cut their spending due to shrinking budgets. In a period of very limited economic growth, advertising income has been restricted.

Netherlands/ 4.2 Recent policy issues and debates

4.2.6 Culture industries: policies and programmes

The 2006 programme Culture and Economy (http://www.cultuureneconomie.nl/) aims to strengthen the economic potential of culture and creativity, by giving an impulse to the Netherlands' creative potential. The fruits of this endeavour are that the business sector gets more insight into the possibilities offered by the creative industries, which can lead to a new source of ideas for the development and use of new technologies and products. At the same time, the cultural sector is made more aware of its market potential. Culture and Economy is a cooperation programme of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Culture Ministry. In addition, several institutes from the field of the arts are involved, such as the Premsela Foundation for Dutch design.

The Dutch Cabinet put forward four arguments for promoting collaboration between the two departments. Firstly, the creative industries have become a relatively large sector after a period of constant growth. They now provide 240 000 jobs (3.2% of the labour market), and are still growing rapidly, especially in the Amsterdam region. They represent an added value of an estimated euro 8.4 billion. Secondly, heritage and performing arts have indirect effects. They are a magnet for the "creative class" - a term coined by the American economist Richard Florida - and make cities more attractive and more competitive. Moreover, they attract other businesses and fuel the tourism industry. Thirdly, content is an instrument for the adoption of new (multimedia) technologies and the implementation of the broadband infrastructure, which makes the country internationally competitive. Lastly, industrial design makes products - good and services - not only more beautiful, but also cheaper in production and distribution, and more sustainable.

In October 2005, a policy document - Our Creative Capacity (Ons Creatieve Vermogen) -was presented to the parliament by the Ministries of Education, Culture and Science (State Secretary for Culture and Media) together with Economic Affairs (Minister and State Secretary). The document introduces measures and schemes to help creative industries to achieve their full economic potential. Creative industries are broken down in three sectors: arts and cultural heritage; media and entertainment; creative services. The last category includes design, fashion, architecture, new media, computer games and advertising. The main objectives are:

The Our Creative Capacity programme runs up until 2008 and has a budget of euro 15.5 million.

Netherlands/ 4.2 Recent policy issues and debates

4.2.7 Employment policies for the cultural sector

As a result of state budget reductions, subsidised jobs, very popular in the non-profit cultural sector, were abolished. On the other hand, State Secretary Van der Laan expects to create more jobs by stimulating cooperation between artists and creative workers and the cultural industry, in the commercial sector in other words.

The shifting political attention can be explained by the expectation that most artistic and cultural jobs will be found in the cultural industry. According to a report on cultural employment in Europe, published by Eurostat in 2004, the share of cultural employment in the total employment is considerable in the Netherlands: 3.27% of total employment or more than 249 000 jobs. Only a number of Northern countries have a somewhat higher ratio of cultural employment. In the cultural workforce, the highly educated are an absolute majority: about 40% university graduates as compared with 25% in the total workforce. The percentage of employers and self-employed in the cultural sector is almost three times higher than in other jobs: 32% to 11%. Cultural employment, however, seems to be less stable: 19% consists of temporary jobs, compared with 14 % in the total employment.

Netherlands/ 4.2 Recent policy issues and debates

4.2.8 New technologies and cultural policies

All cultural expressions that have been made possible through state funding are part of an environment in which every citizen must be able to find elements that make him or her feel at home. Possibilities to bring this ideal a few steps closer have increased enormously since the advent of information and communication technology (ICT). The policy document on eCulture published in 2002 [Beleidsbrief eCultuur] explores implications and possibilities of ICT for cultural institutions and media. In that year, about euro 50 million was spent on utilising ICT in the arts, the cultural heritage and public broadcasting. In 2004, a special ICT budget was allocated for the digitalisation of the cultural heritage and the further development of a virtual library in the public library sector. Important national digital services have since been set up. 

At the same time, the innovative nature of E-Culture was acknowledged. It is not only valuable for the exploitation of cultural potential in libraries and heritage depots, but also for other forms of knowledge distribution and to reach new audiences. The organisation Virtueel Platform <http://www.virtueelplatform.nl/> has become an expertise centre for e-culture.

In 2006, a survey was conducted by the Social and Cultural Planning Office of the Netherlands [Sociaal Cultureel Planbureau: <http://www.scp.nl/>], describing the current use of ICT in the cultural sector. In the EU, the drive is towards large-scale digitisation of European heritage in the coming years. In the Netherlands, a first major step in this direction will be taken from 2007 onwards with the digitisation of large parts of the Dutch audiovisual heritage.

Netherlands/ 4.2 Recent policy issues and debates

4.2.9 Heritage issues and policies

Cultural heritage in the Netherlands includes museums, historic buildings and sites, archaeology and archives and libraries, but also includes "cultural planning". This essentially involves working together with other interested parties and a development-oriented rather than conservation-oriented approach. Cultural heritage policy accordingly focuses more on the public and the possible uses of artefacts, rather than the artefacts themselves. Different kinds of heritage are presented to the public alongside one another or used to improve the quality of the environment.

Despite growing public interest in cultural heritage, the costs of collection and preservation are high. In the cultural policy document 2001-2004, emphasis was placed on a more effective use of existing heritage, audience-reach and social gain by means of cultural education. Furthermore, it was stated that the cultural heritage of immigrants should be preserved and made accessible. After a meeting on migrants and migrant culture in 2001, an inventory was prepared by the Institute of Social History in Amsterdam, looking for relevant material in 104 Dutch archives. It was advised to use the written, photographed and recorded fragments of migrant history for small exhibitions in municipal archives throughout the country. By organizing such exhibitions migrant organisations make themselves more visible to a possibly interested audience.

The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science is responsible for the infrastructure; the "museum system", which consist of all museums, supporting, granting and advisory bodies, that collect, maintain and study the cultural heritage and present it to the public at national, regional and local level. The main aims of museum policy are to preserve cultural heritage, to improve access (among other things through the Internet), encourage public participation (especially of youth and ethnic minorities) and to increase the visibility and the movement of museum collections, not only at national but also at European level. During the Dutch EU presidency in the second half of 2004, the Cultural Heritage Department of the Ministry hosted a conference on "mobility of collections".

At the turn of the century, a debate was started concerning the "intermuseal" exchange of paintings, sculptures and other objects of art on the basis of loan agreements. Also the limits of Dutch art collections were discussed. What should remain a permanent part of that collection and what could be removed and on what grounds? More recently, the mobility of museum collections was put on the political agenda. Knowing that the ambition of exchanging collections between museums leads to increasing international traffic, the central government decided to introduce an indemnity regulation, which means that the state will absorb the insurance costs for museums preserving and exhibiting state owned collections. The regulation was launched in October 2004 and welcomed by the museums. However, some were disappointed by the lower than expected financial ceiling that is built into the indemnity for budgetary reasons.

Plans are being developed and implemented to integrate concepts of cultural and historic value into the spatial planning of the Netherlands as stated in the Belvedere policy document (see http://www.culturalpolicies.net/web/icons/intern.gifchapter 2.3). Furthermore, the Delta Plan, a long-term policy plan relating to the preservation of the Dutch cultural heritage is still under consideration. Recently, however, due to budget reductions, it was announced that until January 2006, historic buildings will be designated as national monuments only on an incidental basis. Exceptions will be made for important monuments that would deteriorate excessively without state help. Prior to the expiry of this period, the State Secretary will prepare new selection criteria in order to create regulations that are well balanced, easy to handle and affordable.

In her 2003 policy document, State Secretary Van der Laan describes the process of digitalisation as a vital tool for cultural heritage organisations. She adds, however, that ICT initiatives are often not in line with the national infrastructure and fail to be noticed by the general public. They should be united in a single digital collection within the Netherlands, easily accessible to the public, so that they can be informed regarding the nationwide cultural supply. This unification process should be coordinated by the Dutch Digital Heritage Association, which has the task of coordinating the digitalisation of heritage matters and making them more accessible to both professionals and the general public.

In November 2005, State Secretary Medy van der Laan presented a policy paper on museums to the parliament: Bewaren om teweeg te brengen (Preserve in order to proceed). Major alterations in museum policy are proposed in this document. Museums that are subsidised by the Ministry will leave the four year funding system (the cultural policy period, see http://www.culturalpolicies.net/web/icons/intern.gifchapter 2.2). Instead of four year subsidies, the Ministry will make management contracts with the museums, stipulating the conditions for long-term funding (30 years). The grants will cover the running costs of the museums, such as staff, housing, upkeep of the collections, new acquisitions and exhibitions. Management contracts will also include a periodical assessment of performance of the museums by a visiting committee of (inter)national experts. Not counting the running costs, additional funding will be available for specific activities of the museums aiming at, inter alia, increasing participation of target groups (youth, ethnical minorities), upkeep and presentation of the cultural heritage of minorities and heritage education programmes for school children. An earmarked budget for such activities will be transferred to the Mondriaan Foundation which carries out different governmental subsidy schemes in order to support museum collections and policy development. All museums in the country, and thus not only museums subsidised by the Ministry (about 30), will be eligible for grants from this budget.

Netherlands/ 4.2 Recent policy issues and debates

4.2.10 Gender equality and cultural policies

In the 1980s, public debate on equality issues was focused on the equal participation of women in professional life. This debate was stimulated by positive action and aimed at obtaining proportional representation for women. In the 1990s, the subject of debate shifted from women to ethnic minorities (both men and women).

The Directie Coördinatie Emancipatiebeleid (DCE), of the Ministry of Social Affairs coordinates the Dutch equality policy, all governmental initiatives and keeps permanent contact with the business world and societal organisations in order to stimulate good practice and exchange knowledge and information. The main policy objective is to create equal rights, opportunities and freedom for every man and women, given individual responsibilities.

Every Ministry, including the Ministry of Culture, was requested to make an action plan, consisting of four points that could be realised during the expected duration of the Balkenende II Cabinet (2003-2007). The fourth point in the memorandum of the Ministry of Culture, refers to the arts and cultural sector. The main goal is to increase the number of women in key positions in advisory boards, and in higher management functions in arts and cultural institutions. In 2001, within the Ministry of Culture, women represented 59% of those were employed in lower scaled positions, 34% in middle scaled positions and 22% in high scaled positions.

Next to this action plan, the Ministry took up a more active role following the guidelines of the cultural policy letter Cultuur als confrontatie. It says: "More space is devoted to the personal culture of different groups of people, without this personal culture being considered invariable. Stages, museums and other settings should be fully used by diverse cultural programming to stimulate the encounter between different cultures. The accessibility of cultural institutions, companies, advisory committees and funding boards is being enlarged for different groups of people" (Culture as Confrontation, page 47).

A research project was set up in 2002, revealing that the total number of women working in the cultural sector had gone up. But at the same time no significant growth in the number of women holding top positions was reached. This was confirmed by the research of Agneta Fischer who studied 413 organisations (2002): of all the leading positions, only 32% were occupied by women, i.e., the bigger the organisation, the smaller the percentage of women in top positions. No glass ceilings have yet been broken. The visual arts sector turned out to be the most female-friendly sector with 43% female top managers; the lowest score was counted in the media with only 22% female top managers.

To stimulate the transfer of women in the arts and cultural professions, the Netherlands Theatre Institute initiated the project Coaching in the Arts (2001-2002). The project is financed, among others, by the Ministries of Culture, Social Affairs and the private foundation "Mama Cash". The projects are about female artists and women working in related professions experiencing the existence of a glass ceiling, and about developing strategies to break the barriers. Mentoring and coaching turned out to be effective instruments to help women who have strong professional ambitions. The project is part of MIXED, the Dutch input to a project of the European Union, for the realisation of a more equal balance in the top businesses and organisations.

Netherlands/ 4. Current issues in cultural policy development and debate

4.3 Other relevant issues and debates

Culture of Giving

State Secretary of Culture Van Leeuwen (2002-2003) placed the issue of private donations on the cultural policy agenda. In his view, additional funds for culture would be available if only a "culture of giving", as he called it, is stimulated systematically through fiscal incentives. His successor, Medy van der Laan, pursued the matter of private giving. The result is that private individuals and businesses who donate money or works of arts to cultural institutions (i.e. museums, performing art companies) or cultural foundations are exempt from gift and inheritance tax and are eligible for a reduction in income or corporate tax.

In the Netherlands, there are investment trusts which invest at least 70% of their capital in artistic and cultural projects. Private investment in these "cultural trusts" yield a high return, mainly thanks to income tax deductions. The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science developed a brochure informing private individuals and businesses about these incentives and presented the brochure during a conference on contemporary patronage in the arts and culture held in Amsterdam in September 2004.

In 2005, former football player Johan Cruyff started complaining in public about the high percentages of gifts taxes, 11% of the original donated sum. Cruyff is very successful in attracting money which he spends on football facilities for young and deprived people. After some debate, the State Secretary of the Ministry of Finance Wijn proposed to reduce gift taxes to 8%, and later to 0%. His proposal was taken over by the Balkenende administration and by parliament. The 0% gift tax now applies to the art and cultural sector.

The former state museum, which after privatisation still profited from the 0% tariff (donations to the state have been free from charges since ages), is now confronted with competition from many other institutions trying to benefit from donations from private donors.  For more information see http://www.culturalpolicies.net/web/icons/intern.gifchapter 5.1.5.

Reducing costs of the cultural infrastructure

In order to find ways to reduce the national budget, State Secretary Van der Laan asked a consultancy bureau (Berenschot) to make an inventory of cultural infrastructure [ondersteunende instellingen] and their functions. The bureau made a list of 150 organisations, and placed them into four categories: (1) branch organisations, (2) organisations carrying out commissioned tasks, (3) organisations of cultural heritage, and (4) organisations related to the cultural system as a whole. Although the Culture Council was unwilling to agree to these categories or to setting apart organisations branded as "supporting", a proposal was made to reorganise the "supporting sector", combined with a subsidy cutback of 10%. For this reason, almost all organisations involved were granted subsidies for one year only instead of the usual four years. Following, the Secretary of State announced at the beginning of 2005, that a large reorganisation would take place and subsidies would be reorganised according to a new format. In the course of the year, it became clear that within the general process of reducing subsidies, two major reorganisations were about to take place in the field of amateur arts and in the field of music. In the latter field, the Secretary of State proposed to reduce 20 music "support institutions" of varying sizes to 2 major institutions, one focussing on documentation, the other on promotion.

Restitution of paintings to rightful claimants

Between the two World Wars, Jacques Goudstikker (1897-1940) was the owner of a leading art gallery in Amsterdam. Trying to escape Nazi-Germany, he embarked for England in May 1940, but died in a tragic accident. His wife settled in the US and the family never returned to Amsterdam. One of the employees taking over the gallery sold the pictures to the Nazi-regime, without permission of the family that still owned the paintings. After the war, the Dutch government claimed to be the owner of the Goudstikker collection. The paintings were on show in a number of museums. After a long period of fruitless attempts, the heirs of Goudstikker succeeded in having 202 paintings returned by the Dutch government in early 2006. The decision to return the paintings was reportedly on moral and not on juridical grounds. It is still unclear what will happen to the paintings.

Netherlands/ 5.1 General legislation

5.1.1 Constitution

Two articles of the Grondwet (Dutch Constitution) are relevant to the cultural field:

Netherlands/ 5.1 General legislation

5.1.2 Division of jurisdiction

There is no law-based division of responsibilities between central government, provinces and municipalities. In the Monumentenwet (Dutch Monuments and Historic Buildings Act), the Archiefwet (Public Records Act) and the Wet op de inkomensvoorziening voor kunstenaars (Artists' Income Scheme Act), specific tasks and competences for municipalities and provinces are indicated.

Apart from these laws, municipalities are free to develop cultural policy in whatever direction. On the other hand, the Minister (or State Secretary) of Culture is obliged to consult provinces and municipalities before sending the four-year cultural policy documents to parliament. As part of this process, a contract system has been developed to coordinate cultural policy initiatives launched by the three levels of government, for example the Cultural Outreach Action Plan (see http://www.culturalpolicies.net/web/icons/intern.gifchapter 8.3). For more information see http://www.culturalpolicies.net/web/icons/intern.gifchapter 2.2.

Netherlands/ 5.1 General legislation

5.1.3 Allocation of public funds

Government arts funding has its legislative base in a number of laws, including the Specific Cultural Policy Act, which regulates the subsidies based on cultural policy decisions, as well as the Monuments and Archaeological Sites Act, the Public Records Act and the Media Act. The subsidy laws deal with three main lines of funding: multi-annual subsidies to institutions, project subsidies and specific subsidies. The largest of these is the first - the multi-annual subsidies to institutions. These funds are distributed every four years, on the basis of evaluated subsidy requests under the Cultural Policy Document system. Apart from the subsidies directly granted to institutions, the Ministry also has the possibility to award grants to individual artists or arts bodies through a vast array of funds (see also http://www.culturalpolicies.net/web/icons/intern.gifchapter 8.1.1).

In the Cultural Policy Act (1993), Section 9 enables the Minister to create Funds to finance the arts and culture. These Funds operate at arm's length and the Minister only decides about the quantity of money reserved for them.

Domestic legislation is laid down in the Begrotingswet (Budget Act), which stipulates that all public spending should be annually approved by Parliament. Due to special laws, long-term subsidies in culture are in principle possible. According to EU legislation, the compulsory tendering for larger funds is also applicable to culture and architecture.

Netherlands/ 5.1 General legislation

5.1.4 Social security frameworks

General laws (including social security legislation) related to independent entrepreneurs also apply to artists. Specific regulations are indicated in the Artists Income Scheme Act 1998 (see http://www.culturalpolicies.net/web/icons/intern.gifchapter 5.3.9).

In the Werkeloosheidswet (Dutch Unemployment Insurance Act), an exception is made for freelance artists. Acceptance criteria (based on the period of unemployment) are less severe for freelance artists in comparison with other professions.

For more information, see our Status of Artists section. 

Netherlands/ 5.1 General legislation

5.1.5 Tax laws

Businesses as well as private individuals can profit from tax exemption regulations. This applies both to sponsoring activities and gifts. More recently, the State Secretary of Financial Affairs has decided to reduce gift taxes to zero.

Following changes to articles of the Tax Law (1 January 2006) charitable institutions are no longer charged taxes when they receive money from inheritance funds. In order to qualify for the exemption, these institutions have to demonstrate in their Statute and a description of daily activities, that they not only theoretically, but also practically serve "good causes". To compensate the losses in state income as result of this new regulation, it was decided to raise the betting tax (kansspelbelasting) from 25% to 29%.

The system of VAT is divided into three rates: a high rate of 19%, a low rate of 6% and a 0% rate. European legislation allows the member states to charge the low VAT rate on show tickets, theatres, circuses, funfairs, amusement parks, concerts, museums, zoos, cinemas, exhibitions and similar cultural events and venues. In 1993, the Netherlands lowered the VAT rate on cinema tickets, admission tickets to public museums (and on the sale of catalogues, photographs and photocopies produced by these museums), theatres and concert halls. Artists who work on commission, such as text writers, composers of advertising jingles, architects and designers, all charge the higher VAT rate.

Tax authorities consider that certain forms of subsidy are subject to VAT. However, the Ministry of Finance determined that subsidies arising from the Bekostigingsbesluit cultuuruitingen (Dutch Cultural Projects Funding Decree) would not be subject to VAT. This decree covers all subsidies granted by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science on the grounds of the Cultural Policy Act (Special Purpose Funding), including subsidies furnished by the cultural funds set up by this Ministry.

Netherlands/ 5.1 General legislation

5.1.6 Labour laws

There are many collective bargaining agreements [collective crbeidsovereenkomst - CAO] in the performing arts and more generally in the cultural sector. CAOs are labour-agreements between employers and employees. This means that a CAO only applies to employees who are working with an employer. When this is not the case, the national legal agreements are enforced. The existing CAOs are used mostly in broadcasting, cinema, public libraries, arts training, performing arts / television, subsidised theatre, orchestras, mime, dance, independent museums. Special trade unions exist to enforce or monitor these agreements.

Almost all art and cultural institutions are organised in the Culture Federation [Federatie Cultuur], an umbrella employer's organisation which monitors the results of annual collective bargaining with respect to work and related conditions between the large Dutch unions, central government and the employer's organisations.

Tax Law permits volunteers to receive an annual tax-free expense allowance of up to 667 euro (indexed on 1 January 2000). Up to this amount, volunteers do not need to account for their expenses. Costs above this amount may be reimbursed, but it has to be proved that these costs were incurred (see http://www.culturalpolicies.net/web/icons/intern.gifchapter 2.3).

For more information, see our Status of Artists section. 

Netherlands/ 5.1 General legislation

5.1.7 Copyright provisions

The Minister of Justice is responsible for copyright legislation. All laws are extensions of the Auteurswer (1912) (Dutch Copyright Act, 1912). Due to changes in the art world, these extensions became necessary.

Systems of author's rights / droits d'auteur

The Dutch Copyright Act was passed in 1912. It enables the creator of a work of literature, science or art to earn a reasonable income. It was considered to be an important contribution to the flourishing of such fields in the Netherlands.

Recently (2003), the State Secretary of Culture reminded policymakers that the effects of copyright are voluminous (in the financial sense) enough for developing a culture political vision on its consequences for the makers and users of artistic and cultural products. Copyright relating to the digitalisation of state collections, in particular, is in the process of being regulated.

Blank tape levies

The Reproduction Rights Organisation [Stichting Reprorecht] has been responsible for collecting copying fees since 1988. Authors and publishers of educational and academic publications, including magazines or journals, are the main recipients of these fees. The Copyright Act allows private parties to make photocopies for private practice and study. When the cassette recorder and video recorder made it possible for private parties to copy sound recordings and broadcast programmes on an unprecedented scale, it became clear that some form of compensation was required. This led to a tax on blank audiotapes and videotapes in 1991 collected by the Home Copy Association [Stichting de Thuiskopie] which distributes the moneys among the copyright owners.

In 1993, the Dutch Neigbouring Rights Act came into force. This Act protects creative achievements of performing artists, music producers and broadcasting associations.

Public lending rights

In 1996, a public lending right was enacted which allows copyright owners to receive a fee for the loan or lease of their works. In the case of commercial hire, the copyright owner may determine the size of this fee. In the case of public libraries, the state determines a fixed fee. Moneys are collected and redistributed by the Public Lending Right Office [Stichting Leenrecht].

Netherlands/ 5.1 General legislation

5.1.8 Data protection laws

In 1996, the European guidelines on databases were adopted. In the Netherlands, these guideline were implemented into national law in 1999 (Databankenwet). The law can be seen as an extension of copyright regulation.

Netherlands/ 5.1 General legislation

5.1.9 Language laws

In 1980, the Dutch Language Union [Nederlandse Taalunie] came into being. It implements an intergovernmental treaty between the Netherlands and the Flemish Community which aims to integrate the Dutch and Flemish community as far as the Dutch language is concerned, see also http://www.culturalpolicies.net/web/icons/intern.gifchapter 4.2.2.

Frisian is one of the official languages of the Netherlands that is used in budget planning exercises, in the National Education Examination Programme and in official parliamentary reports, see also http://www.culturalpolicies.net/web/icons/intern.gifchapter 4.2.2.

Netherlands/ 5.2 Legislation on culture

The Cultural Policy Act (Special Purpose Funding) of 1993 was considered a milestone in the legal basis of Dutch policy. It defined and redefined a number of aspects of cultural policy. This Act was needed to ratify specific payments by the government to local authorities and national cultural funds. It also regulates specific policy and financial relations with provinces and municipalities. The Cultural Policy Act focuses on long term (four years) subsidies meant for arts and cultural institutions (see http://www.culturalpolicies.net/web/icons/intern.gifchapter 3.1). Short term subsidies (mostly one year) are administered by funds (see http://www.culturalpolicies.net/web/icons/intern.gifchapter 8.1.1).

Netherlands/ 5.3 Sector specific legislation

5.3.1 Visual and applied arts

The Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment has established a subsidy scheme which sets aside a percentage ranging from 0.5 to 2% of the building costs for public buildings to commission or purchase works of art (see also http://www.culturalpolicies.net/web/icons/intern.gifchapter 2.3).

Netherlands/ 5.3 Sector specific legislation

5.3.2 Performing arts and music

To preserve the rights of performing artists, the Wet op de naburige rechten (Dutch Neighbouring Rights Act, 1993) was introduced in the Netherlands.

Netherlands/ 5.3 Sector specific legislation

5.3.3 Cultural heritage

Several laws exist and the most important ones are listed below:

Netherlands/ 5.3 Sector specific legislation

5.3.4 Literature and libraries

For information on copyright, see http://www.culturalpolicies.net/web/icons/intern.gifchapter 5.1.7.

A law prepared to continue the fixed book price system [vaste boekenprijs] in the Netherlands was accepted by the Lower House in October 2004. Only the liberals voted against this measure. An exception was made for school books, for which publishers are free to fix the price (see http://www.culturalpolicies.net/web/icons/intern.gifchapter 5.3.6 and http://www.culturalpolicies.net/web/icons/intern.gifchapter 7.3). The continuation or otherwise of the fixed book price was recently decided by the members of the Senate.

A specific Act on libraries was abolished in 1987 due to general political ideas on governmental decentralisation. During the decentralisation process, prime responsibility for public libraries was transferred to the municipal governments. Subsidies coming from the central government are only meant for stimulating expertise and policy development.

Netherlands/ 5.3 Sector specific legislation

5.3.5 Architecture and environment

The aesthetic aspect of the built environment is protected by the 1992 Woningwet (Dutch Housing Act), regulating and controlling the aesthetic standard of building activities.

Netherlands/ 5.3 Sector specific legislation

5.3.6 Film, video and photography

In 1997, the long existing censorship system was replaced by a new approach to protect minors against violence and related issues on the screen; namely a system of self-regulation developed by the Netherlands Institute for the Classification of Audiovisual Media (NICAM). A "Viewing Indicator" (Kijkwijzer) shows a series of symbols to indicate whether or not watching a specific programme could be damaging for minors and for what reasons (sex, violence, etc). The "Viewing Indicator" is used for films as well as for TV programmes, video clips, computer games and Internet Sites.

In 1999, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science and the Ministry of Economic Affairs agreed on the introduction of a tax exemption measure for private investors wanting to invest in films. It was expected that this measure would encourage private investors to support cultural enterprises and generate profits on their investments. In practice, this meant that investors supported mainstream film productions; art films and documentary films were less attractive. In general, however, the tax exemption measure was welcomed by filmmakers, because it improved the situation of the Dutch film industry as a whole.

In 2003, the Ministry of Economic Affairs decided to revoke the tax exemption because it was considered only as a temporary measure to help entrepreneurs. According to the Ministry it was never envisaged as a form of long term structural support. However, at the beginning of November 2004, State Secretary Wijn (Financial Affairs) announced that it would not revoke the exemption but raise the amount of investments which could benefit from the tax exemption from 25 000 euros to 100 000 euros. A budget of 20 million euros per year is being made available to finance the implementation of this measure.

Netherlands/ 5.3 Sector specific legislation

5.3.7 Culture industries

For information, please see http://www.culturalpolicies.net/web/icons/intern.gifchapter 4.2.6 (culture industries), http://www.culturalpolicies.net/web/icons/intern.gifchapter 5.3.4 (fixed book pricing) and http://www.culturalpolicies.net/web/icons/intern.gifchapter 5.3.6 (film).

Netherlands/ 5.3 Sector specific legislation

5.3.8 Mass media

The 1987 Mediawet (Dutch Media Act), which not only sets out rules for radio and television but also for the press, was revised in 2000. The Media Act states that broadcasting associations should represent a religious, social or ideological school of thought. To be assigned air time on public channels they must have at least 300 000 paying members. The minimum contribution or membership's fee is around six euros a year. This is sufficient to be recognised as paying member. There were eight public broadcasting associations in 2004. New associations wishing to enter the system must have at least 50 000 members. These associations must also add something new to the existing programming so as to increase the diversity of broadcasting.

The umbrella organisation of the public broadcaster is called the Netherlands Broadcasting Corporation [Nederlandse Omroep Stichting - NOS]. It coordinates the programming and promotes common interests of public broadcasters. It also provides the main portion of news and sports programmes. The Netherlands Programme Foundation [Nederlandse Programma Stichting - NPS] complements the programmes of other broadcasters by an additional broadcasting of cultural programmes, youth and educational programmes and programmes devoted to ethnic minorities. Churches, spiritual organisations, educational institutions, political parties and the government also have a small amount of air time on public channels. The three public broadcasting channels are subject to programming requirements shown in the following table:

Table 3:     Programming requirements

Type of programme

Air time share

Broadcaster

Information and education

35%

All broadcasting associations together

Arts

12.5%

All broadcasting associations together

 

20%

NPS

Culture (including arts)

25%

All broadcasting associations together

 

40%

NPS

Minority programmes

20%

NPS television air time

 

25%

NPS radio air time

Entertainment

25%

Maximum per network

European productions

50%

Per network

Commissioned productions

25%

Public broadcasting as a whole, minimum

 

17.5%

Per network

Original Dutch or Frisian

50%

Per broadcasting organisation

With subtitles for the hearing impaired

50%

Public broadcasting as a whole

Source:      Cultural Policy in the Netherlands. The Hague: Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, 2003. p 118.

Advertising is restricted to a maximum of 6.5% of the annual television and radio air time.

The Media Act stipulates the same programming requirements for commercial broadcasters, as listed in the EU Directive, "Television without Frontiers". At least 50% of the time must be reserved for European productions, excluding information, sports, game shows, commercials and teletext. At least 10% of the time must be devoted to programmes made by independent producers. To prevent the monopolisation on the supply of information, the Media Act places limits on cross media ownership. In fact, permission to run a national commercial station is refused if the company has 25% or more of the Dutch newspaper market.

Netherlands/ 5.3 Sector specific legislation

5.3.9 Legislation for self-employed artists

General laws (including social security legislation) related to independent entrepreneurs also apply to artists. Specific regulations are indicated in the Artists Income Act (1998)

The Artists' Income Scheme Act provides artists with a basic income (70% of welfare payments). However, artists can still work and sell their paintings and collect a value of up to 125% of the income they receive via this Act. In addition to legislation, the government has many funds that provide support to the arts. For example, the Literature Fund encourages the production of Dutch language literature by offering scholarships to literary writers and translators, extra payments above their normal salary, start-up grants and travelling scholarships. The Creative Music Fund provides the same kind of support.

For more information, see our Status of Artists section. 

Netherlands/ 5.3 Sector specific legislation

5.3.10 Other areas of relevant legislation

Information is currently not available.

Netherlands/ 6. Financing of culture

6.1 Short overview

Public expenditure for culture has more than doubled since the 1980s, from euro 1 168 million in 1985 to euro 2 661 million in 2003. From 1999 to 2004 (the most recent data available) this expenditure rose by 32%. Due to a booming economy during that period, all layers of government spent more money on culture. Public spending for funding performing arts venues increased by 54% (from euro 233 million to euro 361 million), for historic buildings and sites by 36% (from euro 178 million to euro 248 million). Museums received 27% more public funds (euro 291 million to euro 372 millions) and funding for performing arts companies rose by 18% (from euro 228 million to euro 265 million).

These increases came to an end in 2004. It was proposed in the coalition agreement of the present government to decrease the culture budget of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science by euro 16 million in 2005: from euro 761 million in 2004 to euro 745 million in 2005. As a consequence of the budget debate in the parliament, the budget cut was restricted to euro 6 million. Moreover additional funding of euro 62 million has been made available for policy priorities such as digitisation of cultural heritage, arts education, and housing of museums and renewal of public libraries.

According to an estimate drawn up by a consultancy firm, the cutbacks in cultural expenditure at the municipal level will amount to some euro 28 million in 2005, being approximately 2% of the current budget. Due to other government measures - such as the termination of subsidised employment schemes - cuts in public expenditure for culture in 2005 are estimated at euro 59 million, or 2.5 % of current funding.

Netherlands/ 6. Financing of culture

6.2 Public cultural expenditure per capita

The gross cultural expenditure per capita in 2004 was euro 163, an increase of 29 % (37 euro) since 1999. That results in 0.5% of GDP in 2004 (0.6% in 2001).

The substantial growth of government spending on culture can be explained by the economic boom in the Netherlands, particularly in the years 1996-2002. So far, the economic recession in the Dutch economy has caused a budget cut in the cultural sector of approximately 50 million euros. Most of the cuts are implemented by municipalities.

Netherlands/ 6. Financing of culture

6.3 Public cultural expenditure broken down by level of government

Table 4:     Public cultural expenditure: by level of government, in million euros, 2002-2004*

 

2002

2003

2004

Level of government

Total

% share of total

Total

% share of total

Total

% share of total

All levels

2 449

100

2 603

100

2 661**

100

State

734

30

752

30

743

29

Provinces

201

8

224

8

208

9

Municipalities

1 514

62

1 627

62

1 653

62

Source:      Statistics Netherlands (CBS) 2006.
*                 Expenditure on broadcastig, arts education, cultural relation abroad and other interdisciplinary items is excluded.
**               Joint funding by all  levels of governement - euros 57 million - included

Netherlands/ 6. Financing of culture

6.4 Sector breakdown

Table 5:     Public cultural expenditure per sector: all levels of government, in million euros, 2002-2004

 

2002

2003

2004

Field / Domain / Sub-domain

Expenditure

% share of total

Expenditure

% share of total

Expenditure

% share of total

Cultural heritage

690

21

739

21

769

21

Media of which

1 001

29

1 007

28

996

28

Broadcasting*

836

25

881

24

867

24

Arts

1 263

36

1 337

37

1 340

37

Public libraries

505

14

538

15

552

15

Total

3 460

100

3 621

100

3 621

100

Source:      Statistics Netherlands (CBS) 2006.
*                Contributions to broadcasting associations that are not part of the government budget for culture but direct transfers to these associations.

Table 6:     State cultural expenditure by sector, in million euros, 2004 

Field / Domain / Sub-domain

Total

State

Provinces

Municipalities

Joint Funding

 

 

 

 

 

(all layers of government)

Cultural heritage

769

316

68

369

16

Museums

399

164

30

205

0

Monuments

249

109

37

103

0

Archives

121

43

1

61

16

Arts

1 340

358

91

860

31

Performing arts

265

195

10

60

0

Performing arts venues

361

0

5

357

0

Visual arts, literature,

film

131

67

12

52

0

Amateur arts and

arts education*

355

47

12

265

31

Other arts

227

49

52

126

0

Public libraries

552

69

48

424

10

Media (broadcasting)

996

867

119

10

0

Total**

3 657

1 610

326

1 663

57

Source:      Statistics Netherlands (CBS) 2006.
*                Professional arts education excluded.
**              Administration and cultural relations abroad excluded.

Netherlands/ 7. Cultural institutions and new partnerships

7.1 Re-allocation of public responsibilities

Since 1984 there have been major shifts in public spending between the various fields of cultural policy. In particular, there has been a redistribution of tasks between the national, regional and local authorities, including all or part of the related funding (see http://www.culturalpolicies.net/web/icons/intern.gifchapter 3.1). A similar redistribution took place in the visual arts, involving the Ministry of Social Affairs in 1987. The reform of the state museums in 1993 brought a transfer of resources for staffing costs from the Ministry of Culture to the museum budget. In this two-fold trend in Dutch cultural policy, more emphasis is on the market on the one hand, but public responsibility for cultural life is maintained on the other.

The two-fold system is facilitated by the establishing of funds. The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science established a number of funds, in particular after 1987 and supplied public money. Each fund allocates money to cultural institutions or individual artists according to its specific aims. These funds are listed in http://www.culturalpolicies.net/web/icons/intern.gifchapter 8.1.

Netherlands/ 7. Cultural institutions and new partnerships

7.2 Status/role and development of major cultural institutions

There is a complex system of subsidies in the cultural sector. This chapter will explain how the subsidy system works in the following fields: cultural heritage; media and arts.

Cultural Heritage

One of the main issues dominating museums policy in the Netherlands in the 1990s was the transformation of state museums into self-governing foundations (which until then had been part of the central government administration). The 1992 Delta Plan introduced the concept of Collectie Nederland (Netherlands Cultural Heritage); the whole national cultural heritage of the Netherlands should figure at the base of museums policy. This means that objects, collections and buildings that are considered to be of national importance are to remain in state ownership, while the national museums themselves are to be given a new legal status under private law. In 1993, the process started to transform the legal status of 25 national museums. Despite their new legal status, however, these museums continued to be subsidised by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. Other Ministries, such as the Ministry of Finance or the Ministry of Defence fund another 11 museums. The buildings and collections remain state property. Some museums kept their title of rijksmuseum (national museum) while others decided to drop it. Together, the museums depend on government subsidies for more than 70% of their total budget.

Responsibility for archaeology and archives has been decentralised - transfer of responsibility from the state to the provinces. State archives have developed a more autonomous management. Their legal status is, due to a more privatised approach, similar now to museums. Despite this reallocation of responsibility the central government is still responsible for supplying their budgets.

Media, Language and Literature, and Libraries

Financing of the media (public service broadcasting, printed media, etc.) is difficult to explain, because funds from the government are allocated according to different rules in each area, and important parts of the media are financed indirectly by radio and TV fees. The main role of the government is to safeguard diversity, originality, impartiality and independence, quality and identity, accessibility, distribution and affordability.

Language and literature are financed through the reading incentive scheme and through government subsidised foundations. These are responsible for the promotion and distribution of the various forms of literature in the Dutch and Frisian languages and the conservation, management, accessibility and dissemination of literature collections as well as for the promotion of Dutch literature abroad.

In her 2003 policy document, State Secretary Van der Laan states that she considers public libraries as an important means of education and cultural dissemination. They are mainly run by municipalities and provinces. Extra money will be given by the central government for ICT developments and for implementing quality care for library systems.

The Arts

The arts include visual art and design, film and the performing arts. For information on amateur art and arts education see http://www.culturalpolicies.net/web/icons/intern.gifchapter 8.

The government supports visual art and design through several foundations. Provinces and municipalities finance Art Lending Centres, whose purpose is the promotion of public access to works of visual art. The Art Lending Federation, directly financed by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, administrates the Art Lending Centres. In addition, incidental subsidies are available from the Ministry for different purposes, e.g. the founding of the Netherlands Architecture Institute. The government also promotes architecture through commissioning building activities.

Most of the national budget for film goes to the Dutch Film Fund. The remainder is spent on film festivals, distribution, publications, promotion of expertise, and the management of Dutch cinematography heritage.

The performing arts sector includes dance, opera, music and drama. Most of the subsidised stage productions in the Netherlands are structurally financed by the state, within the four-year cultural policy period. However, productions are mostly financed by local authorities as well as by incidental government subsidies. Dance is the largest subsidised sector.

The maintenance and management of theatre, music and opera buildings lies within the responsibility of the local authorities.

Netherlands/ 7. Cultural institutions and new partnerships

7.3 Emerging partnerships or collaborations

There are three main partnership or co-operation models which are pursued in the cultural sector in the Netherlands: private associations and foundations, the friends' societies and sponsorship. These partnerships are by no means new. On the contrary, the cultural support system was built around private initiative and social associations even before state support became into being. At the end of the 19th century, private companies and individuals started to plea for governmental support for museums. The most important Dutch museums were built after 1860, the Concertgebouw opened its doors in 1888. Managers of theatres and opera venues started to ask for subsidy, although they were part of a private, commercially oriented enterprise. After WW II, almost all major art institutions were subsidised, but many of them still managed by private board members. Together they formed the governance structure of a stichting (non profit foundation). Towards the end of the 20th century, these private organisation models came back to the forefront for three reasons:

Private associations and foundations

In addition to earnings and government subsidies, there is a third source of funding that comes from private associations and foundations. For example, some private foundations, such as the Prince Bernhard Cultural Foundation and the Rembrandt Association, have included specific social and cultural aims in their statutes. Private associations that support the arts qualify for a tax reduction or a transfer of gift and inheritance tax.

Friend's societies

A growing number of subsidised cultural institutions have friends' societies or private support systems. These allied organisations derive their income from membership fees, gifts and legacies. There are also numerous volunteers that lend a helping hand.

Sponsorship

Another source of cultural funding is the contribution made by commercial enterprises to cultural institutions or facilities. Sponsorship is estimated to generate approximately 50 million euro annually.

The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science drew up a code for sponsors of cultural events some years ago, entitled cultuursponsoring (cultural sponsoring). In this code, various rules for a sponsor relationship are defined and the framework for sponsorship agreements is stipulated. The code does not yet refer to the sponsoring of radio or television programmes or film productions. The most important aspect of the code is that, in principle, the sponsor is not allowed to influence the actual content of the activity organised by its cultural partner.

Netherlands/ 8. Support to creativity and participation

8.1 Direct and indirect support to artists

See http://www.culturalpolicies.net/web/icons/intern.gifchapter 8.1.1.

Netherlands/ 8.1 Direct and indirect support to artists

8.1.1 Special artists funds

Various disciplines in the field of the creative arts have their own fund: visual arts, literature, film, composing music, etc. Funding objectives are changing, as funds are being encouraged by central government to play a more stimulating, enterprising and initiating role, rather than acting as subsidy agents. They must ensure independence and financial independence among artists. That is why State Secretary Van der Laan is stressing that the cultural market "needs to be developed vigorously, while artists must be equipped and stimulated to stir up their spirit of enterprise." However, quality criteria will remain the corner stone of subsidy policy. In short, the contribution of funds to artistic enterprises is preferable to artists' long-term dependence on state aid.

Below is an overview of the existing funds:

Netherlands/ 8.1 Direct and indirect support to artists

8.1.2 Grants, awards, scholarships

Both the government and private institutions award prizes to arts and media professionals in various fields (see also http://www.culturalpolicies.net/web/icons/intern.gifchapter 8.1.1). The number of awards has risen dramatically during recent decades. These include fifteen literature prizes, five classical music prizes, seven popular music prizes, seven film prizes, three architecture prizes, three visual arts prizes, and three jazz prizes. The total amount of cultural prizes increased from 550 in 1996 to 750 in 2002. In 2004, the number of prizes has fallen back to 700. Since 2002, approximately 90 have disappeared, whereas 41 new awards were presented.

Netherlands/ 8.1 Direct and indirect support to artists

8.1.3 Support to professional artists associations or unions

Since its establishment in 1944, the Dutch Federation of Artists Organisations has been subsidised by the central government. By subsidising the Federation, whose members are mostly creative artists, systematic input of creative artists on national cultural policy is safeguarded. However, there is no official negotiation mechanism between the Federation and the government. Artists and their organisations make themselves heard in public, but their direct influence is modest. During the Parliamentary debates held in November 2004, the State Secretary of Culture made clear that no artist organisations can expect to be invited for negotiations related to the implementation of the upcoming 4 year plan. Trade unions for artists and related creative professionals do not receive any structural subsidy.

The central government provides support to service organisations for artists, such as Kunstenaars & Co (artists and cultural entrepreneurship). The State Secretary argued in 2004 that organised interest groups should not receive financial support from the state. No final decision has been made and debates are going on. The essence of the debate is that trade unions and pressure groups cannot be financially dependent on political rulers and be critical to them at the same time. Artist organisations stress that they also have a costly two way (from politics to cultural practice, and vice versa) information task which they cannot finance by themselves.

Netherlands/ 8.2 Cultural consumption and participation

8.2.1 Trends and figures

Research into participation in culture, media use and leisure pursuits have a long-standing tradition in the Netherlands. First studies in this area were carried out before the Second World War. Since the 1970s, large-scale periodical surveys have been conducted by the Social and Cultural Planning Office (SCP) founded in 1973. One of its main tasks is to conduct scientific research into social and cultural trends The results show a clear correlation between cultural interests - especially interest in traditional culture - and education. All other things remaining equal, the better-educated show more interest than the less educated. The educational level of the Dutch population rose considerably since the 1970s. In 1975 only 8% of the population had completed either university or professional higher education (Hogeschool in Dutch, Hochschule in German). By 2000, this percentage had climbed to 22%. Given the much higher level of education among the Dutch population, one could expect a growing interest in traditional culture.

However, this expectation has not been met. Important reasons are diverging preferences of young and older people. In general people do not show an interest in traditional culture, e.g. classical music, opera or visual art, until later in life. The age at which people start to be interested in traditional culture has risen over the years: in 1995 the turning point - the age at which a person started visiting traditional forms of culture more than the average - was around 40; four years later it had shifted to 45 (SCR 2000, p. 502). Visitors only interested in traditional culture make up a mere fraction of the Dutch population. This exclusive interest is also largely confined to older people with secondary and higher education. Conversely, the proportion of the population interested exclusively in popular culture rose from one-fifth in 1983 to a quarter in 1999. Particularly striking is the strong interest in popular culture among young people with secondary and higher education.

The majority of the audience for culture consists of "omnivores" who have both traditional and popular forms of culture on their menu and alternate between them. The breakdown of the menu has changed, however. The most far-reaching changes have taken place among young people with secondary and higher education. The portion of traditional culture, which in 1983 was about the same as that of popular culture, has been halved by 1999. Older people with the same level of education had more popular forms of culture on their agenda in 1999 than in 1983. Traditional forms of culture predominate, however.

The supply of culture is concentrated (even more than is warranted by the population density) in the four major cities of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht. This pattern is strongest in the subsidised and non-subsidised performing arts, which are highly concentrated in the west of the country, particularly Amsterdam. People who live in the four major cities thus have far more opportunities to attend cultural events in their area than those who live elsewhere. In 1999, State Secretary Rick van der Ploeg's policy document "Make way for cultural diversity" led to the Cultural Outreach Action Plan, the aim of which is to involve more people in culture, especially newcomers such as immigrants and young people. Dwindling interest of young people in traditional culture is one of the reasons for stimulating arts education in schools as well as for starting the Cultural Outreach Action Plan in 2000. Another reason is that ethnic minorities are underrepresented among visitors of cultural institutions: this is particularly true of Turks and Moroccans, to a lesser extent immigrant from the former Dutch colony of Surinam and the Netherlands Antilles which are still a part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The plan defines culture in the broad sense, not just the performing arts or museums but also popular culture, e.g. pop music. In order to put the Action Plan into practice, the central government and the provinces and municipalities entered into agreements and put programmes in place for the 2001-2004 period. Because of the success of the incentive, State Secretary Medy van der Laan decided to continue the lifespan of the Cultural Outreach Action Plan for another four years, in a somewhat modernised form. The Cabinet has reserved an annual euro 13.7 million subsidy for its implementation, which is matched by the twelve provinces and thirty municipalities. Thus the regional and local authorities contribute to implementing special programmes to attract new audiences to arts and culture.

The first results of the 2003 participation survey have been published. These results are encouraging. The "ageing" of the audience of traditional culture seems to stop. There is a significant increase of museum visits within the youngest age group. The interest of minority groups to visit museums and performing arts venues is also rising.

Table 7:     Visits to cultural venues by age and ethnicity: population 12 year and over (In percentages, at least one visit during the last 12 months), 1991-2003

 

Museums

Performing arts*

1991

1995

1999

2003

1991

1995

1999

2003

Population ≥12 year

40

34

36

37

25

27

25

25

12-17 years

48

43

43

50

20

18

20

20

18-34 years

40

31

28

27

24

24

22

22

35-49 years

43

38

39

39

28

30

24

25

50-64 years

39

36

43

43

28

33

34

31

≥65 year

30

27

34

33

22

23

27

25

Ethnic minorities**

 

17

15

22

 

10

8

14

Source:      Social and Cultural Report 2004.
*                 "Traditional" performing arts i.e. professional theatre, classical music and ballet.
**              Of Turkish, Morrocan, Surinamese or Antillian descent

That most time within the media time budget is devoted to television is not surprising. Television is the predominant medium in the Netherlands as it is in the rest of the industrialised world. What is remarkable is that the amount of time spent watching television has risen only slightly since 1985. Before then Dutch people had only two public channels to watch in their own language (some of them also had a Flemish channel). In the late eighties and the nineties the number of channels increased considerably, mainly thanks to commercial channels. Nowadays there are more than ten Dutch language channels to choose from. The less educated generally watch more television than the better educated, but the differences between the two categories became smaller in the last quarter of the 20th century. Young people spend more time watching commercial channels than public channels.

Time spent on listening to radio has declined continuously since 1975. The biggest decrease was among young people. This may be due to the growing use of the Internet, which provides facilities for downloading and playing music.

Since the first participation survey in 1975, the amount of time spent on reading has declined. This, of course, concerns print media only, as the use of a television or a computer screen also involves a lot of reading. The biggest decrease has been in book-reading: whereas the Dutch population read books for 1.6 hours a week on average in 1975, by 2000 the figure had almost halved, to 0.9 hours a week. The decline in book reading was first seen among young people, but since 1995 the time older people - aged 35 and over - spend reading books has also declined. Prior research has established that watching television goes partly at the expense of book and newspaper reading. Watching time has not increased over the last five years, however, so it may be that it is "no longer the television but the personal computer connected to the Internet that is eating away at the time spent reading books, newspapers and magazines".

The use of personal computers and in particular the Internet has grown exponentially in recent years. In 2004 more than 70% of Dutch households were connected to the Internet.  Young people aged 12-19 are ahead in the use of PCs and the Internet. From 1995 to 2000 the proportion of the Dutch population using computers and the Internet in their spare time almost doubled, from 23% to 45%. Given that the total time spent on the media remained constant during that period - 19 hours a week -, this has been at the expense of viewing television and reading. Although there is again a positive link between PC and Internet use and levels of education, the differences between the less-educated and the better-educated are smaller than in the case of visits to cultural venues.

Table 8:     Media use: watching television (inc. video, and cable news), listening to the radio (inc. audio), reading, computer use (inc. Internet) as a main activity, population aged 12 and over, 1975-2000 (in percent, hours per week and index 2000, 1995 = 100)

 

1975

1980

1985

1990

1995

2000

index

Media use (hours per week)

18.5

17.8

19.0

18.8

18.8

18.7

100

watching television

10.2

10.3

12.1

12.0

12.4

12.4

100

listening to the radio

2.2

1.8

1.4

1.2

0.8

0.7

79

reading printed media

6.1

5.7

5.3

5.1

4.6

3.9

86

computer and Internet

 

 

0.1

0.5

0.9

1.8

186

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Media use: participation (%)

99

100

100

100

99

99

100

watching television

94

96

98

97

96

97

101

listening to the radio

68

60

52

50

41

36

89

reading printed media

96

95

94

91

89

84

94

computer and Internet

 

 

4

13

23

45

193

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Media use by participants (hours per week)

18.6

17.9

19.0

18.9

18.9

18.8

100

watching television

10.9

10.8

12.4

12.4

12.9

12.7

99

listening to the radio

3.2

3.0

2.7

2.4

2.1

1.8

89

reading printed media

6.4

6.0

5.7

5.6

5.2

4.7

91

computer and Internet

 

 

3.5

3.7

4.0

3.9

97

Source:      Huysmans and De Haan 2001, p. 77

By and large, arts and culture have stood up to the competition posed by different branches of the leisure industry rather well. Visits to performing arts, museums, historical buildings and sites have increased since the 1980s. Visits to popular arts and culture have grown rapidly: pop and rock music 72%, cabaret 27% and movies 18%. The interest in traditional arts and culture grew as well albeit to a lesser degree: theatre and ballet 15%, museums 7%, classical music 6%. The frequency of visits to artistic and cultural venues remained the same since the 1980s. The only cause for concern is a decline in the amount of leisure time spent on reading, even though the time spent on reading literature did not decreased between 1995 and 2005 (see Table 9 below).

Table 9:     Trends in cultural reach 1983-2003: indexed trends in visits and participation (1983=100)

Based on % who have visited at least once in the last 12 months

Year

1983

1987

1991

1995

1999

2003

Museums

100

111

116

98

105

107

Historic buildings

100

103

115

100

97

104

Theatre

100

102

110

110

119

111

Professional theatre

100

102

108

109

116

115

Ballet

100

124

108

99

100

115

Cabaret

100

97

102

101

125

127

Classical music

100

113

123

133

115

106

Popular music

100

113

134

138

153

172

Cinema

100

93

95

101

112

118

Based on % who have watched and / or listened at least once in the last 12 months

Arts programmes on radio and television

100

114

110

100

90

99

Based on % who have performed artistic discipline at least once in the last 12 months

Visual arts

100

97

107

72

82

85

Playing an instrument and / or singing

100

102

125

96

119

95

Theatre

100

98

98

66

102

58

Based on % who read for at least a quarter of an hour in the preceding week:

Year

1980

1985

1990

1995

2000

 

Books

100

92

92

80

65

 

Magazines

100

97

87

89

74

 

Newspapers

100

96

90

85

76

 

Source:      Huysmans, Van den Broek,  and De Haan (2005)

Cultural participation of minorities

The Social and Cultural Planning Office (SCP) conducted a survey on living conditions of ethnic minorities in 2005, using -when needed - native speakers as pollsters. The sample included Turks, Moroccans, Surinamese and Antilleans from the 50 largest cities of the Netherlands seen that 80% of minority population lives in these cities a nation-wide survey make a little sense. A control group of (autochthonous) Dutch was also represented in the sample. A substantial part of the questionnaire consisted of questions on cultural participation and media habits. Main results concerning cultural activities were published in "Comparing Cultural Practices: Content and Context of Cultural Activities of Ethnic Groups in the Netherlands" by Andries van den Broek in November 2006. A complete research report will be published in the spring of 2007.

There are significant differences in the social composition of the minority groups as compared with the Dutch. Immigrants are on average less educated and younger than the Dutch. Moreover, there is also a considerable variation between the first generation of minorities - that moved to the Netherlands - and the second generation, already born in the country. The second generation is, generally speaking, higher educated than the first and more involved in the Dutch society, albeit because their command of the Dutch language is better.

Four kinds of culture were distinguished in this research:

The results of the survey are controlled for background variables: age, gender and level of educational attainment.

Table 10:   Cultural practices by ethnicity, % of participants in the past 12 months, city dwellers aged 15-65, 2006

 

Turks

Moroccans

Surinamese

Antilleans

Dutch

Canonised culture

33

33

38

38

51

Pop culture

59

51

73

68

75

Informal culture

69

61

67

57

56

Amateur culture

18

17

29

31

36

Source:      Van den Broek (2006).

The picture is clear: Turks and Moroccans lag behind not only with regard to their participation in canonised culture and artistic activities, but also regarding popular culture. The differences in participation in "informal culture" are rather small. Surinamese and Antilleans take a middle position, (autochthonous) Dutch the lead.

The differences between the ethnic groups decrease in the second generation.

Table 11:   Cultural practices of the second generation, % participants in past 12 months, city dwellers aged 15-65, second generation only (i.e. people born in the Netherlands), 2006

 

Turks

Moroccans

Surinamese

Antilleans

Dutch

Canonised culture

37

39

41

48

50

Pop culture

71

71

76

79

74

Informal culture

68

58

65

62

56

Amateur culture

22

20

43

44

36

Source:      Van den Broek (2006).

The results suggest a gradual decline of the "cultural divide" between ethnic groups. This is especially true for the participation in pop culture. This culture seems to be a vital link in the integration of the immigrants into the Dutch or "Western" culture. Another, rather surprising result is that young Surinamese and Antilleans are more engaged in artistic activities than their Dutch peers. Playing a musical instrument and singing (probably pop/ rock music) are the most popular activities among Surinamese and Antilleans born in the Netherlands.

The minorities also differ from the Dutch in their media use and habits.

Table 12:   Reading books and visiting libraries by ethnicity, % readers/visitors in past 12 months, city dwellers aged 15-65, all and second generation, 2006

 

Turks

Moroccans

Surinamese

Antilleans

Dutch

Read a book

   all

47

45

59

62

71

   second generation

58

65

70

76

71

Visited a library

   all

31

34

30

31

37

   second generation

47

52

44

42

37

Source:      Van den Broek (2006).

Although the differences are smaller, reading books resembles the pattern of canonised culture. Nevertheless there is little distinction in the visits to the libraries between the ethnical groups at large. Second generations of the minorities show even more interest in these visits than the Dutch. It is interesting to know that only a minority of second generation Turks (20%) and Moroccans (3%) read books in their own language. Many Moroccans living in the Netherlands are Berbers. The are no television broadcast in Berber language. Until recently there was even no written form of this language. This could explain the difference.

Viewing television remains the most popular pastime. Large majorities within all groups watch both public and commercial Dutch channels; the differences are rather small. In addition Turks and Moroccans also watch television broadcasting from their country. They were asked what channel they preferred for various kinds of programmes. Unlike the Turks where, depending on the type of programme, a quarter to a third prefers Turkish programmes, a vast majority of the Moroccans prefers Dutch to Arabic programmes. This is in particular true of the second generation which shows hardly any preference for Arabic broadcasts.

Table 13:   Cultural orientation in watching television channels by ethnicity% watching five or more days per week, city dwellers aged 15-65, all and second generation, 2006

 

Turks

Moroccans

Surinamese

Antilleans

Dutch

Dutch public television

   all

81

88

91

87

91

   second generation

76

88

85

84

91

Dutch commercial television

   all

85

88

94

96

94

   second generation

92

98

94

94

94

Television from region of origin

   all

86

61

--

--

--

   second generation

76

40

--

--

--

Source:      Van den Broek (2006).

Comparison with results of an English survey suggests that the picture in England is more favourable (see Focus on Cultural Diversity. Attendance, Participation and attitudes. London: Arts Council, 2003). The leeway in cultural participation of minorities is smaller in England than in the Netherlands. Nevertheless popular culture (television included) seems to play an important part in the integration of minorities into the Dutch society. The report of the survey on living conditions of ethnic minorities, that will be published in 2007, will contain a thorough analysis of the connection between participation in cultural activities and integration.

Netherlands/ 8.2 Cultural consumption and participation

8.2.2 Policies and programmes

One of the government's policy aims is to broaden cultural participation, especially among the young and socially disadvantaged. Resulting initiatives include:

A crucial element of the plan is the mixed government financing, based on a matching-system. Governments of the 30 larger municipalities and the twelve provinces are invited to apply for a 50% grant from the central government to create and co-finance a programme which guarantees the realisation of one or more of the five specific targets set by the Cultural Outreach Action Plan. The municipalities and provinces receive and evaluate applications made by arts and cultural institutions in their city or region. The first round of the Action Plan, which started in 2001, came to an end in 2004; the effects were evaluated in 2005. Meanwhile State Secretary Van der Laan took over the Action Plan in her 2003 policy document, mainly to reinforce her ambition to promote urban and regional dynamism. The second round of the Action Plan started in 2005 and will last until 2008. The organisational set up of the Plan has been simplified. Municipalities and provinces have to account for their expenses only once, in 2008 (instead of every year). More important perhaps is that municipalities and provinces are free to choose their own programmes and targets, as long as these are compatible with the general goal of the Plan "to enhance cultural knowledge of the citizens through stimulating visits to artistic and cultural venues and fostering (amateur) art practices". An annual budget of some 28 million euro is available for the second period of the Action Plan.

Netherlands/ 8.3 Arts and cultural education

8.3.1 Arts education

Arts and cultural education is a key instrument to promote cultural participation. Since 1945, students of secondary education visit museums, theatres and concerts, mostly as a part of voluntary extra-curricular activities. In the past decades several attempts were made by the government to intensify the contacts between schools and the professional arts. In 1998 this policy entered a new phase when "Arts and Cultural Education" was introduced as a compulsory subject at the senior school level of havo (general secondary education) and vwo (pre-university education). In pre-vocational secondary education a similar subject was implemented in 2003.

The introduction of arts and cultural education as a new subject is part of a large-scale innovation in Dutch secondary education. The general goal is that students learn to make a motivated choice of cultural activities that are meaningful to them. The core of the subject is the participation in cultural activities: in other words, students should experience culture. The government helps to cover the expenses of these cultural visits by providing each student with an amount of about 20 euro in vouchers that can be used as payment in museums, theatres, cinemas, etc. Practical arts activities (such as studio art, singing, dancing etc.) only form a small part. They are meant to support the preparation and "digestion" of cultural activities, but they are no ends in themselves. In August 2006, the Minister of Education, Culture and Science, Maria van der Hoeven, (Christian Democratic Party) announced that the voucher system would be replaced by a free "culture card". All secondary school pupils will receive a cultural chipknip card with an annual budget of 15 euros, for free entry to museums, theatre or film. Other parties, such as municipalities, parents or companies, can top up the card.

Arts and Cultural Education in secondary education is preferably taught by a team of teachers of different subjects, such as mother language, foreign languages, visual arts, music and drama.

At primary school, children take the following "expressive" subjects: language usage, music, drawing, handicrafts and games and movement. What the children learn in each subject is specified. Within arts and cultural education the emphasis varies from one school to another. Some schools will use artists for various projects. Others organise projects in which reading is approached not just as a technical skill but also as a cultural activity. Roughly 80 percent of primary schools make use of so called "art menus", i.e. programmes of six to eight cultural activities. These might include a tour of a museum, attending a performance at a youth theatre or a visit to the cinema.

On the basis of the policy document "Culture and School" (1997), both cultural institutions and schools can apply for subsidies. This two-way system is effective: schools have become more familiar with the regular supply in their neighbourhoods, while cultural institutions know more about the motivations of pupils and teachers. Arts and cultural education means not just building on traditional arts subjects (such as music and drawing) but also on such subjects as history, mathematics and economics. In addition, the schools benefit from arts and cultural education.

Professional Training

The so called Academies or Schools for the Arts are institutions for higher professional education (HBO institutions, also called "universities of professional education"). They offer courses in fine art, design, music, dance and theatre to become a professional artist. Higher Vocational Training can lead to a teaching diploma in Dance, Fine Arts or Music. With this diploma, recognised throughout Europe, graduates are qualified to teach at all levels of education. The main change in higher education is the implementation of the Bachelor and Master Degree system, which is intended to give students greater international mobility. In concert with this shift, the value of study programmes must be more easily recognisable, and they will be accredited to indicate quality.

ICT

Schools are increasingly deploying Internet as a tool in the learning process and as a means of facilitating renewal in educational practice. Until 2003, on behalf of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sciences, Stichting Kennisnet (Linking Knowledge Foundation) was responsible for the implementation of the central Internet infrastructure for education. Stichting Kennisnet collaborates closely with a number of organisations including Waag Society, a Centre of Expertise for Cultural Subjects and ICT, the Digital School and the Association of Public Libraries. As of 1 January 2004, based on recommendations from Kennisnet, the government opted for market freedom and freedom of choice for schools. Availability of educational content and services remains guaranteed via a central platform for content and services.

Netherlands/ 8.3 Arts and cultural education

8.3.2 Intercultural education

Intercultural education is part of the general school curricula. As a domain of government responsibility, intercultural education is mainly administered by educational policy-making bodies (rather than cultural ones) at all levels of administration, from the national to the local.

An important element of contemporary cultural policy is the real and active participation of young people and immigrants in different forms of cultural expression. Medy van der Laan, State Secretary for Culture during the Balkendende II administration (May 2003- June 2006), proposed several concrete actions to promote artistic enrichment through diversity, which include inter alia: the setting up of a House for Cultural Dialogue; the inclusion of 10-20 production houses and ateliers in the subsidised cultural infrastructure; the creation of a national regulation for cultural education; and a new impulse for cultural cooperation with the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba.

The aim of a national regulation for cultural education (executed via the Mondriaan Foundation and the Amateur Arts and Performing Arts Fund) is to provide support to educative cultural projects, which explore the talents of pupils from different cultural backgrounds. The budget to support this regulation is 1.2 million euro.

Youth theatre 020 is a theatre group in Amsterdam comprising young people with different cultural backgrounds. Each year a group of young people is chosen to work together for a whole school year on various theatre productions, ranging from hip-hop to movement-theatre. The actors and theatre-makers come from all parts of the world, which ensures a great diversity of theatre forms and styles. In the fifteen years that Youth theatre 020 has existed, thousands of young people have managed to take their first steps on stage via its productions and projects.

For more information, see our Intercultural Dialogue section. 

Netherlands/ 8.4 Amateur arts, cultural associations and community centres

8.4.1 Amateur arts

Amateur arts are an important form of social and cultural activity and constitute an enormous sector in the Netherlands. According to research conducted by Motivaction 2000, 36% of the Dutch population between the ages of 15 and 80 spend over 50 minutes per week on one or more expressions of the amateur arts, mostly visual and performing arts. Most of the amateurs either belong to an organisation or a club. The assumption that people who are involved in amateur arts are more likely to attend performances by professional artists has been repeatedly confirmed by research.

Amateur art is a starting point for achieving one of the most important aims of cultural policy: to increase the extent to which individuals participate in culture, both actively and passively. This aim underpins the government's involvement in the amateur arts sector. In 1985, the Memorandum on Art Education, Amateur Art and Arts Policy specified that the government's policy was to further and to sustain skills and artistic quality in the amateur arts and to improve the quality and accessibility of art education. It also aimed at establishing ties between the schools and professional artist's scene. This conviction stimulated the development of the Dutch culture and school programme.

There are many professional organisations that support amateur artists in the Netherlands. For example, the Engelenbak Theatre offers its space to amateur artists and groups to hold their performances (this theatre is located in the theatre district of Amsterdam). Four national organisations collectively address the needs of amateur artists: Unisono (music), the National Centre for Amateur Dance, the Foundation for Visual Amateur Arts and Theaternetwerk NL (theatre). They are funded by government as mediators between suppliers and potential clientele.

Netherlands/ 8.4 Amateur arts, cultural associations and community centres

8.4.2 Cultural houses and community cultural clubs

Most of larger cities host artist's societies. There is a long tradition of such organisations, founded in the eighteenth or nineteenth century, e.g., the Amsterdam visual artist society Arti et Amicitiae, or its counterpart in the Hague, Pulchri. A limited number of non-artists are taken in as members; however, they pay a higher membership fee. Smaller cities or villages often have culture houses which accommodate activities ranging from language and art courses to exhibitions, performances and films. Culture houses often have facilities for children, cafes, restaurants and rooms for reading societies, etc. Occasionally, public libraries - providing information in the broadest sense are physically connected to cultural houses. Municipalities are the main source of funding for cultural houses.

Netherlands/ 9. Sources and Links

9.1 Key documents on cultural policy

Beleidsbrief eCultuur [Policy document eCulture]. Zoetermeer: Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, 2002. 

Bína, Vladimír: Cultural Participation in the Netherlands. Paper contributed to the International Symposium on Cultural Statistics. Montreal: UNESCO, 2002 October 21-23. http://www.colloque2002symposium.gouv.qc.ca/. 

Broek, Andries van den: Vrijetijdsbesteding [Leisure activities] in Koen Breedveld and Andries van den Broek (eds.): Trends in de tijd. Een schets van recente ontwikkelingen in tijdsbesteding en tijdsordening pp. 45-54. [Trends in time: An outline of recent developments in the use and organisation of time]. The Hague: Social and Cultural Planning Office, 2001. 

Broek, Andries van den & Jos de Haan, with Fianne Konings: Cultuur tussen competitie en competitie. Contouren van het cultuurbereik in 2030. [Culture between competence and competition. Contours of cultural participation in 2030]. Amsterdam: Boekmanstudies, 2000. 

Culture as Confrontation. Cultural Policy 2001-2004. Summary of documents comprising the present cultural policy. Zoetermeer: Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, 2002. 

Cultuurbeleid in Nederland [Cultural policy in the Netherlands]. Zoetermeer: Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, 2002. English edition: 2003. 

Dankers, Alain, Dos Elshout & Marike Ter Linden: Het Nederlands Cultuurbeleid. Een beschrijving van de politieke en logistieke elementen [Dutch cultural policy, a description of politics and logistics] in Gau, Doris, Suzanne Klijnstra & Cas Smithuijsen (eds.) (2000) Cultuur over grenzen: NL en NRW / Kultur ueber Grenzen: NRW und NL, Converentieverslag / Konferenzbericht, November 1999, pp.208-249. 

Ganzeboom Harry, Folkert Haanstra et al.: Momentopname 2001 CKV1-Volgproject [Snapshot 2001, Cultural and Arts Studies 1 follow-up project]. Utrecht: Cultuurnetwerk Nederland, 2002. 

Haan, Jos de: Het gedeelde erfgoed. Een onderzoek naar veranderingen in de cultuurhistorische belangstelling sinds het einde van de jaren zeventig [The shared heritage: A study of changes in interest in cultural history since the end of the seventies]. Rijswijk: Social and Cultural Planning Office, 1997. 

Haan Jos de & Wim Knulst: De kunstzinnige burger wordt ouder. Kunstbeoefening in de vrije tijd opnieuw onderzocht [The artistic citizen is getting older: Artistic activities in leisure time re-examined]. Utrecht: LOKV, 1998. 

Haan, Jos de & Wim Knulst: Het bereik van de kunsten. Een onderzoek naar veranderingen in de belangstelling voor beeldende kunst en podiumkunst sinds de jaren zeventig [The reach of the arts: A study of changes in interest in the visual arts and performing arts since the seventies]. The Hague: Social and Cultural Planning Office, 2000. 

Haan, Jos de: Uitgaan; het bezoek aan horeca, cultuur en sportwedstrijden [Out-of-house entertainment: visits to catering establishments, culture and sports matches] in Koen Breedveld & Andries van den Broek (eds.), Trends in de tijd. Een schets van recente ontwikkelingen in tijdsbesteding en tijdsordening pp. 97-110 [Trends in time: An outline of recent developments in the use and organisation of time]. The Hague: Social and Cultural Planning Office, 2001. 

Haan, Jos de, Andries van den Broek & Koen Breedveld: Cultuur, recreatie en sport [Culture, recreation and sports] in De sociale staat van Nederland in 2001 pp. 125-146 [The social state of the Netherlands in 2001]. The Hague, Social and Cultural Planning Office, 2001. 

Haan, Jos de & Frank Huysmans: E-cultuur; een empirische verkenning pp. 75-94 [E-culture, an empirical exploration]. The Hague: Social and Cultural Planning Office, 2002. 

Huysmans Frank & Jos de Haan: Media en ICT; omgaan met een overvloedig aanbod [Media and ICT: coping with an overabundant supply] in Koen Breedveld and Andries van den Broek (eds.), Trends in de tijd. Een schets van recente ontwikkelingen in tijdsbesteding en tijdsordening pp. 75-96 [Trends in time: An outline of recent developments in the use and organisation of time]. The Hague: Social and Cultural Planning Office, 2001. 

Huysmans Frank, Andries van den Broek and Jos de Haan: Culture-lovers and Culture-leavers.

Klomp, R.J.Q (ed.): Kunst en recht [Art and Law] Nijmegen: Ars Aequi Libri, 2003. 

Knulst, Wim: Van vaudeville tot video. Een empirisch-theoretische studie naar verschuivingen in het uitgaan en het gebruik van media sinds de jaren vijftig [From vaudeville to video: An empirical / theoretical study of shifts in out-of-house entertainment and media use since the fifties]. Rijswijk: Social and Cultural Planning Office, 1989. 

Knulst, Wim: Podia in een tijdperk van afstandbediening. Onderzoek naar achtergronden en veranderingen in de omvang en samenstelling van het podiumpubliek sinds de jaren vijftig [Performance venues in an era of remote control: A study of the backgrounds and changes in the size and make-up of audiences since the fifties]. Rijswijk: Social and Cultural Planning Office, 1995. 

Knulst, Wim and Gerben Kraaykamp: Leesgewoonten. Een halve eeuw onderzoek naar het lezen en zijn belagers [Reading habits: A half-century of research into reading and the forces besetting it]. Rijswijk: Social and Cultural Planning Office, 1996. 

Meer dan de Som [More than the Sum]. Policy document by Medy van der Laan, State Secretary for Education, Culture and Science, July 2003. 

Praag, Carlo van & Wilfried Uitterhoeve: 25 Years of Social Change in the Netherlands. Key Data from the Social and Cultural Report 1998. Nijmegen: SUN, 1999. 

Principles on Cultural Policy 2001-2004. Culture as Confrontation. Zoetermeer: Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, 1999. 

Smithuijsen, Cas & Peter Boorsma: Overleven in de kunst: slotbeschouwing bij de praktijkgevallen [How to survive in the arts, theoretical remarks on presented case studies] in Warmer, Wim & Cas Smithuijsen (eds.) Nieuwe partners in kunst. Publiek-private samenwerking in de kunstensector pp. 72-80. [The rise of public private partnership in the arts] Amsterdam: Boekmanstudies, 1999. 

Smithuijsen, Cas: Chapter on the Netherlands in: Interarts & European Federation of Arts and Heritage Report on the state of cultural cooperation in Europe. Report commissioned by the European Union, 2003. 

Smithuijsen, Cas & Inge C. van der Vlies: Gepaste afstand. De `cultuurnotaprocedure' tussen de kunst, het recht en het openbaar bestuur. (Essays on the Culture Policy (Special Funding Act) Amsterdam / Den Haag: Boekmanstudies / Elsevier Overheid, 2004. 

Sociaal en cultureel rapport 1998. 25 jaar sociale verandering [Social and cultural report 1998: 25 years of social change]. Rijswijk: Social and Cultural Planning Office, 1998. 

Sociaal en cultureel rapport 2002. De kwaliteit van de quartaire sector [Social and cultural report 2002. The quality of the public sector]. The Hague: Social and Cultural Planning Office, 2002. 

Stichting Boekmanstudies: Cultural Policy in The Netherlands. The Hague / Amsterdam: Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, 2006.

In het zicht van de toekomst. Sociaal en Cultureel Rapport 2004. [In view of the future. Social and Cultural Report 2004]. The Hague: Social and Cultural Planning Office, 2004.  Trends in the Arts & Cultural Heritage in the Netherlands. The Hague: Social and Cultural Planning Office, 2005.

The Netherlands in a European Perspective. Social & Cultural Report 2000. The Hague: Social and Cultural Planning Office, 2001. 

Wijn, Cor: Gemeentelijk cultuurbeleid. Een handleiding. Den Haag: VNG uitgeverij, 2003. 

Netherlands/ 9. Sources and Links

9.2 Key organisations and portals

Cultural policy making bodies

Ministry of Education, Culture and Science
http://www.minocw.nl/english

Social and Cultural Bureau
http://www.scp.nl/

Professional associations

Central Bureau of Statistic
http://www.cbs.nl/

International Culturel Activies Office  SICA
http://www.sicasica.nl/

Grant-giving bodies

Dutch Foundation for Literature
http://www.fondsvoordeletteren.nl/

Press Fund
http://www.bedrijfsfondspers.nl/

Netherlands Foundation for Visual Arts, Design and Architecture
http://www.fondsbkvb.nl/

Dutch Cultural Broadcasting Promotion Fund
http://www.stimuleringsfonds.nl/

Netherlands Fund for Literary Production and Translation
http://www.nlpvf.nl/

Netherlands Fund for the Performing Arts
http://www.fapk.nl/

Netherlands Architecture Fund
http://www.archfonds.nl/

Dutch Film Fund
http://www.filmfund.nl/

Mondriaan Stichting
http://www.mondriaanstichting.nl/

National Fund for Performing Arts Programming and Marketing Support
http://www.fppm.nl/

National Restauration Fund
http://www.restauratiefonds.nl/

Cultural research and statistics

Cultuurnetwork Nederland
http://www.cultuurnetwerk.org/english

Boekman Foundation
http://www.boekman.nl/

Culture / arts portals

Culture Portal "Raad voor Cultuur"
http://www.cultuur.nl/

 

The Council of Europe/ERICarts "Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends in Europe, 9th edition", 2008