At their meeting today, the Cultural Affairs Committee expressed their support for “The Fundamentals of the Cultural Policy until 2020” and made their own amendments to it. The Committee feels that this fundamental document on cultural policy is timely and necessary for developing Estonian cultural life.

“The current fundamentals of cultural policy were adopted 15 years ago. Over this period technology, creative economy, international cooperation, export of culture and many other fields have made important steps forward. The new document has been updated and various fields are now treated in a more uniform way,” said the Chairman of the Cultural Affairs Committee Urmas Klaas.

The Committee proposed to the Ministry of Culture that the issues concerning recreational education be worded more clearly. “We value participation in culture through recreational education as well as through hobby activities. An important role is also played here by libraries and museums,” Klaas said.

The Committee also recommends that the positions laid out in the fundamentals of the cultural policy should not discuss concentrating the universities that provide cultural education into one unified entity. “We may talk about organising the university network but it would be premature to talk specifically about concentrating universities into one unified entity in the document on the fundamentals,” Klaas said.

The Committee forwarded its amendments to the Ministry of Culture.

“The Fundamentals of the Cultural Policy until 2020” includes principles for shaping and implementing cultural policy as well as specialised priorities (architecture, design, performing arts, cinema, music, literature and publishing, figurative art, cultural journalism and media, cultural diversity, protection of heritage, museums, libraries, folk culture).

The Riigikogu Press Service