Sweden finances more culture in schools

(2009 11 12 23:34)

Every year the Swedish Government spends 55 million SEK (approximately 175 SEK per pupil) on cultural initiatives at school. The initiative is applied both in public and independent schools. The long-term goal is to integrate the cultural and artistic expressions into the school’s work by means of an increased cooperation with the cultural life.

A lot of schools have been already focusing on culture, creative work and aesthetic teaching processes; however they fail to support their activities with established goals or requirements for follow-up. At the same time, reports show that the potential of children and young people to create and take part in the cultural life vary greatly. Differently from any other part of the society, the school has the capacity to reach everyone, irrespective of the family’s resources or background.

The Swedish Arts Council will be responsible for allocating the subsidy. These additional efforts to support cultural development will accompany existing cultural and aesthetic activities in schools.