In the review, Minister Kalevi Kivistö and Professor Anita Kangas look at subsidy and development policy relating to local cultural provision in terms of legalisation, the availability and accessibility of cultural services, and resources for producing cultural services. The policy is affected by a number of changes, such as changes in the municipal structure and the reform of the regional administration.
According to Statistics Finland, the regional differences in cultural consumption in Finland are among the largest in the EU in a comparison of densely and sparsely populated areas. Outside the Helsinki Metropolitan Area and regional centres, the supply of culture is scant. The differentiation in the use of cultural services manifests itself both as differences between social groups and as regional differences.
According to the reviewers, there are great differences in the cultural resources of municipalities. The differentiation of municipalities is a challenge of a particular magnitude for the development of local cultural activities. Cultural services can be produced by a municipality alone, by a third sector organisation or a private sector organisation. The basic problem in the promotion of local cultural life is the marginal role given to culture in local politics. Objectives are set in strategies but they do not materialise in day-to-day politics. Challenges also abound in the development of cooperation between administrative sectors. Further, the Government’s action in promoting local cultural provision has remained insignificant owing to a change in the relationship between local and central administration.
The reviewers put forward a number of recommendations for achieving a stronger subsidy and development policy. The recom-mendations rest on the idea that cultural services are basic and local services and therefore should be made accessible in municipali-ties. The recommendations also take account of the ongoing demographic changes, notably ageing and multiculturalism.
The recommended development measures relate to general cultural provision, the creative industries, local art institutions, basic education in the arts, regional policy in culture, regional arts councils, the role of the third sector, inclusion and participation, strategy, and statistics and the production of information.