Cultural Policy Statement
Our Remit
Culture - it defines who we are.
Our innate creativity is the most potent force for individual change and social vision
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Vision
"Our devolved government should have the courage and the faith to back human imagination, our innate creativity, as the most potent force for individual change and social vision.
I believe we should make the development of our creative drive the next major enterprise for our society. Arts for all can be a reality, a democratic right and an achievement of the 21st century.
I believe this has the potential to be a new civic exercise on a par with health, housing and education - the commitment to providing and valuing creative expression for all."
First Minister Jack McConnell, MSP; St Andrew's Day 2003
I share this big vision for Scotland with the First Minister and I will work with the people of this country and the cultural sector to help deliver it.
We will establish Scotland as a vibrant, cosmopolitan, competitive country and an internationally recognised creative hub.
We will do it by building an effective, sustainable infrastructure for our arts, heritage, screen and creative industries.
We will invest in the innate creativity of our young people and energise a new generation by creating an environment that encourages them to realise their cultural potential.
Cultural activity is central to all aspects of our lives - it can revitalise us individually and as a community. Its role in all areas of education is vital and must be fully integrated.
We need a new cultural vision for our country and a radically different way of delivering and sustaining our cultural services.
Our commitment
Devolved government is a main player in this endeavour, and we will lead by example. But we are not the only ones who have an interest or a responsibility in its success.
Our government's Partnership Agreement committed us to reviewing the cultural sector - to look at its future and to consult on its future governance.
We will do this from a position of first principles. We need to be clear about where we want to be and how to get there. And we need to take stock, to look again at our cultural infrastructure and ask if it is fit for purpose, or does it retain too many echoes of the past?
I believe we can do better with what we already have.
Cultural rights
I believe passionately that every citizen has the right to access and excellence in our diverse culture, and to pursue the means of fulfilling whatever talents may be within them.
The review of the cultural sector will take as its starting point the premise that each person in Scotland has cultural rights - rights of access to cultural activity in this country.
I want us to work towards more equitable cultural provision for people in Scotland regardless of where they live, how old they are, or how much money they have.
How and where we provide our cultural services will be defined by the needs of our citizens. We will also acknowledge and celebrate the rights of our artists and creative community.
Collaboration and co-ordination
Rights must be balanced with responsibilities - sharing cultural experiences and releasing talent should be part of a national enterprise; it is after all everyone's business.
A healthy culture is one where everyone is actively engaged - it's about people and the difference engaging in cultural activity can make to their life.
A fundamental shift may be required in our cultural, political and administrative agencies to change the way they approach, and deliver, what they do.
Collaboration, co-operation and co-ordination are strengths we must learn to maximise in all sectors of government and within the cultural sector.
I have already begun a series of discussions with my ministerial colleagues about the way in which investment in culture can improve Scotland. There will be a similar dialogue with the private and voluntary sectors.
Creativity
The creativity of Scots - from the classroom to the boardroom - is the edge we need in a competitive world. Our duty as an Executive is to create the conditions that allow that creativity to flourish - whether in arts, sciences, commerce or industry.
Creativity is as valuable in retail, education, health, government and business as in culture. The cultural sector should become the national dynamo of the creative impulse that can serve all these areas.
Institutional infrastructure and governance
"We will not shore up institutions for historical reasons or sentimental attachments."
First Minister Jack McConnell, MSP; St Andrew's Day 2003
The cultural sector needs to look at itself carefully and from a citizen-first perspective. Our organisations need to take responsibility for delivering to the people of our country in an effective and accessible way.
The full range of cultural activity in the country has breadth and depth; there must be parity of esteem among those who deliver it whether voluntary body, local authority or national company.
Creating a blueprint for tomorrow
The review of the cultural sector is a generational opportunity - to look seriously and maturely at our culture and decide the framework for its support in the future.
This implies significant change - and I would urge the cultural community to take this opportunity, this challenge, seriously.
I have established an independent Commission to undertake this review. Its members will be experienced and well respected and will, I believe, bring a vigorous intellect to bear on issues of tremendous importance to our culture and our country.
They will be invited to determine a blueprint for how we progress the areas of cultural policy I have outlined and to engage actively and in imaginative ways the views of Scottish people in this process.
The government's role
Government's role is to ensure the right infrastructure is in place to deliver culture for the people of Scotland, to invest in the next generation, and to respond to the needs of the people of Scotland.
I have outlined our policy - the Commission will now provide practical recommendations on how we implement it. If legislation is required, we will publish a Culture Bill by 2007.
Throughout all of the above - policy, practice, legislation - the key values of access and excellence will be the guiding principles. They are fundamental to my core beliefs and to those of Scottish Ministers.
Frank McAveety, MSP
Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport