ABOUT THIS BOOK
At the occasion of the 25 anniversary of the Dutch Cultural Policy Act, Dutch academics in cultural policy research have compiled a volume to commemorate the quarter century in which Dutch cultural policy has developed and analyse the key debates in Dutch cultural policy for the coming years.Historically, central public authority in the Netherlands has been problematic. The country's origin as a confederation of seven independent republics, has had effect in the sense that government usually works 'bottom up'. As a result the Netherlands has relatively few national cultural institutions when compared to other countries. Moreover, the national media never have been linked to the nation state. It is therefore surprising that the nation's cultural policy can be described as a national system in which the nation state sets the agenda rather than cities and regions.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Edwin van Meerkerk publishes and teaches on the subject of arts education and cultural policy as well as utopian and dystopian fiction. He is a senior fellow of the COmenius Programme for educational innovation.Quirijn Lennert van den Hoogen is university lecturer of arts sociology and arts policy at the University of Groningen.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction - Edwin van Meerkerk and Quirijn van den HoogenPart I. Analyses of Cultural Policy1. Enabling Legislation in Cultural Policy - Inge van der Vlies2. The Cultural Policy Act in International Perspective - Toine Minnaert3. Cultural Policy and Cultural Entrepreneurship: Conflicting Responsibilities in Cultural Policy Making - Johan Kolsteeg and Dos Elshout4. What Policy Wants: Values in Cultural Policy Making - Quirijn Lennert van den Hoogen5. How Cultural Policy Creates a Common in European Context - Thijs Lijster and Pascal GielenPart II. Enduring Issues in Cultural Policy6. Conserving Culture: Heritage Policy in the Netherlands - Katja Lubina7. Bring the Arts to You: Media Policy as Cultural Policy - Erik Hitters8. Arts Education: Enlarging the (Future) Audience - Edwin van Meerkerk and Teunis IJdens9. Culture for Everyone: Value and Impact of Cultural Participation - Joop de Jong and Emilie Sitzia 10. The Economic Impact of Cultural Policy- Berend-Jan Langenberg11. The Peoples Palace: Public Libraries in Post-Fordist Society - Frank Huysmans and Marjolein OomenConclusion - Erik SchrijversAppendix: Structure and data on Cultural Policy in the NetherlandsIndex