Culture

Culture was the first matter transferred from the State to the Communities. Since the first institutional reform, it has represented an important pillar of the communitarian autonomy. But it should be born in mind that in the Belgian court language, the concept of « cultural matter » stretches beyond the strictly speaking cultural field. Indeed, it also includes tourism, sport, occupational retraining, further education, etc. The following is an overview of these cultural matters:

• Protection and defence of the language: promoting the correct use of the language, broadcasting literary works in Belgium and abroad, granting subsidies, rewards, fellowships, etc;
• Promotion of the researcher training
• Fine arts : literature, music, theatre, ballet, movie, etc;
• Cultural heritage, museums and other scientific and cultural institutions: the main purpose here is to create archives, to set up and subsidize museums, to arrange record-lending facilities, etc;
• Broadcasting and media: libraries, media libraries and other similar facilities, radio and television, except the broadcasting of statements from the Federal Government, press support;
• Training of the young and adults, cultural activities;
• Physical education, sport and outdoor activities: this competence includes both professional and non-professional sport, except the regulations concerning bets, sporting results, boxing matches and the fight against drug use;
• Leisure activities
• Tourism, including social tourism;
• Pre-school and further education, training given partly in an educational institution and partly in the workplace
• Arts school: academy of music, etc.
• Upward mobility;
• Professional retraining and continuing education: (e.g. continuing education and training of the middle class, the unemployed outplacement, the vocational training in the farming field, etc)

The protection of monuments and conservation areas also belongs to the list of cultural matters. In the budget of the German-speaking Community, this competence is to be found in the corresponding organic division (see O.D. 40, programme 21). Nevertheless, further to the institutional reform of 1988, the protection of monuments and conservation has become a regional matter. This way, all the Communities have lost this competence. The German-speaking Community has only been competent again to act in this field after the Walloon region transferred several competencies to it (1994: the protection of monuments and conservation areas, 2000: archaeology).