Culture

Norway

• © UNESCO/ R. Dominique
• Coastal town of Bergen, harbour

Norway has seven sites – one natural and six cultural – on the World Heritage List. In addition, a balanced Tentative List was submitted to the World Heritage Centre. The Oslo-based Nordic World Heritage Foundation, which functions as a Regional Centre under the auspices of UNESCO and participates in the Organization's conceptual work in the field of heritage, provides financial support for projects in developing countries to reinforce the links between culture and development.

The country endeavours to raise awareness of heritage among young people through informal meetings, training programmes and publications.

In collaboration with UNESCO, Norway has established several funds-in-trust for a wide range of projects, including: providing equipment for the National Heritage Institute in Baghdad; organizing training in wood conservation; restoring Himalayan Buddhist monasteries; organizing training in museographic techniques in South Caucasus; managing a petroglyph site in Kazakhstan; organizing training and restoration activities in the Palestinian territories; safeguarding the endangered collection of African museums.

In the field of intangible heritage, Norway has financed events relating to cultural expressions resulting from the slave trade in the Caribbean and in Africa. A State Party to the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage since January 2007, Norway has begun undertaking an inventory of its living heritage.

In the field of intercultural dialogue, Norway is a prominent supporter of the Slave Route Project, actively financing research, publications and documentation.

In the field of arts and cultural industries, Norway supports the “Artists in Development” Project.

The country has taken a leading role regarding research on the development of museums devoted to slavery and the slave trade.

Norway has also lent its assistance to cultural tourism projects, particularly in Africa and the Caribbean.

In the field of cultural policies, Norway has been a driving force in the project for a cultural approach to HIV and AIDS treatment and prevention.