According to NRK Troms og Finnmark, Iversen said some counties and municipalities have regular professional offerings while others do not, due to varying finances, priorities, local competence, and lack of national structure. The consequence is that not all children get access to art and culture, which they are entitled to under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
In primary school, all children are guaranteed art and culture through the Cultural Schoolbag, but kindergartens are not. Iversen noted that kindergarten children have been included in the national goals of the Cultural Schoolbag, but there are not yet sufficient funds to fully implement it.
We can only partially fulfill the rights today.
Theatre director Katrine Strøm told NRK Troms og Finnmark that theatre creates important togetherness, erases social inequalities, and gives children a shared experience. She added that the youngest children depend on adults to bring theatre to them. Labour MP Bente Estil wants all children to have the same opportunities regardless of where they live and is glad to have proposals from Kulturtanken's report to work with.
There are some counties and municipalities that have quite regular and professional art and culture offerings, and then there are some that do not.
There are varying municipal finances and priorities, varying local competence, and a lack of national structure.
The consequences are that not all children get access to art and culture, and they should according to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Then you miss out on all the good effects of art and culture.
Art and culture for kindergarten children has been included in the national goals of the Cultural Schoolbag. It should as much as possible contribute to kindergarten children also experiencing art and culture. What we hear from our network in DKS is that there are not yet funds to do it fully.
When we perform a play in kindergarten, we erase social inequalities and give everyone a shared experience. It is common for children after a performance to play it and fantasize further. Everyone can be included in the play in the community that theatre can create in an environment.
The very youngest children cannot seek out theatre themselves. They are completely dependent on some adults taking them to the theatre, or that the theatre comes to where they actually are.
In the world we live in, it is so important that all children get to experience such experiences.
We are dependent on that for the youngest children to get the experiences, it must happen in kindergarten and where they live. So that is also the means that must be used to achieve it. It must still be worked on.