Kulturdepartementet, Norway’s Ministry of Culture and Gender Equality, has instructed gambling regulator Lottstift to launch a compensation scheme, rewarding cultural sector organisations that have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The collaboration was formally announced by Marianne Skjeldestad Hove, the director of voluntary support of Kulturdepartementet.

The compensation scheme will be funded by Norwegian Lotteries, under the mandate of Norway’s Foundation Authority that oversees the statute of state-owned enterprises for public good.

Managed by Lottstift, the scheme aims to compensate cultural sector organisers and subcontractors, who have been forced to cancel their events as a result of  COVID-19 lockdown rules applied from 1 November 2021 to 28 February 2022.

The compensation scheme is a measure of the Kulturdepartementet December consultation on measures to protect cultural sector organisations during Norway’s latest COVID-19 restrictions.  

Updating the media, Skjeldestad Hove commented – “The regulations are being worked on by the Ministry of Culture. – Our goal is to help the cultural actors as soon as possible”

“We are in the process of preparing what we can before the regulations are ready, and will have great pressure to prepare for applications as soon as the regulations are in place. It is important for us to help the cultural actors as quickly as possible”