Obwalden Culture Act referred to the Cantonal Council
The Obwalden cantonal government is proposing the creation of a Culture Act (KuG) to the cantonal council. It is convinced that this will enable it to regulate the cultural sector in a coherent and contemporary manner, writes the canton.
The current cultural ordinance of the Canton of Obwalden dates back to 1985 and is in need of fundamental reform. The areas of cultural promotion and cultural institutions are to be newly regulated in the KuG. The other areas (preservation of monuments/archaeology, protection of cultural assets, libraries) will be transferred unchanged to the KuG.
According to the cantonal constitution, the promotion of culture is the responsibility of the canton and the communes. This principle is enshrined in law in the new KuG. The law also regulates cantonal contributions to cultural institutions that are important to the canton. Finally, the new KuG contains a regulation on cantonal contributions to cultural institutions of supra-regional importance in other cantons. In practice, the KuG does not result in any new tasks or significant additional costs.
With the new KuG, the canton has been given the task of maintaining a historical museum. However, it is the intention of the cantonal government to delegate the management of the museum to third parties on the basis of a service agreement. The Historical Museum has been run by the Obwalden Historical Association since its foundation. However, the canton could manage the Historical Museum itself should no sponsor be found one day.
The new article on the Historical Museum and the proposed tasks of the municipalities in the promotion of culture were subjected to a second consultation procedure from mid-January to mid-April 2015. The changes made were generally welcomed. Parliamentary discussion of the Culture Act is scheduled for the Cantonal Council meeting on October 22, 2015.
