Finland's Ministry of Employment and the Economy and the Ministry of Education and Culture became interested in the creative economy over ten years ago when discussion about content production began with the rise of the digital sector. Since then, the significance of the creative economy for Finnish society has been recognised also by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs as well as the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

In keeping with its cross-sectoral nature, the creative industries become visible as part of educational and cultural policies as well as employment, economic development and innovation policies.

Ministry of Education and Culture
The Ministry of Education and Culture is responsible for the funding of arts and culture and cultural exportation and education, among other things. In Finland culture is supported by public funding and a copyright compensation system. These two offer a solid base for the development of the creative economy. The state's support for art and culture is some €400 million annually.
More information.

Ministry of Employment and the Economy (MEE)
The Ministry of Employment and the Economy is in charge of Finland’s entrepreneurial and innovative operating environment, the functioning of labour markets and employees’ employability as well as regional development in the global economy. The ministry was founded in 2008. It comprises the former Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Ministry of Labour, and the unit responsible for regional development within the Ministry of the Interior.
More information.

In our casebank you can browse through examples of Finnish creative economy initiatives, programs and instruments.   

National initiatives and policy papers: See the national initiatives with a cross-sectoral and multi-disciplinary approach.