CASE STUDIESIN EUROPE : COUNTRY PROFILES FILM LITERACY
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The Netherlands Population: 16,655,799 School age children: 0–14 yrs: 17.5%; 15–24 yrs: 12.3% Primary: 1 534 362; Secondary: 939 629; Other (4–18): 111,600 Reporters: Victoria Breugem, Head of Education, EYE Film Institute Netherlands (until 2012); Endorsed by: Eeke Wervers, senior projectleider, Cultuurnetwerk Nederland
The Dutch government does not have a national strategy on film education, but funds different projects and organisations with distinct approaches to film and media education. EYE (Film Institute Netherlands) is funded by the government for a national strategy for co-ordinating, collecting and disseminating film education content and initiatives. EYE is responsible for co-ordination and exchange between the separate players, and has a few national projects in which the film sector participates. There are lobby groups for a national film strategy, such as the Network Film education, coordinating national initiatives. EYE is the ‘caretaker’ of this Network. Members are: Africa in the Picture, Cinekid, Digital Playground, Dutch Directors Guild, De Frisse blik, Europese Stichting Joris Ivens, EYE Film Instituut Nederland, Film by the Sea, Holland Animation Film Festival, Imagine Filmfestival, Impakt, International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, International Film Festival Rotterdam, Latin American Film Festival, Movies That Matter,Nederlands Film Festival, Nederlands Instituut voor Animatiefilm, Nederlands Instituut voor Beeld en Geluid, NFFS, School@Pathé
Formal education
Informal education
The national government decides the country’s curriculum but there is some flexibility for schools to choose to offer film education. Film is generally studied in school to support social and civic education at the ages 5–11, and from the ages 12–19 to support art and other subjects and to promote wider viewing. Although it is not part of the official curriculum, many schools in the Netherlands teach media, and film as a part of it. Because there are no central guidelines, each school chooses how to teach film. There are several middle and higher schools in the Netherlands that offer film as a separate subject.
There is a national and regional infrastructure for informal learning in the Netherlands. Informal education in the cultural field is more or less linked to the formal framework, e.g. music schools, dance schools. Many organisations that provide film education projects for schools, such as film societies and film archive centres, also offer informal education. Moviezone, a national EYE project, is for young people (12–18) in and out of school. The organisations keep track of the number of participants, but do not measure achievements.
After-school film education is offered by schools and cultural and film institutions nationwide, regionally and locally. Some organisations (SCP, Cultuurnetwerk) keep track of children’s ‘cultural’ participation as a whole (not only film), and some keep track of film visits.
Audio visual sector
An estimated 5% (at most) of school children regularly and consciously taking part in film education.
The film industry supports cinemas screenings for schools, film festival education programmes and ticket discount programmes, as well as film courses for adults. National broadcasters occasionally show programmes that focus on film, archive films, and instructional programmes for children on film making.