THE non-EU Capital of Culture for 2008 is looking to Merseyside as an example of how a whole region can benefit from a city winning the title. A delegation from one of Norway's biggest arts and recreation unions has been in talks with neighbouring councils to find out how they will take advantage of Liverpool's status. The representatives of Norsk Kulturforum (Noku), based in Rogaland County, which includes the city of Stavanger, met Sefton Council tourism leaders last week. They were also given a presentation by Liverpool Culture Company on the expected regional cumulative effect of winning the title. Hildegunn Birkeland, director of the Stavanger culture centre, said: "It's important for us to see how Liverpool organises its cultural life and we can incorporate what we learn into our projects in the run up to Stavanger's cultural status in 2008. "Being Non EU Capital of Culture will put Stavanger on the map and I hope that we can work closely with Liverpool in the run up to our big year." The delegation, which visited Merseyside last week, consisted of heads of departments representing the culture, library and leisure sectors from the 27 municipalities in Rogaland County. Another main aim of the visit was to learn how to improve literacy in their area and engage with children and other young people. The group was given a tour of Central Library, William Brown Street, where they watched a presentation by Joyce Little, head of libraries, and learned how it has become one of the busiest in the UK. They also learned about the role information technology plays, including the Kid Zone and Surf Zone schemes which provides free internet access. Noku, a national organisation for employees within the public sector working with Norwegian culture, heritage and recreation issues, are now planning to set up similar initiatives in Norway. Kris Donaldson, marketing director for the Liverpool Culture Company, said: "The Norwegian delegation had a busy couple of days and all the feedback we received from them was very positive. "It was an invaluable experience for them to learn about Liverpool's culture, heritage and plans for 2008. "Our guests will have taken everything they learned back with them to Norway and they are eager to keep up strong links with Liverpool in the run-up to 2008 and beyond. "Of course, we are keen to help them in any way we can." Noku promotes the importance of culture in society, encourages action to influence issues on cultural politics locally, regionally and on a national level and aims to strengthen and broaden the professional competence of its members. | 
