3) to guarantee the protection and valorization of the heritage, in a broad sense, in collaboration with the structures concerned; 388. The budget of the Ministry of Culture and Protection of the Heritage in 2004 represented 1% of the State budget. The pursuit of the increase in the budget allocated to Culture which will be gradually brought up to 1.5% of the State budget before 2009, is aimed at giving the citizens the means to guarantee satisfaction of these rights and cultural needs. A) Cultural Democracy and the effective participation in cultural life 389. The double requirement in a cultural democracy, the most effective participation of the artists, of men of culture and the maximum involvement of the citizens, is above all a question of practice. From this perspective, associative cultural life in Tunisia constitutes a vector for the democratization of cultural life and of active and creative citizenship. Undoubtedly, the Cultural Associations have an auxiliary and complementary role to play in support of the State’s effort in promoting cultural and associative life. From their capacity to mobilize individual and collective lyrics, and to stage the globality of opinion and of creation, they deduce the usefulness of all mediation other than the institutional one and correspond with the imperatives of the freedom of creation, of expression and of association. 390. Tunisia guarantees the right of all citizens to participate in cultural life, to widen their horizons and to perfect their aptitudes and faculties, and this within the framework of a political option based on a set of themes, including notably the promotion of cultural associations. Thus the number of Associations of a cultural nature currently total close to 6,000. 391. The field of initiatives and cultural activities is infinite. Associative cultural life groups together intellectual activities, theatrical and audiovisual activities, youth activities, musical activities, bibliographical activities, scientific and computing activities. It also affects the plastic arts, archaeology and the national heritage. This wealth, this dynamics, this passion all contribute to bringing the culture of the citizens and the citizens of the culture closer together and lead to the thought of cultural democracy as constituting not so much a vertical relationship with the State as a lateral one, that of citizens between themselves. 392. To preserve the freedom of creating, of cultural pluralism, of the living and open development of national identity and of its original regional components, the Tunisian Government put in place a support fund democratically managed with the participation of the artists and professionals concerned. It is funded from State subventions, from the compulsory contributions of the profit making cultural industries which need the work of the artists, from private sponsors since they are subjected to the appreciation of the businees committees. Cinema, audiovisual arts, literature, poetry, music, lyrics and dance, the plastic arts and all living shows depend to a great extent on this fund for support. 393. The following table shows the progression of public support to the private initiative in the cultural domain from 1999 to 2004: 83