Act on Public Cultural Awareness Activities
Redefinition of the area of public cultural awareness activities within the existing system of public cultural awareness activities on the national, regional and local levels.Act No 189/2015 on public cultural awareness activities, which entered into effect on 01 September 2015 replaced the previous legislation regulating the area and introduced a new definition of public cultural awareness activities. This law defines public cultural awareness activities as covering activities which contribute to respect for human rights and diversity of cultural expression, to the formation of a cultured way of life, to achieving higher cultural and educational standards in the Slovak Republic and to the development of creativity as the foundation of culture in society (Section 2(1)), and establishes arrangements for such activities including the development of cultural identity and inter-cultural dialogue on the national, regional and local levels (Section 2(2)(a)).
The law is based on the civic principle and it has no specific target group because the public in general is deemed to be the recipient of public cultural awareness activities. One of the act’s provisions on records in the area of public cultural awareness activities relates specifically to collectives and individuals who engage in art as a hobby and amateur arts.
The act clarifies relations between public cultural awareness institutions on the national, higher territorial unit, regional and local levels and also assists the mapping of the activities of civil society (collectives and individuals) who engage in art as a hobby and amateur arts. The act has established structured, systematic relationships in a previously uncoordinated and unstable environment. In the interest of emphasizing the importance of culture in public cultural awareness activities, the Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Republic changed the Slovak term for such activities from “osvetová činnosť” to “kultúrno-osvetová činnosť” to expressly refer to culture; the act defines the basic activities of public cultural awareness establishments operating on the national level; it implements the term “intangible cultural heritage” and the Slovak Republic’s obligations under the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage and the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. The act also defines the activities and competences of public cultural awareness institutions, introduces record-keeping for public cultural awareness activities – intended to provide information on the activities of public cultural awareness institutions, collectives or individuals – e.g. folklore (e.g. folklore ensembles, folklore groups, singing groups, folk storytellers), theatre (e.g. amateur theatre groups, puppet theatres, mime), film, photography, etc.
- The National Cultural Centre, an organisation under the establishing competence of the Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Republic – a public cultural awareness institution with national coverage and a general orientation (Section 5(2)(a) of the act),
- Higher territorial units through higher territorial unit and regional public cultural awareness institutions.
In view of the number of areas covered by public cultural awareness activities, the act focuses primarily on the organization of public administration on the national, regional and local levels necessary to provide efficient, qualified methodological support for all legal entities and natural persons engaging in public cultural awareness activities. The legislation does not limit the activities of formal and informal civil society organizations or private enterprises in any way.
evaluation of the implementation of this measure is not yet available because it entered into force in the second half of 2015