The Ministry of Culture directly manages 32 cultural institutions, which have the status of state budgetary organisations or allowance organisations. In the case of some of these organisations, the Act itself regulates their position, tasks, activities and management (see chapter 4.2.1).
The list of national cultural institutions supervised by the Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Republic:
- Pamiatkový úrad Slovenskej republiky (Monuments Board of the Slovak Republic);
- Slovenské národné múzeum (Slovak National Museum);
- Slovenské technické múzeum Košice (Slovak Technical Museum);
- Múzeum SNP Banská Bystrica (Museum of the Slovak National Uprising);
- Slovenské národné divadlo (Slovak National Theatre);
- Divadlo Nová scéna (theatre);
- Štátne divadlo Košice (theatre);
- Štátna opera Banská Bystrica (opera);
- Slovenská filharmónia (Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra);
- Štátna filharmónia Košice (State Philharmonic Orchestra in Košice);
- Slovenský komorný orchester Žilina (Slovak Chamber Orchestra);
- Slovenská národná galéria (Slovak National Gallery);
- Slovenská národná knižnica (Slovak National Library);
- Univerzitná knižnica v Bratislave (University Library);
- Slovenská knižnica pre nevidiacich v LevoÄi (Library for isually handicaped people);
- Štátna vedecká knižnica vKošiciach (science library);
- Štátna vedecká knižnica vBanskej Bystrici (science library);
- Štátna vedecká knižnica v Prešove (science library);
- Slovenský filmový ústav (Slovak Film Institute);
- Národné osvetové centrum (National Centre of Public Education and Culture);
- Divadelný ústav (Theatre Institute);
- Hudobné centrum (Music Centre);
- Literárne informaÄné centrum (Information Centre on Literature);
- Slovenské centrum dizajnu (Slovak Design Centre);
- Medzinárodný dom umenia pre deti Bibiana (International Art House for Children);
- Slovenský ľudový umelecký kolektív (Slovak Folk Ensemble);
- Umelecký súbor LúÄnica (Art Ensemble LúÄnica);
- MaÄarský umelecký súbor Mladé srdcia (Hungarian Art Ensemble);
- Ústredie ľudovej umeleckej výroby (Folk Centre);
- Slovenská ústredná hvezdáreň Hurbanovo (Slovak Central Observatory);
- Ústav pre vzÅ¥ahy štátu acirkví (office of relations between state and churches); and
- TlaÄová agentúra Slovenskej republiky (Slovak Press Agency).
The list of stated institutions illustrates the diversity of the controlling influence of the Ministry; it also illustrates partial differences in the scope of activities of individual organisations. Apart from these traditional cultural institutions of national importance, the Ministry has also been managing some organisations of regional importance, artistic choral groups, folk art, or institutions dealing with the issues of minority groups or ecclesiastical matters. A great number of the management activities of the Ministry are taken up with the gradual devolution of competences to lower bodies of public administration (self-governing regions). Many entities remain under the direct supervision of the Ministry, especially due to a lack of regional financial sources necessary for the preservation of their activities.
Public cultural institutions neither on national level nor on regional level have not apply any major reforms concerning their legal status or financing system in recent years. All of these institutions are mostly financed by public funds (state budget – Ministry of Culture, regional budget – self-governing regions). In 2003-2004 on ministerial level there were discussions on transformation possibilities of some public cultural institutions into non-profit organisations or “public serving” organisations, mostly based on combination of public sources (finances, property) and private investments. This discussion has not been developed into a draft of a detailed transformation process. Recently a discussion is mostly focused on financing schemes (grant programmes) and contract model applied in financing system of public cultural institutions.
Partnerships between the public and private sector in the area of culture exist in the Slovak Republic, especially in the form of providing support to specific cultural projects and activities (sponsoring) or in the joint financing of artistic production, renewal and propagation of cultural values.
One example of a partnership at the level of state administration and the private sector is the SPP Foundation (SPP = Slovenský plynárenský priemysel, the Slovak Gas Industry), a priority of which is also supporting cultural heritage. In 2006, the SPP Foundation, jointly with the Ministry of Culture, supported -within the grant programme ‘Renewing Our House’ – the restoration of historic landmarks in Slovakia, by providing 7 grants totalling SKK 50 million (ca euro 1 462 000).
The formation of conditions for the creation of new partnerships and combining private and public funds for cultural activities is the priority of the Ministry of Culture, in order to improve conditions for the multi-source financing of culture. A positive example of combining public and private funds is the Audiovisual Fund, currently under preparation, which should draw funds both from the public and private sector (payments of users of audiovisual works) and distribute these funds between projects aimed at the production and distribution of Slovak audiovisual works. Furthermore these funds will be invested to support the development of the audiovisual industry in the Slovak Republic. The Act on the Establishment of the Fund is being prepared by the Ministry of Culture and should be submitted for legislation by 2008.
A positive example of a strategic partnership at regional level is the co-operation of Žilina Self-Governing Region (ZSK, Žilinský samosprávny kraj) with the Centre of Contemporary Art Foundation, on the project The Cultural Policy from Amsterdam to Zilina. The project, supported by the European Cultural Foundation, the Ministry of Culture and the Matra Programme of the Netherlands, was implemented between 2005 and 2007, and the result is the document From Cultural Values to the Value of the Culture – the Strategy of Culture Development in the Žilina Self-Governing Region. A representation from ZSK approved the document in October 2007 and the material forms the basis for the plan of cultural development in ZSK, in the period of 2008 – 2013.
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