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Declaration of the Government on Support for Culture

The Government considers the abilities and talents of its citizens to be the greatest wealth of this country. The creativity of the inhabitants of a country becomes an obvious advantage in the ever increasing competition amongst countries. Consequently, the Government places great emphasis on education, which should not be limited to education of children and adolescents. Cultural activities of all kinds, such as the active creation of cultural assets and contribution towards their conservation, similar to conservation of the cultural heritage, as well as the experiences of audiences and listeners, undoubtedly belong amongst the inspirations that promote the creativity of all of us and play an irreplaceable role in the process of life-long education of citizens.

Consequently, the Government esteems culture as an important factor in the development of the Czech Republic.

The Government also recognizes that national cultures form the basis for the creative diversity of thinking in Europe and, in this sense, our unique culture constitutes a contribution to the common wealth of the European Union.

Thus, we should combine our efforts and jointly care for the things that develop us and differentiate us from other countries on this planet and for the things that constitute the most fundamental parts of our national identity, for our culture.

As follows from the Programme Declaration, the Government will continue to gradually implement the targets of the Strategy of Improved State Support for Culture (the Cultural Policy), adopted with a broad consensus by the representatives of civic initiatives, local governments and cultural institutions. Consequently, it intends to allocate funds each year in the amount usual in the countries of the European Union to promote culture – including that of national minorities. It is the intention of the Government to ensure sustainable use of the unadulterated national cultural wealth and its preservation for the future. It is the intention of the Government to continue to increase care by the State for the cultural heritage. Consequently, in addition to providing for financial resources, it will put forth a new Act on Monuments to stipulate the rights and obligations of the owners of cultural monuments and the competences of municipalities, regions and the State in the structure of the system of care for the monument fund. The Government will also support measures in the area of the sale, export and import of antiques in order to reduce uncontrolled movement of the cultural heritage.

The Government will prepare legislation on support for culture, which will establish multi-source and multi-annual financing of cultural projects and will create a model for public-service institutions in culture.

However, the development of Czech culture will be viable only under the conditions of effective cooperation amongst the municipalities, the regions and the Ministry of Culture.

Consequently, the Government is turning to you, our esteemed regional administrators, local mayors and mayors of statutory cities – let us continue to promote the creativity of the citizens that we serve, amongst other things, in that we assist in developing diverse cultural activities and thus contribute to achieving a sense of a rich, full and satisfying life.

As a consequence of the past and present successful cultural activities of talented people, our culture is highly valued and thus we bear great responsibility for it at home and abroad. The Government deeply values the current attitudes of local governments towards culture and is convinced that further cooperation of self-governing units and the State will guarantee that we can continue to be proud of our culture.

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