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1. Main challenges to social inclusion

2. Definitions and concepts

Main challenges to social inclusion

There is no general (policy) agreement on the main challenges to social inclusion of young people in the Czech Republic apart from seeing education as one of the most important drivers for successful social inclusion toward the society, labour market and adult life.

Based on various policy documents we can identify specific groups of young people at risk of social exclusion.

Traditional groups

As traditional groups, the following are discussed:

• Young people with criminal records and behaviour
• Youth with disabilities
• Youth with special needs
• Youth from families with low income
• Youth from families with a lower level of finished education
• Youth from families with a criminal record
• Youth from families with domestic violence

Emeriging risks

As newly discussed and urgent groups the following are discussed:

Roma youth

• Problematic inclusion of young people in education, labour market, housing  and health care
• Problematic access of Roma Youth to Education (e.g. The judgement of the European Court of Human Rights in the case D.H. and Others v. the Czech Republic in 2007 showed that Roma children often have limited access to mainstream education ).
• Systemic inclusion of this group is problematic as data differs according to the ascribed status and voluntary subscribed status.

Youth living in socially excluded areas

• According to the Study on Socially excluded areas in the Czech Republic, conducted by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs in 2014-2015 there are some alarming findings:
  • 606 socially excluded locations exist in the Czech Republic
  • 95 000 – 115 000 people live in socially excluded locations
  • 43% of their inhabitants are under 15 years old
  • 75% of the inhabitants of those areas have only elementary education
  • 80-85% are unemployed
  • Almost half of the inhabitants of socially excluded areas are young people and their access to basic principles of democratic society is jeopardised
  • The inhabitants come not only from ethnic minorities but also from the majority and some are even foreigners
• According to the Agency for Social Inclusion, in 2023 there were 539 socially excluded localities, in 2024 the number increased again to 578

Young families and Single-mothers

• Housing
  • Average age for Youth leaving the parental household is 26.5 years
• Childcare
  • Pre-school care is of insufficient capacity
  • In the period 1996-2013, the number of kindergartens was reduced from 6 700 to 5 000 while the number of children was maintained (around 350 000), current data for 20225 indicate that there are 5 410 kindergartens for 360 420 children
  • Negative effect on children who do not develop in the collective of other children, especially dangerous for children already handicapped by a socially excluded background
• Family policy and children issues and rights are essential parts of the Social Inclusion Strategy 2021-2030
• Young families might face obstacles in their effort to fully integrate into society, especially regarding housing and childcare

Youth with various Sexuality and Gender

• Young LGBT community members might face negative reactions or even discrimination from the general public. According to reports from 2022, 49% of 12-15 year olds, 47% of 16-18 year olds and 34% of 20-25 year olds felt discriminated against or harassed in the past 12 months (in relation to LGBTQ+ people)
• Women face uneven Labour market conditions, esp. lower wage
• Maternity, causing lower representation of women in senior positions and lower economic activity (for details see Chapter 3.1)

Youth cared for within the institutional care

• Several studies have observed several negative impacts of the institutional care on the further life of Children and Young people cared for in an institution
• In 2014 the impact of the institutional care on children was discussed in an expert conference within the Parliament of the Czech Republic

These strategic documents address the topic in part and include youth:

State Education Policy strategy 2030+ emphasises the removal of social disparities in education as one of the two strategic goals of the whole educational policy. Most of the measures and initiatives of the educational policy framework, including the educational aspects of youth work - namely non-formal education, should be targeted reducing social disparities and inequalities

Social Inclusion Strategy 2021-2030 does not set Youth as a specific target group but provides general areas supporting social inclusion (e.g. employment, access to housing, access to health care, etc.). Specific focus for inclusion measures is mentioned only for young people from the institutional and foster care services. Other areas  of social inclusion services for young people are traditionally included of the general social services policy framework.

The following specific issues were raised as well:

Digital gap among young people

• Currently, the topic of digital education is addressed in the Strategy for Education Policy of the Czech Republic until 2030+. The following key priorities for digital education have been formulated within the framework of the 2030+ Strategy: Ensure the promotion of digital literacy for all pupils,support the digital competence of all teachers, reduce inequalities and prevent the digital divide.

Distrust toward political institutions and thus low formal participation of young people

• Already a recognised issue within the National Youth Report 2013 and still valid, as the survey of Slovak and Czech Youth Councils on Youth participation in V4 countries showed in 2017. It was also one of the outcomes from the Structured Dialogue with Youth on Youth participation and Empowerment in 2014-2015 as the national report 2015 showed. 

Youth Radicalisation

• Individual radicalisation among young people is on the rise, according to the 2024 Extremism Report. These were mainly individual radicalisation of minors and adolescents, often with no link to a specific ideology. There was also subversion with the contribution of foreign state powers and the dissemination of alarmist messages with the aim of partially destabilizing society or disrupting the functioning of state institutions. The Action Plan for Combating Extremism and Prejudicial Hate 2025-2026 document was created

Low citizenship and legal literacy

• Already a recognised issue within the National Youth Report 2013 and still valid, as the survey of Slovak and Czech Youth Councils on Youth participation in V4 countries showed in 2017 and also survey Youth Values in 2020.

There are no regular national surveys on young people's social inclusion. EU indicators for social inclusion are monitored by the Czech Statistical Office within the EU-SILC survey.

Definitions and concepts

Young people with fewer opportunities 

'Young people who have a disadvantage in comparison with their peers because they are dealing with one or more obstacles e.g. social obstacles, economicl obstacles, health conditions, learning difficulties, cultural differences, health problems, geographical obstacles, etc. In specific contexts these situations prevent young people from effective access to formal and non-formal learning, transnational mobility and participation, active citizenship, empowerment and inclusion in society.'  (Youth strategy 2014-2020, note: there is no new strategy in 2025)

Social inclusion

• Defined in Act no. 108/2006 Coll. on Social Services, as amended
• Social inclusion is a process ensuring that people who are socially excluded or at risk of social exclusion gain access to opportunities that enable full participation in the economic, social and cultural life of society and live in a manner that is considered as ordinary in the society.
• General goals of the social inclusion in the Czech Republic are thus:
  • Ensuring participation in employment and equal access to all resources, rights, goods and services
  • Preventing the risk of social exclusion
  • Helping the most vulnerable
  • Mobilisation of all relevant actors

Definition of a socially excluded area  used by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs:

'As socially excluded areas we mean a place (house, street, neighbourhood) with a concentration of persons with social exclusion indicators. These places are symbolically called “bad neighbourhoods” or “undesired addresses” etc.

Social exclusion is defined as gradual, escalating exclusion from full participation in social, material and even symbolic resources produced, shared and used by society to ensure good living conditions, organisation of social life and participate in decision making.

Social exclusion is characterised as a convergence of factors substantially limiting access to: (1) labour market, (2) public, social and education services, (3) social environment, (4) personal crisis solutions (debt, illness, etc.) and (5) political participation. Ethnicity plays a specific role in social exclusion.

Endangered child

• Able to perform systematic work, but limited in carrying out their current job caused by long-term unfavourable health lasting longer than 1 year and limiting physical, sensual or mental abilities

Students with special educational needs

• Defined in the Educational Act no. 561/2004 Coll. as amended.
• Child with health disability; health handicap or social handicap
  • Health disability (zdravotní postižení) = mental, visual, hearing impairment, speech impediment, multiple disabilities, autism and learning and behavioural disorders
  • Health disadvantage (zdravotní znevýhodnění) = health weakening, long-term illness, light health issues leading to learning and behaving disorders that must be taken into consideration in education
  • Social disadvantage (sociální znevýhodnění)
    • Social environment with low social and cultural status, endangered by socially pathological events
    • Decreed or assigned institutional upbringing
    • Asylum seeker status or complementary protection or party to international protection proceedings
• Support for children and youth with risky behavior, such as extensive truancy or bullying, aggressive behavior, alcohol or drug use, vandalism, prostitution, and petty or more serious crime, is provided in various forms.

A person with health disadvantages 

• Able to perform systematic work, but limited in carrying out their current job 
• Caused by long-term unfavourable health lasting longer than 1 year and limiting physical, sensual or mental abilities
• Definition stated in Act no. 435/2004 Coll. Employment Law

The Czech legal system often uses undefined terms or terms with more than one definition:

• Youth from socially and culturally disadvantaged environments
• Youth from socially excluded areas
• Youth with socio-pathologic tendencies (children and youth with risky behavior, such as extensive truancy or bullying, aggressive behavior, alcohol or drug use, vandalism, prostitution, and petty or more serious crime, is provided in various forms).
• Hazardous behaviour of youth (gambling)
• Delinquent youth (criminology)

Overall, the main social inclusion challenges for youth in Czechia stem from structural inequalities in education, housing, labour market access and social services, which disproportionately affect young people from socially excluded areas, minority backgrounds, young families, LGBTQ+ youth and those leaving institutional care. While national strategies such as the Education Policy Strategy 2030+ and the Social Inclusion Strategy 2021–2030 address these challenges through measures aimed at reducing disparities, improving access to services and preventing exclusion, youth are not consistently treated as a distinct target group. As a result, policy responses remain fragmented and uneven in their ability to address the complex and intersecting risks faced by young people.