Main trends in young people's creativity and cultural participation

According to the Federal Arts and Culture report 2019 (Kunst- und Kulturbericht) provided by the Federal Ministry for Arts, Culture, Civil Service and Sport (Bundesministerium für Kunst, Kultur, Öffentlicher Dienst und Sport), more than one million visitors up to the age of 19 benefitted from the Federal Museums in Austria. The number is constantly rising: 1.312.904 young people under the age of 19 in 2019 accounted for an increase of 6% compared to the year before (1.235.203 in 2018). The high number of young visitors is accomplished by free entry provisions for young people up to the age of 19. Since the implementation of the free entry for under 19 years old in 2010, more than 10 million children and adolescents made use of this offer. The information events provided were have been very well accepted. From 2010 to 2018 2.740.348 children and young people attended the overall 153.035 arts and culture mediation events.

Of the young people under 19 benefitting from free entrance, in 2019 557.925 (42 %) were Austrian. There is a significant disparity between federal states, with Vienna accounting for 66% of participants (70% in 2018) due to the concentration of federal museums in the capital city. All nine federal provinces run provincial museums (brought together under the Museumsbund Österreich), which at the least forsee reduced tariffs for children and youth, and enable young people to encounter culture throughout Austria regardless of their geographical origin.

The detrimental impacts of the COVID-19 crisis, in the course of which museums remained closed during certain lockdowns, remaind to be seen in the upcoming Federal Arts and Culture report for 2020.

Young visitor numbers by federal museum

Main concepts

In 1992, Austria ratified the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. With the ratification of the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2009, Austria committed to the creation of an inventory of its intangible cultural heritage as well as its continuous updating.

For Austria, the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage has brought about some relevant impulses, as the 2015 report on its implementation shows. Its policy aspects include the promoting of cultural diversity and inclusivity (e.g. increased recognition for linguistic minorities), sustainable tourism that increases the visibility of communities' intangible cultural heritage and the use and preservation of traditional knowledge regarding natural resources and hazards (e.g. in terms of sustainable resource management such as traditional seed cultivation). Committees and working groups have been established to initiate awareness-raising projects.

In the field of cultural education, all federal museums have an art education department and thus a large variety of services for schools and young people.