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1. Main trends in young people's creativity and cultural participation

2. Main concepts

Main trends in young people's creativity and cultural participation

According to the Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria (Конституция на Република България), the state establishes conditions for free development of science, education and arts and supports them. It takes care for the protection of the national historic and cultural heritage. According to article 54 of the Constitution everyone shall have the right to avail himself/herself of the national and universal human cultural values and to develop his/her own culture in accordance with his/her ethnic self-identification, which shall be recognised and guaranteed by the law. Artistic, scientific and technological creativity shall be recognised and guaranteed by the law.

In accordance with the Culture Protection and Development Act (Закона за закрила и развитие на културата) (promulgated in 1999, last amendment and supplement of 9 June 2020) the main principles of the national cultural policy are as follows:

1. democracy of cultural policy, freedom of artistic creativity and not allowing censorship;

2. decentralization of governance and funding of cultural activities;

3. equality of authors and cultural organisations;

4. protection and enrichment of cultural and historic heritage, preservation of Bulgarian literary language, traditions and customs;

5. protection of national cultural identity and the culture of Bulgarian communities abroad;

6. promotion of cultural diversity while preserving the unity of the national culture;

7. encouragement of cultural industry and market of works of art and supporting producer’s work in the field of culture;

8. finding, supporting and training of young talents in the field of culture;

9. encouragement of donorship, patronage and sponsorship in the field of culture;

10. development and improvement of education in the field of arts and culture.

Main trends in young people’s creativity and cultural participation

The National Institute of Statistics provides statistics for the participation of population at the age of 25 – 64 years in cultural activities and events.

INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE VISITED LIVE PERFORMANCES BY AGE  (2016)

 

INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE GONE TO CINEMA BY AGE  (2016)

INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE VISITED CULTURAL SIGHTS BY AGE (2016)

POPULATION WITH REFERENCE TO BOOK READING BY AGE (2016)

POPULATION WITH REFERENCE TO NUMBER OF BOOKS READ BY AGE (2016)

According to the publication of the National Institute of Statistics 2018 Key Data about Culture in the Republic of Bulgaria (Основни данни за културата в Република България през 2018 година), as at 31.12.2018:

• There are 174 museums operating in the country, which are registered in accordance with the Cultural Heritage Act (Закона за културното наследство). The number of visits to museums in 2018 is 5 084 thousand.
• In 2018, 15 155 performances were organised in the 75 theaters operating in the country visited by 2 389 thousand spectators.
• In 2018, 51 music groups develop their creative work – 5 philharmonic orchestras, 25 professional ensembles for fold songs and dances, and 21 orchestras.
• In 2018 the number of libraries with book stock of more than 200 thousand library units remains unchanged in comparison to the previous year (47).
• At the end of 2018, there are 69 cinemas in the country with 226 screens.
• In 2018, 83 registered and licensed radio operators work in the country.
  
  In 2018, there are 116 registered and licensed Bulgarian TV operators functioning in the country, and their number decreases by 1 in comparison to the previous year.

Upon assignment of Friedrich Ebert Foundation, Bulgaria office, a sociological study Bulgarian Youth 2018/2019 („Българската младеж 2018/2019“) was conducted in 2018. Data were collected at the beginning of 2018 and the study involved more than 10 000 people at the age of 14 – 29. The study report describes the main results and conclusions of the national sociological study on the Bulgarian youth, which is a representative study of young people at the age of 14 to 29 years.

According to the study, frequency of creativity activities (writing, drawing, playing a music instrument) in leisure time is different for a little bit more than one third of Bulgarian young people. Here young women prevail as almost half of them are involved in arts. Teenagers are more frequently involved in creativity than young people at the age of 20 and more years, and unemployed individuals form the group of those least involved in arts. One third of Bulgarian young people visit a youth center or a club of interests during leisure time.

Main concepts

In accordance with the approved structure in the country, the governmental cultural policy in Bulgaria is implemented at two levels – national and local.

At national level, the responsibility for the establishment and implementation of cultural policy is allocated between the legislative authority – the National Assembly, and the executive authority – the Council of Ministers.

At local level, cultural policy is implemented by the local self-governance authorities – the municipalities. According to the Culture Protection and Development Act (Закона за закрила и развитие на културата) (promulgated in 1999, last amendment and supplement of 9 June 2020) municipalities define and implement their policy for the protection and development of culture by harmonizing the principles of the national cultural policy with the local conditions and traditions.