On this page

1. Governance

2. Cross-sectorial cooperation

Governance

Main public actors

The Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia performs administrative and other tasks in the field of culture. Aside from administrative units, the Ministry is composed from: Directorate for Art and Culture Development, Directorate for International Cultural Cooperation and European Affairs, Directorate for Cultural Heritage Protection, Directorate for Archives, Libraries and Museums, and Directorate for Media, and Cultural and Creative Industries.

The Ministry establishes Cultural Councils for certain areas of artistic and cultural creation. Their task is to propose cultural policies goals and measures as well as to ensure artists and cultural actors’ influence on decision-making. The members of Cultural Councils are artists, cultural workers and experts.

The Central State Office for Demography and Youth (Središnji državni ured za demografiju i mlade) is responsible for youth policies.

Other public actors include the following:

• Kultura Nova Foundation (Zaklada Kultura Nova). Its purpose is the promotion and development of civil society in the Republic of Croatia in the fields of contemporary arts and culture. The initiative was recognized and supported by the Croatian Government and the Ministry of Culture and Media that continue to support further development of the Foundation. The founding of a special foundation for civil sector in culture was anticipated in the National Program for the Youth for 2009 – 2013 Period.
• The Croatian Audio-visual Centre (Hrvatski audiovizualni centar - HAVC) is the Government-backed strategic agency for the audio-visual sector in Croatia. It aims to stimulate a successful, vibrant audio-visual industry as well as to promote the widest possible enjoyment and understanding of audio-visual works throughout Croatia.
• The State Intellectual Property Office of the Republic of Croatia is the State administration body with responsibilities in the field of protection of intellectual property rights.
• Libraries  (Knjižnice) – as integral part of institution or independent
• Theatres (Kazališta). Some theatres are especially dedicated to children and young people:
  • The Zagreb Youth Theatre, founded in 1948 as the Pioneer Theatre, has grown from an acting studio for children and the youth with a hundred students and turned into a theatre institution that continually manages to reconcile artistic and repertoire ranges with its pedagogical work.
  • The City Youth Theatre Split (Gradsko kazalište mladih Split) - together with a professional acting company there is also a studio for children and youth: drama studio for youth, children drama studio and studio for singing and dancing in the context of which there are also vocal- dancing groups “Perle” (String of beads) and “Perlice” (String of small beads).
  • Rijeka’s Kamov Youth Theatre (Riječko kazalište mladih „Kamov“), school of the Croatian National Theatre Ivan pl. Zajc, has three studios: a drama studio for primary and secondary school children, a ballet-dance studio for children and young people aged 14 to 25, and a drama group organized in the Italian language for children aged 8 to 12.
  • Children’s Theatres in Čakovec, Zagreb, Slavonski brod and Osijek as well as Puppet Theatres in Rijeka, Zagreb, Zadar, Split and Osijek
  • Student's theatres and studios
• State's archives (Arhivi)
• Museums (Muzeji) – public and private.
• Croatian Conservation Institute is the central public institution in the field of conservation and restoration in the Republic of Croatia which carries out activities to protect cultural goods without administrative competence.
• Register of Cultural Property of the Republic of Croatia is a public record of cultural property kept by the Ministry of Culture and Media. It comprises three lists: The List of Cultural Goods, the List of Cultural Goods of the National Significance and the List of the Cultural Goods under the Preventive Protection

Other (non-governmental) organisations include the following:

• Student Centres are independent institutions which take care of social and personal living standards of students at Universities. The main activities include accommodation, catering, providing temporary and periodical part-time student employment, and organizing leisure activities (including cultural events).
• Rijeka 2020 LLC was jointly founded by the City of Rijeka and the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, for the purpose of implementing the European Capital of Culture 2020 in Croatia project. The company’s goal is to independently, efficiently and transparently perform the Rijeka 2020 – ECoC project by implementing operational, programme and communication strategies, while the infrastructural investments specified by the Bid Book will be managed by the City of Rijeka and the Primorje-Gorski Kotar County.

• The Museum Documentation Centre (MDC) was registered as an independent institution on 22 July 1968 with the task of  systematically collecting, recording and cataloguing material dealing with the development and activities of museums, collecting professional museological literature, documentation, and materials serving professionals in their personal and the development of the museum profession in general, promoting the work and activities of museums.

• The International Centre for Underwater Archaeology (ICUA) is an independent public institution which gained the status of a UNESCO category II centre. Management is conducted and primary funding provided by the Republic of Croatia and UNESCO. ICUA works to protect, study and preserve underwater cultural heritage in Croatia.
• National Network of socio-cultural centres (Mreža društveno-kulturnih centara – DKC-HR) is a network of civil society organizations. It's aim is to advocate for a public policy which will ensure sustainable infrastructure od socio-cultural activities based on participatory management and civil-public partnership. The founding organizations are civil society organizations, platforms and alliances:
  • Art Workshop Lazareti, Dubrovnik
  • Independent culture association's forum – FUNK (Forum udruga nezavisne kulture – FUNK), Koprivnica
  • Youth Centre Platform Split (Platforma Doma mladih Split)
  • Platforma Hvar, Hvar
  • The Alliance Kaoperativa (Savez udruga Kaoperativa) Karlovac
  • Clubture Network, Zagreb
  • The Alliance Molekula (Savez udruga Molekula) Rijeka
  • The Alliance Operation City, Zagreb
  • The Rojc Alliance , Pula
  • Youth Cultural Centre (Kulturni Centar Mladih) is non governmental association which organizes and promotes young people's cultural life in Kutina.
• POGON – Zagreb Centre for Independent Culture and Youth is a cultural institution based on the new model of civil–public partnership. In 2008 it was jointly founded and is managed by the Alliance Operation City and the City of Zagreb.
• Numerous civil artistic organizations and associations

At the levels of regional and local self-government, city offices are responsible for youth programs, i.e. departments for social activities that most often involve apart from young people, culture, education and sport. In their budgets, local and regional self-government units ensure funds for financial support for projects and programs of youth associations, youth associations, national youth associations and youth and for-youth organizations and umbrella youth organizations, in accordance with capabilities and fiscal capacities. Local and regional self-government units can make their own local youth programs and establish Youth Advisory Boards under the Act on Youth Advisory Boards.

Cross-sectoral cooperation

The Advisory Board for Youth of Government of the Republic of Croatia (Savjet za mlade Vlade Republike Hrvatske) is an intergovernmental advisory body of the Government of the Republic of Croatia with the task of participating in the development of youth policies. The Ministry of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia has its representative in it.

In carrying out its tasks, the Advisory Board in particular:

1. Monitors the work of ministries and other state administration bodies in the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of youth policies within their jurisdictions and, in this context, provides opinions and recommendations.
2. Monitors the development of youth and for- youth associations, and provides recommendations for the improvement of their work and support systems.
3. Provides recommendations for the development of youth policies at the local, regional, national and European level.
4. Monitors and reacts to phenomena in the society of importance to youth.