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YouthWiki

EACEA National Policies Platform
Czechia

Czechia

9. Youth and the World

9.2 Administration and governance

Last update: 8 February 2024
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  1. Governance
  2. Cross-sectorial cooperation

Governance

At the government level, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports is the main public body having a specific competence on youth policy.  The main responsible entity within the ministry is the Youth Unit within the section II “Education and Youth”. International cooperation, in general, is in the competence of Section IV “Legislation and international relations”, under which operates the Department for international relations and the Department for EU affairs.  The competence of foreign affairs and international relations is the domain of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Within the section on security and multilateral cooperation there is also the Department of the United Nations which is responsible among other things also for the UN Youth Delegates Programme. There is also a Section of Non-European Countries and Economic and Development Cooperation with  the Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid Department. In the scope of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is also the Council for International Development Cooperation.

Further to government actors, the main public agency responsible for the international cooperation in the youth sector is the Centre for International Cooperation in Education (DZS). It is established by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic, with the mission to ensure educational, training and cooperation with foreign countries under the instructions of the ministry. DZS is responsible for a number of international programmes, including the Erasmus+ Programme and European Solidarity Corps. DZS services are addressed to students, teachers, directors of all types of schools and other professionals, as well as to public and private organisations involved in education.

The Czech Development Agency operates in the field of global development, with particular attention to the development of bilateral projects of development cooperation between the Czech Republic and other countries . Based on the Development Cooperation Strategy of the Czech Republic 2010-2017 and 2018-2030, the Agency has a specific focus on different sectors in each country. The sectors are selected according to the Czech experience and cooperation builds upon Czech comparative advantages. They also reflect priorities of the international community in general and activities of other donors.

At the same time, the Czech Development Agency supports projects under its specific bilateral or horizontal programmesThe Agency also supports trilateral projects. Such projects are co-financed by other donors, for instance by the European Commission. Last but not least the Agency supports local projects. Such projects are focused on raising awareness about development cooperation and capacity building of Czech entities. The Agency also provides support to the projects during their implementation. In the competence of the Agency there is also the Global development education and awareness, aiming at increasing expertize knowledge of educational workers in the field of development education. Projects focus on programs about development issues for pupils and students in all the levels of education, creating methodical materials and organizing various campaigns. Projects inform about Millennium development goals as well.

 

Many youth NGOs run their own projects related to global issues, for example:

 

Other NGOs partner with youth organisations on joint projects in the area of development aid:

 

Cross-sectorial cooperation

In specific topical issues, other respective Ministries can be involved, especially the Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Environment.

In the absence of a specific cross-sectorial body on international cooperation in defining the youth's contribution to global processes, mechanisms of cross-sectorial cooperation between Ministries, Departments and Agencies are activated ad hoc basis or linked to specific activities, programmes and projects.