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1. Reducing obstacles to young people's access to culture

2. Disseminating information on cultural opportunities

3. Knowledge of cultural heritage amongst young people

Reducing obstacles to young people's access to culture

Lázár Ervin Programme

Starting in 2019, the Lázár Ervin Programme (Lázár Ervin Program) offers free access to theatre, dance, circus, classical music concerts and wildlife exhibitions to all primary school students in grades 1 to 8, regardless of their social status and place of residence, once per school year. Its budget was HUF 3.35 billion (EUR 83 million) for 2023 and remained the same in 2024 and 2025.

'Grow into Culture' programme

The Déryné Programme (the programme aims to provide high-quality cultural programmes to areas with limited access to cultural resources) launched in February 2023 the 'KultUp' ('Grow into Culture!') programme, which is a nationwide initiative targeting high school students aged 14-18. Its mission is to bring theatrical and artistic experiences to Hungarian students, fostering community building, skill development, and cultural engagement. 

'KultUp' focuses on experience-based education, using innovative methods like interactive drama lessons, debate theatre, and community-building games to promote quality cultural consumption and value-based development. It also includes a national talent competition and comprehensive research to measure its impact on students' cultural habits and attitudes.

'AGORA' institutions

The EU tender under the previous 2007-2013 cycle's Social Infrastructure Operational Programme aimed at the creation of a network of Agóras,

• to integrate community culture, social, educational and experience functions, and
• to create a counselling service to improve smaller settlements' cultural and community cultural basic services.

14 county towns have participated in the programme (additional EU and national sources supplemented the funding).

The project ended at the end of the financial cycle, but the cities pledged to continue operating the facilities with their original purpose for at least 12 more years. Although the project was aimed at the general population, the Agóras are often mentioned in the context of the institutional background of youth policy, as youth tasks of municipalities were often carried out there.

'Hangfoglaló [Sound Conqueror] Programme'

One of the flagship youth culture programmes since 2017 has been the 'Hangfoglaló Programme' ('Hangfoglaló Program') administered by the temporary division of the National Cultural Fund (Nemzeti Kulturális Alap). (For more information, see 8.2 Administration and governance.) 

The programme aims to support Hungarian popular music through its nine sub-programmes. These support the following activities:

• starting bands,
• operation of countryside clubs, countryside and community TVs and radios, as well as print and online media,
• international tours and promotion (these sub-programmes are based on tendering),
• preserving the Hungarian popular music heritage,
• musical management education, and
• supporting countryside talent search events.

Besides supporting young bands and music creation, the programme also regularly offers events for the public to present products that received funding.

Disseminating information on cultural opportunities

Dissemination of culture-related programmes for young people mainly takes part in the current infrastructure of community culture, public education and community cultural institutions. The role of the Petőfi Cultural Agency (Petőfi Kulturális Ügynökség) has to be also emphasised here, mostly in relation to its activities in the field of popular culture, for example by operating the Hungarian Popular Cultural Repository (Magyar Popkulturális Értéktár) that aims to raise the awareness of the Hungarian popular music scene at a museological level. Moreover, the Office of the Creative Europe Programme also offers information on certain cultural events.

Knowledge of cultural heritage amongst young people

As mentioned before, young people's discovery and appreciation of the cultural and artistic heritage appear among the tasks of the local governments, and – besides public education – it is mostly carried out through the network of public collections and community cultural institutions. (For more information see sub-chapter 8.2 Administration and governance.)

The most important public awareness-raising campaign is the Cultural Heritage Days (Kulturális Örökség Napjai). The programme has no specific target groups besides those interested in cultural heritage and is operated by the Prime Minister's Office (Miniszterelnökség). Through the programme, the participating institutions offer free entrance and special events for the participants.