On this page

1. Existence of a national strategy

2. Scope and contents

3. Responsible authority for the implementation of the strategy

4. Revisions/updates

Existence of a national strategy

North Macedonia has a long-term practice of developing cultural strategies with action plans. The National Strategy for Development of Culture 2018–2022 is the most recent officially adopted strategic document. It continued the previous Strategy 2013–2017 and was adopted together with an Action Plan for implementation. Although it applies to the general population, youth are included as part of the target groups.

A new National Strategy for Development of Culture 2023–2027 with an Action Plan was drafted, but it has not been officially adopted.

With the institutional reorganization in 2024, the former Ministry of Culture now functions as the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Under the new structure, the Ministry adopted a Strategic Plan 2025–2027, which defines key priorities and funding directions for cultural development. Among the priorities is support for young authors, creative production and cultural participation.

In addition to cultural strategies, the National Youth Strategy 2023–2027 includes a dedicated thematic area on culture, focusing exclusively on youth. It aims to improve access to cultural life, support creative talent, and ensure that young people are involved in cultural policy and funding at national and local level.

Scope and contents

Since 2024, the Ministry of Culture operates as the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Its main planning document is the Strategic Plan 2025–2027, which defines goals, reform priorities, and programmes for culture and tourism for the next three years, fully aligned with the Government Work Programme. The Plan includes six programmes and seventeen sub-programmes focused on cultural development, protection of cultural heritage in line with international standards, upgrading cultural institutions and infrastructure, supporting the independent cultural scene, and ensuring human and financial resources, expected results, and responsible authorities for each activity. In addition to regular activities, the Plan emphasizes continuing reforms for modern, inclusive, and accessible culture.

Previous strategies also shaped cultural policy. The National Strategy for Development of Culture 2018–2022 emphasized that culture is a fundamental human right and should be accessible to all. It promoted democratic, diverse, and sustainable cultural development, focusing on cultural institutions, education, publishing, participation, and heritage protection. Regarding youth, it aimed to develop programmes to increase participation, adapt institutions to the needs of young people, encourage literary work for children and youth, and strengthen cultural education in formal and non-formal learning. The earlier Strategy for 2013–2017 also emphasized developing creativity, intercultural understanding, and critical thinking among young people. There is no publicly available evaluation of the implementation of either Strategy.

The National Youth Strategy 2023–2027 is the main policy framework for youth development in North Macedonia and includes a dedicated thematic area on culture. It seeks to ensure that young people can participate in cultural policy and funding systems, access spaces for cultural creation and international mobility, receive support for employment in culture, develop their creative potential through modern educational programmes, and have equal access to cultural life regardless of gender, ethnicity, disability, socio-economic status, or place of residence.

Responsible authority for the implementation of the strategy

The implementation of the National Strategy for Development of Culture 2018–2022—and the current Strategic Plan of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (2025–2027)—is led by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. The Ministry coordinates planning, programming and public funding in the cultural sector and oversees the work of national cultural institutions.

Other responsible actors include:

• Local self-governments – implementation of local cultural policies and support to cultural institutions and events;

• Ministry of Finance – allocation and control of public funds for cultural programmes;

• Ministry of Education and Science – cultural education, arts education and cooperation with schools and universities;

• Ministry of Information Society and Administration – digitalisation of cultural services and open government data;

• National cultural institutions (theatres, museums, opera, orchestra, libraries, galleries) – implementation of state programmes in culture;

• Universities and research institutes – research, cultural heritage protection and cultural policy expertise.

Implementation of the National Youth Strategy 2023–2027 is described in Chapter 1.3.

Revisions/updates

There has been no official revision or update of the 2018–2022 Strategy. The previous Strategy 2013–2017 existed before it. Youth appear only in a limited number of measures and there were no major structural changes related to youth participation in culture.

The National Strategy for Development of Culture 2023–2027 with Action Plan remains only in draft form and is not yet adopted.