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YouthWiki

EACEA National Policies Platform
Slovakia

Slovakia

5. Participation

5.6 Supporting youth organisations

Last update: 28 November 2023
On this page
  1. Legal/policy framework for the functioning and development of youth organisations
  2. Public financial support
  3. Initiatives to increase the diversity of participants

Legal/policy framework for the functioning and development of youth organisations

Children's and youth organisations are formed under the same conditions as other civic associations in Slovakia. The citizens may establish associations, societies, unions, movements, clubs and other civic associations as well as trade unions and unite in them. An association shall start its existence upon its incorporation (registration). The conditions are defined and anchored in a special act (Act on Associations of Citizens/Zákon o združovaní občanov).

Public financial support

Most youth organisations' activities are financed from the diverse public as well as private sources, e.g.:

  • public funding from the European Structural Funds, Erasmus+,
  • financing from public sources at the level of subsidy mechanisms of individual ministries,
  • public funding at the level of local governments,
  • 2% of corporate and personal income tax,
  • voluntary contributions (donations), public collections, membership fees, revenues from the NGO's own activities etc.

In 2013, the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic (MESRS) adopted Programmes for Youth for 2014 – 2020 (Programy pre mládeže na roky 2014 – 2020), national grant scheme, that provides possible regular funding for youth organisations (1.7).

List of all youth organizations supported on a yearly basis within particular programmes can be found on the website of IUVENTA – Slovak Youth Institute, organization responsible for administration of the MESRS grant programmes.

The financial contribution is mostly focused on institutional support of the youth organisations, which must fulfil both, formal and quality criteria. Among these criteria you can find for instance Democratic structures and processes of the organization (e.g. members can influence the operation of the organisation etc.) The Programmes do not finance the establishment of youth facilities, where young people can meet and get involved in projects.

Since the Programmes are based on the objectives of the Youth Strategy 2014 – 2020, the new generation of the programmes is planned to be released together with the new Youth Strategy 2021 – 2028.

Initiatives to increase the diversity of participants

Youth organizations are encouraged to involve young people with fewer opportunities both in their regular and project activities through calls within the national grant scheme Programmes for Youth or Erasmus+ programme calls.

There are some non-governmental organisations that aim to empower the minorities or work towards inclusion of various disadvantaged groups. In general, the members of these groups are highly underrepresented in youth organisations (4.5).