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Slovakia

8. Creativity and Culture

8.1 General context

Last update: 20 February 2026

8.1 General context 

Currently, due to the situation, no comprehensive research or statistical analysis to exclusively map the participation of young people of Slovakia on cultural life/events. Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Republic and Ministry of Education, Research, Development and Youth of the Slovak Republic work closely together in fulfilling the goals and priorities in the area of participation of children and youth in culture and the arts. 

The strategy of the Slovak Republic for youth (2021 - 2028) building on the EU Youth Strategy 2019–2027, places particular emphasis on youth work and non-formal education. Its objective is to improve the quality of life of young people and to create conditions for their comprehensive development as active, responsible and participating members of society. In line with the EU Youth Strategy 2019–2027, it also supports young people’s resilience and their ability to adapt to current and future challenges, including climate change, threats to peace and security, and the development of information technologies. In the area of cultural policy, the Strategy for Culture and Creative Industries 2030 sets out objectives aimed at supporting the talents and potential of young people through both artistic and non-formal education. It seeks to expand and diversify the cultural offer for children and youth, strengthen their relationship with culture, and encourage both active and passive participation in cultural life. Special attention is given to the culture of disadvantaged and marginalised communities and to the role of culture as a tool for fostering intercultural understanding and reducing negative phenomena such as xenophobia, discrimination, and violations of human rights.

The State Statistical Report on Culture - 2024 offers some partial information on the visit rates and the production of its institutions also for the group of children and youth: 

  • In 2024, the upward trend in the number of educational activities for children and young people organised by museums continued; in the case of libraries, their number has been increasing in the long term, with the exception of the pandemic period. Over the past three years, the number of concerts aimed at children and youth has also risen, while the number of theatre performances for this audience group has declined. In galleries and astronomical facilities, the number of activities for children and young people has remained stable over the long term.

  • In connection with the long-term growth in the total number of cinemas, the number of cinemas offering discounted admission for persons with disabilities, seniors, and children under 15 has also increased. This trend has contributed to higher attendance by young audiences at both film festivals and regular cinema screenings.

  • Compared with the previous year, the total number of broadcast hours of programmes for children and youth in radio broadcasting decreased by 41% due to the shift of this type of content to continuous moderated programming by Rádio FM. In television broadcasting, programmes for children increased by 27% as a result of the introduction of the new channel ducktv plus.

  • Culture of national minorities: These include folklore festivals, competitions in the recitation of national poetry and prose, literary days, cultural and educational summer camps for children and young people, creative workshops with traditional craftsmanship and other cultural events that have gained great popularity at the regional and national level of Slovak Republic, but they have also been popular abroad. In the territory of the Slovak Republic in 2024, 1,995 collectives developing the culture of national minorities performed their activities. Most groups of interest were active in the field of national folklore (348). 

Flash Eurobarometer European Youth 2024 shows tha only a slim majority of t young people in Slovakia visit European eleactions. A representative survey conducted by the Youth Council of Slovakia (ages 18–29, data collected in 2022) showed that pandemic-related measures “significantly affected the possibility to participate in leisure activities,” thereby impacting the personal development of young people.

Cultural and educational activities 

  • Increasing attendance at cultural institutions, with an emphasis on target groups of students and youth, 

  • Conduct surveys of visitors' needs and behaviour, including target groups of students and youth,  

  • Mediation of cultural knowledge, 

  • Securing the access for the population to culture in its broadest sense, 

  • Enabling to discover individual talents and predispositions, 

  • Cultivates, forms and educates individuals, interest groups, communities. 

Cultural heritage: 

An achieved compendium of cultural values (of material and spiritual culture), knowledge of science and technology, general education and culture, philosophical views, ideals and moral norms, as well as the level of interpersonal relationships. 

 

Special-interest artistic activities: 

  • Voluntary, non-professional activity of an artistic character, 

  • Arises from natural cultural need, out of one's own interest and within one’s own free time, 

  • Can be of an individual or collective form, 

  • Helps to actualize and cultivates innate or acquired skills, 

  • The aim is regeneration, creation of artistic values and social actualization. 

Interest-based, leisure and hobby artistic activities, cultural education and non-profesional artistic education: various art and creative-based activities, cultural and educational activities outside of school education as is informal and non-institutional education of youth and adults including seniors (Source: National Culture Centre).