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YouthWiki

EACEA National Policies Platform
Slovakia

Slovakia

9. Youth and the World

9.2 Administration and governance

Last update: 31 March 2022
On this page
  1. Governance
  2. Cross-sectorial cooperation

Governance

Main actors

Global Issues in Slovakia are governed across sectors and through different levels of governance. Following is the list of most relevant actors governing, and in some extent also creating space for Slovak youth engagement in the arena of global issues.

Main actors in youth involvement in global issues

One of the key actors is the President of the Slovak Republic, who does frame the overall position of the Slovak republic towards global agendas and initiatives, also influencing and encouraging youth involvement and interest in these. Current president of Slovakia Zuzana Čaputová, has been quite active most of all in global issues such as climate change, good governance, extremism and polarization and has been a spark in the Slovak society of dialogue and involvement in solving these issues also for the youth.

Another important governance body in relation to youth and public involvement in global issues is The Office of the Plenipotentiary for the Development of the Civil Society. The office is a key partner for building nation-wide partnerships between different ministries and government bodies and civil society organizations, creating the links between the public, CSOs which represent the public and the ministries which draft, consult, and implement policies.

The official governance of the global issues is thus also spread among the various ministries in Slovakia:

  1. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic
  • responsible for overall Slovak involvement in the international environment as wells in the sector of development aid and development education and awareness raising which includes broader opportunities for youth involvement, through volunteering as well as through global citizenship education.
  • In this, the ministry is overseeing the implementation of Agenda 2030 in relation to SDG 17.

 

  1. The Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic

 

  1. The Ministry of Environment of the Slovak Republic
  • Which is the owner of the agenda of sustainable development, green consumption and dealing with impact of climate crisis.

 

  1. The Ministry of Justice of the Slovak Republic
  • Which oversees human rights issues.

 

  1. The Ministry of Investment, Regional Development and Informatization of the Slovak Republic
  • Which oversees the overall management of Agenda 2030 in Slovakia.

 

 

  1. IUVENTA – Slovak Youth Institute

 

  1. SlovakAid
  • Is an agency working under the auspices of Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs and oversees the granting opportunities as well as project implementation in the area of global citizenship education and development education and awareness raising about global issues.

 

  1. Civil society actors  – many non-governmental organisations are active in global issues, although they are not exclusively targeted at young people and their involvement in global topics.
  • Ambrela is a platform for development organizations,which is an umbrella organization for CSOs working in the fields of development cooperation, humanitarian aid and global citizenship education,
  • eRko – Christian Children Communities´ Movement, which is active in the field of development cooperation and volunteering as well as raising awareness about global issues among the youth.
  • Živica, which is one of the leading organizations in Slovakia working in the field of global citizenship education and value-based education,
  • Pontis Foundation, which is one of the most innovation-oriented organizations in Slovakia in the field of education and more specifically value-based education,
  • People in Need Slovakia, which is an organization with one of the longest traditions of implementing a global citizenship education programmes in Slovakia,
  • Impact Games, which is one of the most innovative organizations working on the intersection of the fields of digital and game-based education and global citizenship and value-based education,
  • Milan Šimečka Foundation, as one of the most active organizations in value-based education,
  • Institute for Active Citizenship, as key CSO actor in the field of active citizenship education,
  • Initiative for Citizenship Education, as a platform bringing together organization working towards the implementation of citizenship education in Slovakia,
  • Partners for Democratic Change Slovakia, which is one of the most professional organizations in the field of value-based and peace education,
  • UNICEF  in Slovakia, which is one of the leaders in development education and global youth work in Slovakia and beyond.

Less structured and formalized youth movements like Fridays for Future and Extinction Rebellion also create spaces for youth to engage global issues in a non-formal environment of a broader movement interconnected globally.

Much of the agenda governing and administrating Slovak youth involvement in global issues comes from the European level, where the following actors are key:

Directorate General for Education and Culture of the European Commission

  • Responsible namely for the agenda of European Education area.
  • Key actor on the level of EU institutions governing the Erasmus+ programme as well as the Creative Europe programme.

Directorate General for International Partnerships of the European Commission

  • Responsible for implementation of Agenda 2030 and especially SDG 17 through instruments of development cooperation and humanitarian aid
  • Responsible for support of civil society organizations active in the field of development cooperation and humanitarian aid.
  • Responsible for the implementation of Development Education and Awareness Raising programme, which is the most direct and straightforward funding programme for civil society organizations promoting global citizenship, value-based educations and campaigns related to global issues.

There are also several policy and advocacy oriented civil society platforms working on the level of the EU:

At the top of multilevel global governance structure, what follows are the key actors on Global Level relevant for youth involvement in global issues:

United Nations

UNESCO

OECD

 

Cross-sectorial cooperation

There is the Inter-ministerial Working Group for State Policy in the Field of Youth, coordinated by Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sports. More information in section 1.5 Cross-sectorial approach with other Ministries.