The National Cultural Institute will be a strong cultural institution focused on Czech culture and living arts

The merger of the Ministry of Culture's contributory organizations NIPOS (National Information and Advisory Center for Culture) and IDU (Institute of Arts - Theatre Institute) will create a new institution with the working name National Cultural Institute.

The merger will build a stronger cultural institution while preserving the specifics of the activities of both organizations. None of the extraordinary activities will cease due to the merger, on the contrary, it will create a basis for the sharing of service activities, for example, to further develop the memory functions of both institutions and their comprehensive services to the public.

"The new, merged institution will have a much stronger position. The organization, which should now have more than 100 employees and manage a budget of over 100 million crowns, will be significantly more resilient and stable. I consider it important that the Czech Republic has one strong organization for the entire cultural segment. Currently, one organization deals with professional culture, the other with non-professional culture. However, one type of culture cannot exist without the other and they have clear areas of contact, such as the development and accessibility of culture and art, their targeting in regions, the interests of professional organizations, support for artistic management, teaching and pedagogy, or cultural strategy and analysis, " says Martin Baxa and adds: " This decision is the result of considerations over the last two years, when we at the Ministry of Culture have been thinking about how to ensure a stronger and more secure position for both organizations in the future, conditions for work, and strong support and service for the cultural community. "

Why is the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic taking this step:

The aim of establishing the NKI is to build a strong national cultural institution focused on the field of Czech culture and living arts.

The expected benefits of the merger and the creation of the SAI are:

• logical connection of the entire chain of activities and their broader scope,
• better cooperation between professional and non-professional sectors, interdisciplinary projects,
• a wider scope of activities, greater possibilities for cooperation with foreign countries,
• support for activities in the field of science and research,
• support for the independent scene, strengthening of professional background,
• greater influence in the regions and cooperation with local governments,
• synergy in the conceptual area, sharing data and research, strengthening cultural policy,
• better availability of services for cultural actors, information center, more comprehensive advisory services,
• modernization and digitalization of services,
• more functional cooperation with the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic.

The core of the new institution will be the current activities and comprehensive services of the merged organizations NIPOS and IDU. The activities and services provided by both merged organizations will not be reduced. On the contrary, the NKI expects their further development and innovation. When establishing the NKI, emphasis will be placed on ensuring that the memory function of both institutions is not jeopardized in any way. MK is fully aware of the different nature and parameters of professional and non-professional art. These differences will be fully respected in the process of establishing the NKI.

The NKI will ensure quality conditions for the activities of the merged institutions (IDU, NIPOS), the provision of services to the public and suitable working conditions for employees. The current conditions and their existence in rented premises do not correspond to the importance of the work of both institutions. In the medium term, the Ministry of Justice will acquire suitable premises for the NKI in state ownership.

The main pillars of the future activities of the National Cultural Institute are preserving and developing the existing activities of the IDU and NIPOS.

1. Theatre Institute
2. ARTAMA
3. Prague Quadrennial
4. Center for Information and Statistics in the Field of Culture
5. Research, analysis and concepts in the field of culture
6. International cooperation and presentation
7. Education of cultural actors and education in the sense of implementing the key competence Culture in the RVP
8. Information service, platforms, consultations, advice, methodology for Czech cultural actors
9. Publishing and editing activities, presentations, promotion, exhibitions

One of the main tasks of the new organization will be, among other things, the creation of a common platform for professional and non-professional culture. The preparation of the document of the new state cultural policy, which is currently underway at the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, is a major task in which both existing organizations are already participating, and will continue to participate, using their know-how, so that material that will affect the entire cultural segment enters. Both organizations also share the interests of professional organizations, such as the Association of Professional Theaters, the Association of Independent Theaters, or the Association of Cultural Centers of the Czech Republic. Last but not least, it also involves supporting artistic management, lecturing, pedagogy, creating cultural strategies and analyses using their own statistics. In addition to the existing services, which include information services, platforms, consultations, consulting, and methodology for Czech cultural actors, a new agenda related to the obligations arising from NPOs with the so-called "artist status" should be added. For this purpose, an Information and Consulting Center for Artists will be established within the NKI.

The procedure of the ministry (founder) when merging two existing contributory organizations into one contributory organization, so-called MERGER:

The general legal regulation for the establishment, transformation and dissolution of legal entities is Act No. 89/2012 Coll. Civil Code, the establishment, change and dissolution of state-funded organizations is regulated in Act No. 219/2000 Coll. and for the Ministry of Culture as the founder, the special legal regulation is Act No. 203/2006 Coll.

In the event of a merger, one of the participating contributory organisations ceases to exist; the rights and obligations of the one that ceases to exist are transferred to the other participating organisation as a successor legal entity. Due to the continuity of European projects carried out by IDU, the legal entity that ceases to exist will be NIPOS.

A merger is considered a transfer of the employer's activities. In these cases, employment-related legal relationships are transferred by law. The decision on the transfer of property, rights and obligations is entrusted by law to the founder.

The merger of state-funded organizations takes place on the date specified in the founding charter or its amendment. The founding charter will enshrine all the requirements of the newly established SAI.