Seminar "Public Cultural Institution - Modernization of Administration and Financing of Cultural Institutions".
On Thursday, January 19, 2023, under the auspices of MP Ing. Jarmila Levko and with the participation of the Minister of Culture Martin Baxa, the seminar "Public Cultural Institutions - Modernization of the Administration and Financing of Cultural Institutions" took place in the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic.
Stanislav Moša, Chairman of the Association of Professional Theatres and Director of the Brno City Theatre, summarized the steps taken so far in preparing the new law. The cultural sector has been struggling with the problems of unfinished transformation since the 1990s. After 1989, most theatres were transferred to city governments and after the creation of regions, there was no financial cooperation for their operation. The area of culture is recording the most dynamic growth in the entire European Union and is key to creating a creative social environment, which is subsequently able to create high added value in the economic area. However, in the Czech Republic, its effective management and the creation of conditions for its development by the state have long been underestimated.
The General Director of the National Theatre, Jan Burian, named the key principles of a public cultural institution. A similar type of institution operates in the field of science (public research organisation), in the field of education (public universities), and public service media operate in a comparable manner (Czech Television, Czech Radio, ČTK). Inspiration can be drawn from abroad. The draft law on a public cultural institution meets the long-term efforts of a significant part of the cultural sector to create a new type of legal entity that respects the specifics of living culture in particular. The goal is the stability of cultural institutions, the possibility of their co-founding by cities and regions or the state, the possibility of multi-year financing (predictability, planning, efficiency in management) and overall flexibility of operation. The draft law addresses the institute of a person with the right to nominate to the board of directors, which will be defined in the founding charter. Another issue is taxation and a different regime in the main and secondary activities, the possibility of creating organisational units that trade with each other at real prices, which motivates savings, contractual wages that will not be lower than the salaries guaranteed by the tables. The draft law does not envisage mandatory transformation; it will be a political decision.
The following spoke in favor of the new legislation in the discussion: Councilor for Culture and Monument Preservation of the Olomouc Region Jan Žůrek, Deputy Mayor of Prague 9 Adam Vážanský, MP Igor Hendrych, Deputy Mayor of Olomouc Viktor Tichák, Deputy Mayor for Culture of Opava Pavel Melecký, Deputy Mayor for Education and Sports of Ostrava Andrea Hofmanová, Director of the Most Municipal Theater Václav Hofmann, Director of the Mladá Boleslav Municipal Theater Žaneta Benešová, and Director of the Brno National Theater Martin Glaser.
The current government has committed in its program statement to prepare and submit a draft law by the middle of this year at the latest. The Ministry of Culture is working intensively on it.