The Council of the Central Bohemian Region discussed the draft Strategy of the Central Bohemian Region for the area of culture, cultural heritage and cultural and creative industries for the years 2024-2030. It is the first document in history that defines the long-term vision and goals of the Central Bohemian Region in the broad cultural area. More than a hundred experts were involved in the preparation of the Strategy during the years 2023 and 2024.
The importance of the involvement not only of experts, but also of the general public, who collaborated in the preparation of the Strategy, is highlighted by Václav Švenda, councilor for the area of culture, heritage preservation and tourism: “The creation of the Strategy was the first really comprehensive opportunity to meet a large number of experts, cultural organizers, actors and so-called opinion leaders. During thirteen workshops, which took place in all twelve districts of the Central Bohemian Region, more than 300 participants from the local and regional engaged cultural public discussed how they perceive the situation of culture in the places where they live and work. Thanks to their active involvement, we obtained valuable information and a rational view of local situations as well as additional data on the availability and needs of culture for various target groups, and trends in the cultural environment in the Central Bohemian Region. So we know the expectations of the public, what role the Central Bohemian Region should play as a public institution in solving their needs. On the basis of these initiatives, fundamental priorities and goals of regional cultural support until 2030 were incorporated into the Strategy.”
The strategy formulates five main areas for the development of culture, cultural heritage and cultural and creative industries. A main goal is set for each area, which defines the final state to be achieved by implementing the Strategy in that area. The first area is the offer of live art and culture, in which the primary goal is to create a diverse cultural offer of live art and culture for different target groups. “As part of the discussions on the offer of live art, we identified the lack of cultural offer and opportunities for the young generation aged around 15-25 as one of the problematic factors. Thanks to the knowledge of their preferences and lifestyle, we will, for example, be happy to support the own creation of young people for their peers, in the form of “youth for young people,” and specifically subsidy programs,” Councilor Švenda explains.
Another area of strategic development of culture in the region is the Environment of Cities and Municipalities. Within the workshops on this topic, the issue of the cultivation of public space was widely discussed. The main goal for the region is quality planning and development of the physical environment in the region. One of the ways of cultivating the public environment is the consistent promotion and appreciation of quality architecture and the development of art in public space.
In the field of Education and Culture, cooperation with universities was proposed in terms of professional practice offers and future employment of students within the framework of cultural educational projects of regional support organizations. Another goal is to further utilize the dense network of basic libraries, of which there are over 800 in the Central Bohemian Region, and support their community potential.
In recent years, the population of the Central Bohemian Region has been increasing significantly. In some areas, this creates a barrier between newcomers and old-timers. During the workshops and discussion groups, the need to connect the two worlds was therefore mentioned, while cultural activity was identified as a suitable tool for this process. Identity and brands of places and their cultural development for the benefit of locals and visitors were therefore set as the main goal of the next area. “ Culture plays a vital integrative role in the identity and branding of locations one of the key areas of our strategy . This is especially true where we need to find a solution for successful interconnection old-timers and newly arrived residents of our region, namely especially in the context of the current demographic trend, “ emphasizes Václav Švenda.
Cultural and creative sectors are a separate area of the cultural strategy. “We are currently working on the next phase of mapping this sector. We are aware of the potential of its contribution to the development of the local economy and the quality of the environment as such. Our priority is therefore profiling the region as an open and welcoming environment for the development and operation of creative and cultural industries. That’s why we actively support it the ability of the creative industry to collaborate across disciplines, create opportunities for the application of talents directly in the region, and seek inspiration in the cultural and artistic resources of our region. We believe that the result will be not only a cultural, but also a long-term economic benefit for our region,” concludes Václav Švenda. The website kreativnistrednicechy.cz is a pilot project of the Strategy for the Development of Cultural and Creative Sectors. The ambition of the project is to create a communication platform for the active involvement and all-round support of actors of culture, cultural heritage and the cultural and creative sector across the entire region.
The strategy of the Central Bohemian Region for the area of culture, cultural heritage and cultural and creative industries for the years 2024-2030 is available in full on the website of the Central Bohemian Region.
