Ukraine/ 2. General objectives and principles of cultural policy  

2.1 Main features of the current cultural policy model

Existing cultural policy is based on the Constitution of the Ukraine (1996), the Law of Ukraine on Culture (2011), the Law on Local Self-Governance (1997), the Budget Code of Ukraine (2002, de-centralised financing), and ideas of the draft Concept of the State targeted programme for innovative development of Ukrainian culture in 2009-2013 (see also chapter 1).

Article 4 of the Law of Ukraine on Culture establishes that priorities of public cultural policy shall be determined by state programmes of social and economic development of Ukraine which should take into account aspects of cultural development. "The government shall create on a priority basis conditions for: development of culture of the Ukrainian nation, indigenous peoples and national minorities of Ukraine; maintenance, restoration and protection of the historical environment; aesthetic education of citizens, first of all, children and young people; and enlargement of the cultural infrastructure in rural areas."

According to the Budget Code, basic cultural services are provided and financed through local administrations including support for libraries, houses of culture, clubs, museums, theatres, exhibitions, etc. This means that local authorities are theoretically entitled to formulate their own cultural policies. However, due to many adverse factors, the newly adopted decentralised model is inefficient and declared government objectives are left unfulfilled (see also chapter 2.3). Some of these adverse factors include:

• lack of a comprehensive common cultural policy model to co-ordinate the goals and aspirations of the different regions and cities as well as different players and stakeholders, including private and non-profitable organisations;
• inadequate financial resources and the lack of alternative ways of financing culture: in most cases local authorities were obliged to take on responsibility for cultural institutions financed earlier by local corporations and enterprises without additional funds;;
• the non-existence of any arms'-length institutions or public bodies to distribute allocations for culture;
• the inability of cultural institutions to meet modern requirements and a lack of defined standards for state-guaranteed, free-of-charge cultural services, e.g. access to cultural values, support of modern demands and cultural initiatives;
• in spite of the adopted Law on Principles of Internal and External Policy (July 2010) which envisages the intensification of the influence of non-governmental and commercial organisations on the political decision-making process, the situation, especially in the cultural sector, has not changed; and
• the public financing of NGOs remains (up to 4.5% of their general revenue, and in the cultural sector even less) restricted, according to the Budget Code, in terms of direct financing only through participation in state targeted programmes.

In 2009, the government tried to return effectiveness to the decentralisation process initiated in 2002 through giving more financial autonomy to local communities in small towns and villages (about 12 000 entities) and public institutions.

By the end of 2010, the government initiated two important reforms in tax and administrative systems. The Tax Code adopted in December 2010 came into force on 1 January 2011. The administrative reform, started in December 2010, was completed by the end of October 2011, meaning the transformation of central public agencies, including their commitments, and a reduction of administrative staff on all levels. In 2012, this reform was applied to the regional and local level leading mainly to structural changes and assignment redistribution within existing departments.

The revised and developed Concept of the State targeted Programme for Development of Ukrainian culture to 2017 (see also chapter 1) now includes targets such as:

• creation of appropriate conditions for the development of culture, satisfaction of communal spiritual demands, provision of citizens’ rights in culture;
• increase in the role of culture in spiritual education of citizens, formulation of the national conscience; active use of the cultural heritage in the development of adjacent industries;
• access to cultural achievements for the wider public by improving activities of the network of culture and art institutions;
• further development of the domestic cultural industries and the presence of domestic cultural products in the information and cultural space of Ukraine;
• development of professional art by increasing its scale and diversifying its support; and
• revitalisation and development of the folk and amateur arts, ethnic cultures of Ukraine through the development of the basic network of cultural institutions, multi-channel financing of cultural initiatives in regions.

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