The role and function of state government bodies, local self-government bodies, and non-state organizations in cultural policy are defined according to corresponding laws and legal regulations. The Law on Local Self-Government, adopted in 2002 and amended in 2021[1], the Law on Basics of Cultural Legislation adopted in 2002 and amended in 2011[2], and the Law on Public Organizations adopted in 2016[3] are particularly important in this regard.
Most of laws and legal decisions regulating the relationships of cultural policy main actors were adopted in the 2000s, thus forming the basis of the modern cultural policy system. However, it is worth noting that all these laws were revised and reformulated during the period of 2018-2020 in an attempt to adapt the governance of culture to the new political system and institutional changes. Thus, according to the Law on the Basics of Cultural Legislation, the Government of the Republic of Armenia:
- ensures the implementation of the state cultural policy;
- creates a foundation for development of culture and approves its charter in order to attract additional financial resources for the preservation, dissemination and development of culture;
- the law defines the order of privileges to benefit from the paid services of cultural organizations for some groups of the population (pre-school children, school children, students, pensioners, disabled people, conscripts);
- grants legal statuses to non-commercial cultural organizations, defines the procedure and conditions for granting statuses.
State governance in the field of culture is carried out by the state body authorized by the government of the Republic of Armenia (The Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of the Republic of Armenia, hereinafter: MESCS of RA).The authorized state body:
- implements the state cultural policy, participates in the development of cultural legislation and state programmes for the preservation, dissemination and development of culture;
- participates in the development of educational standards (standards), methodological manuals and programmes in the field of culture;
- participates in the formation of foreign policy in the field of culture within the limits of its powers;
- exerts control over the export and import of cultural values in accordance with the law.
- submits petitions for awarding state awards of the Republic of Armenia and honorary titles in the field of culture and art;
- creates a unified state information system in order to ensure cultural activities in the territory of the Republic of Armenia;
- manages the administrative statistics in the sphere of culture, and listing of cultural organizations;
- discovers, registers, studies, restores and preserves objects of cultural heritage;
- maintains state lists of cultural heritage objects.
- organizes the professional education, training and retraining of employees in the field of culture;
- submits a petition on granting “National” status to certain non-commercial cultural organizations: theatre, music, dance, museums, libraries and archives.
A significant change in the relationships between the state and the cultural sphere is especially noticeable in terms of decentralization of cultural policy and publicity of decision-making. In particular, it is possible to observe legal changes, new approaches, the introduction of a new practice of public debates over the programme development strategies, and the organization of transparent competitions in the field of cultural development, expressed rather weakly before 2018.
[1] See: http://www.irtek.am/views/act.aspx?aid=150060
[2] See: https://www.arlis.am/documentview.aspx?docID=69109
[3] See: https://www.arlis .am/documentview.aspx?docID=110802
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