School of Crafts ÚĽUV
Selected in 2024 on the Register of Good Safeguarding Practices
© SĽUK, 2023 The School of Crafts ÚLUV aims to safeguard, promote and develop traditional crafts in Slovakia. Since 1999, its courses have encouraged and facilitated the use of available natural materials for a wide range of traditional craft techniques. The teaching methodology is developed by the bearers of each craft, taking into account the current context (such as the availability of materials, the necessary tools and how the finished products are used). The School of Crafts is open to children from the age of six and to people of all genders, abilities and religious and ethnic backgrounds. The training activities are offered at different difficulty levels, and tutors share and build on the existing theoretical knowledge, practical skills and methodological materials. The mass rural exodus and other global influences are changing the form and meaning of traditional crafts around the world. The School of Crafts model can be replicated in other countries with the need to safeguard traditional crafts in a safe and encouraging environment. A regional or state system of safeguarding traditional crafts ‘under one roof’ such as this one, managed in close cooperation with the bearers, offers many benefits and has proven successful over two decades of the programme’s existence.
