Report creation date: 14.10.2008 - 11:47
Countr(y/ies): Slovenia
Chapter(s): 1,2,21,22,23,24,241,242,243,244,245,246,3,31,32,33,4,41,42,421,422,423,424,425,426,427,428,429,4210,43,5,51,511,512,513,514,515,516,517,518,519,52,53,531,532,533,534,535,536,537,538,539,5310,6,61,62,63,64,7,71,72,73,8,81,811,812,813,82,821,822,83,831,832,84,841,842,9,91,92

Slovenia/ 1. Historical perspective: cultural policies and instruments

The historical development of cultural policy in Slovenia has gone through extreme change. Four distinct periods of transition and development of cultural policy following World War II can be identified which also reflect the major ideological transformations of recent decades. The first three take place during the period when Slovenia was one of the six republics of the ex-Yugoslavia, while the last is connected with Slovenia as the independent democratic state. Ljubljana

party-run cultural policy (up to 1953) when culture was openly used as a propaganda tool of the Communist machinery;
state-run cultural policy (1953-1974) characterised by extreme territorial decentralisation (in fact we should speak about deconcentration since the socialistic municipalities executed governmental tasks);
self-management (1974-1990) a system of functional decentralisation when cultural policy was delegated to the cultural communities and the provision of cultural services to independent cultural producers; and
parliamentary democracy (1990-present), a return of cultural policy in the hands of public authorities and their cultural administration system.

As is true of most small countries, it was through culture that Slovenes constituted themselves not only as a nation but also as a state. It is from this special emphasis on culture, that the so-called "Slovenian cultural syndrome" was derived. Thus, it is not surprising that the starting point of the disintegration of Yugoslavia, in the eighties, was the Slovenian fear of jeopardising its culture, language and national identity, which was provoked by an attempt of the central government in Belgrade to unify national contents and subordinate it to the Serbian majority, through the mandatory core Yugoslav curriculum of literature and language. This fear united professionals, intellectuals and politicians, regardless of their ideological or political orientation.

The central role which culture played throughout Slovenia's history, created an atmosphere whereby artists had more "space" to develop their own projects and to organise themselves in independent associations even during the socialist regime. Although in the years following the Second World War, certain writers and a list of books were removed from public libraries, the state systematically supported the works of artists, recognising that they had a powerful and influential public voice and that they were useful in realising their propaganda campaigns. However, the state also "intervened" in their work through administrative measures, whenever it seemed necessary. The result of this dichotomy was on the one hand intellectuals engaged in self-censorship and on the other hand politicians that were forced to execute a form of tolerance. However, since everyone was living under the constant threat of criminal prosecution, the relationship between cultural policy and civil society during this period could be defined as a repressive tolerance. The state apparatus was particularly meticulous regarding Slovene literature published abroad by post-war political emigrants. Thus, one prominent writer was put in prison for importing such books without appropriate permits, even in the middle of the 1980s. Due to the preferential treatment of "progressive", "socialist" currents, two parallel cultural scenes evolved at the end of the 1970s / beginning of the 1980s; often in opposition to each other, with the established culture supported by authorities and alternative culture tolerated at the margins.

When most of Europe was creating centralised models for cultural policies during the 1950s and 1960s, Slovenia went through a process of decentralisation. Contrary to the "positive image" decentralisation has today, the lack of local money almost destroyed the institutional cultural network in Slovenia and the process was viewed by prominent artists as a facade and a manipulation in order to break cultural nationalism in all six republics of ex-Yugoslavia into harmless units and to enable, via the local level, easier control over "atomised" culture.

The development of cultural policy took a sharp turn at the beginning of the 1970s when Slovenia was granted more autonomy from the Yugoslav Federation in the area of culture. This era was otherwise known as the period of "self-management" when responsibility for cultural policy was delegated to the cultural communities, where it was debated and created by both producers and consumers of culture. Thus, in the field of cultural policy, political units (the republic and the local communities) were replaced by interest units (cultural communities). Local cultural communities (approximately 60) had a great deal of power in decision-making and resource allocation on the local level. According to the theory of polycentric development, the larger municipalities became cultural centres (ca. 25) and decentralisation remained a political orientation. However, at the same time, national culture finally obtained its place within the Cultural Community of Slovenia and, in the 1980s, a national cultural policy platform was created. Considered to be one of the most important periods in Slovene cultural policy history, the Cultural Community of Slovenia and 60 local cultural communities formed a strong administrative apparatus, which raised the level of cultural policy-making, empowered its place in society and created favourable conditions for cultural development. On the other hand, the system suffered from a lack of selectivity, capability to set clear priorities and to evaluate results. Slovenia's former self-management system experienced economic failure even before a political one. The system was jeopardised by all the characteristics of state corporatism, with poor respect for non-aligned groups, inefficient means of appeal against the state and aggressive state bureaucratic control. The self-management system came to an end in 1989, but the utopian nature of the self-management model was evident already in the middle 1980s, when an economic recession forced the state to take over the local funds for cultural institutions in order to preserve them. The weak points of corporatism, such as organisational sclerosis, rigidity of differences, perpetuation of inequalities, disregard of individualistic norms of citizen participation and a lack of responsibility, are still present as a long standing legacy of the self-management period.

Separate laws for each cultural activity were created as each was "of special social concern". The main difference between the Western European system of public service and the Socialist regulation in Slovenia is the following:

the public service system is only an organisational forum for public authorities to organise cultural provision without any ambition to drive out private cultural providers; and
the socialist model highly regulated cultural activities and entrusted them to the state monopoly and the professional initiatives of private organisations, i.e. alternative culture was forced to withdraw into the sphere of amateur culture.

Only in the 1980s, did the state allow the possibility for private activities in the sphere of culture and the status of a freelance artist was introduced. Before the introduction of this status, there were only state artists to whom the state provided social security contributions. Similarly, the central artistic associations, which functioned as para-governmental organisations, were also budget-financed. The state in this manner controlled all the organisational forms. Nevertheless, the Association of Slovenian Writers evolved into a driving force for democratic change and independence.

After the death of the charismatic socialist leader Josip Broz Tito, the communist party started to lose its undisputed position. The authorities became insecure and at the same time apprehensive about democratic and social processes striving to achieve independence. They became aware of the actors fuelling these processes; originating mainly from the cultural field. Culture was certainly a cradle nurturing these processes.

The 1980s were, therefore, the golden years for the Slovenian cultural infrastructure and its artists: from the point of view of artistic freedom and societal financial support. It is, therefore, not a coincidence, that the sphere which mainly challenged changes, had problems coping with the fact that it would also have to change. Culture still finds itself in a stalemate. Nevertheless, changes are happening and most of them were brought by the local community reform, the public finance system, tax system and the civil service system.

The changes can be summarised as follows:

the privatisation of publishing houses, cinemas and media;
the de-nationalisation of some parts of the infrastructure previously used for cultural purposes (in very limited scale, the most problematic claims are still opened) and of some cultural monuments that were given back to their former owners (in both cases the main claimer is Roman Catholic church);
new higher taxes on cultural goods and services;
the reform of local government and the introduction of integral local government budgeting, where the local governments self-define their own priorities;
attempts to set objectives for programme budgeting and related financing;
the enforcement of a unified salary system for all civil and public servants, rigid hiring-firing and administratively regulated promotions; and
overall explosion of auditing activity with constant checking and verification.

Slovenia began accession negotiations with the European Union in 1996 and became a member state in 2004. The harmonisation of legislation, and its implementation in the field of culture, began mainly in two areas: the harmonisation of media legislation with the European Television without Frontiers Directive and the introduction of VAT (in accordance with the 6th Directive of the EU) on books and audio-visual material. The latter has had a negative impact on Slovenia's culture industries. The question regarding the implementation of the Council Directive on Rental and Lending Right and on certain rights related to copyright, remains open. Slovenia's position is to maintain library compensation measures in all public libraries and not on authors' copyright. It was also necessary to amend legislation considered discriminatory for the citizens of EU Member states, i.e. in the field of employment, the establishment of business etc.

Since the first document was adopted in 2004 only this practice could not be listed within process of transition but more as current practice described in chapter 3.1.

Slovenia/ 2. Competence, decision-making and administration

2.1 Organisational structure (organigram)

Slovenia/ 2. Competence, decision-making and administration

2.2 Overall description of the system

In 1980, democracy was imitated through the system of self-management which turned itself into a closed cultural subsystem reflecting the corporative state.

After the abolishment of the self-management system in 1990, the responsibility for cultural policy was returned to public authorities. The socio-political governance structure was transformed into a representative democracy, where decisions are taken by elected politicians on the national and on the local level. Different interest groups, therefore, lost many of their rights to influence the cultural policy decision-making process; a privilege once enjoyed to a certain extent even in a one-party system. In the new system, the expert public also has an important role; however it is mainly an advisory one.

Slovenian cultural policy model is regulated by the Exercising of the Public Interest in Culture Act, 2002. The title itself tells that the model is based on the presumption of public interest for culture which substance is defined in depth by sector specific legislation (see chapter 5.3) and national and local programmes for culture while the Act itself gives the general framework for public support composed of cultural creativity, accessibility of cultural assets, cultural diversity, Slovene cultural identity and a Common Slovene Cultural Area (meaning the collaboration with Slovenes in neighbouring countries and abroad). The responsibility for public provision of cultural goods and services lays in the hands of state and local communities.

The state finances national public institutions, public programmes of NGO and projects, which are of importance to the whole of Slovenia.

Harmonious cultural development across the whole country known as poli-centrical cultural development is a basic cultural policy postulate for decades already. All municipalities have to take care of local cultural life but larger ones (25) have an additional obligation, as traditional cultural centres, to ensure the operation of those cultural institutions of broader importance (see chapter 5.1.2). Until now state helped them by funding these institutions (40 - mainly theatres, museums and cultural centres) from the state budget, even though they are part of the municipal cultural infrastructure. However new Act on Local Finances (Official Gazette No. 123/2006) enacted that state shall stop their funding not later than on 1 of January in 2009 or when planned regions start to function. The legal provision for national recognition of cultural institution of broader importance as a basis for state funding remains but now only as a possibility and not anymore as a right (see chapter 3.1, chapter 4.3 and chapter 7.1). With the planned establishment of regional level the role of larger municipalities will be replaced by regions (see chapter 4.3). In order to assure common standards in the field of librarianship, museums, monument protection and archives these fields are regulated as uniform public services. Thus municipalities (210) have legal responsibilities for local museums and all public libraries as public services while monument protection and archives are primarily the responsibility of the state.

The formulation and implementation of cultural policies is an outcome of different procedures and interactions between the Ministry of Culture, Government, Parliament, the arm's length bodies, local governments (municipalities), cultural institutions, NGOs, individual artists and their associations.

The Ministry of Culture formulates proposals for the government, which then submits draft laws to the parliamentary procedures. After the last changes made in 2002, the main role is reserved for Parliamentary Committee for Education, Culture and Sport (working body comprised of deputies from all political parties of the Parliament). These changes in legislative procedure substantially reduced the role for the Ministry of Culture in this process.

The Ministry of Culture fulfils its responsibility for cultural policy formulation and implementation through:

preparation of proposals on sector specific laws and their implementation (including monitoring);
co-operation with other ministries in the formulation of general legislation and sectoral policy strategies that have an impact on culture;
coordination of drafting and implementing the National Programme for Culture (2004-2007) and the new plan to cover the years 2008-2011);
preparation of the annual report on implementation of cultural policy to the Parliament with an evaluation of results and proposals for necessary modifications;
the provision of cultural services via national cultural institutions founded by the state;
establishment of procedures and criteria for budget allocations to NGOs and individual cultural projects; and
interventions to finance larger cultural institutions founded by the municipalities.

The Ministry executes all of the above tasks in the fields of the arts, heritage, the national library and public libraries, culture of minorities in Slovenia and international cultural co-operation. It is also responsible for the media (audio-visual sector) and the press.

There are also two public funds, which function as arm's lengths bodies: the Film Fund of the Republic of Slovenia and the Cultural Fund of the Republic of Slovenia mainly for amateur cultural activities. On the basis of new Act on the Public Agency for the book (2007), another governmental body will be established in near future (see chapter 5.3.4).

Civil society and experts can participate in the formulation of cultural policies in four ways:

through membership in the minister's advisory bodies for different cultural fields;
through the National Council for Culture;
through the Cultural Chamber of Slovenia; and
through participation in the governance structures of public institutions.

The National Council for Culture and the Slovene Cultural Chamber were established to include the voice of the public (mostly artists) into the new policy process. While the Chamber has an open membership, the Council is appointed by the Parliament (7 members who are important public figures). Both have problems with their profiles. The Chamber exists more or less on paper only without any distinguished role so far. The Council is looking for more visibility since it is in the shadow of the Ministry of Culture due to its dependence on administrative ministerial support for its functioning.

Local communities are independent self-government bodies. Therefore they can adopt their own rules and procedures to execute their responsibilities for culture. If they don't use this discretion they have to follow mutatis mutandis the provisions for state authorities.

Slovenia/ 2. Competence, decision-making and administration

2.3 Inter-ministerial or intergovernmental co-operation

Responsibility for culture is divided among several governmental authorities. The main authority in charge of culture is the Ministry of Culture, which is also responsible for the media. Other ministries responsible for certain areas of cultural affairs include:

Ministry of Education and Sport, responsible for cultural education in schools and for education for different cultural vocations at secondary level and music schools;
Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology, responsible for research programmes in and for culture;
Ministry of Economy, responsible for protection of intellectual property;
Ministry of Environment and Spatial Planning is concerned with the integrated conservation of cultural heritage and the cultural landscape through planning;
Ministry of Labour, Family and Social Affairs is responsible for co-financing conservation, restoration and erection of monuments and memorials to the victims of war;
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food is active in the protection of the cultural landscape and the development of rural areas (cultural tourism); and
Ministry of Foreign Affairs deals with cultural co-operation with other countries.

There are also governmental offices in the areas where the cultural aspect plays an important role: one is the Office for Slovenes Abroad, another is the Office for Nationalities, which offers assistance to Italian and Hungarian minorities and is in charge of special rights for the Roma community living in Slovenia.

It must be explicitly mentioned that almost all ministries with different policies like public finances (national budget, rules for allocation of public money, tax regulation..), public administration (public servants regulation and payment system), local self-government (local responsibilities for culture), interior affairs (visas, register of associations and foundations...), labour (working relations, pensions,..), social affairs (social cohesion issue, public works, unemployment benefit...) have very strong implications for culture. Thus Exercising of the Public Interest in Culture (Official Gazette No. 96/2002) explicitly states that other policies with implications for culture shall take cultural aspects into account. But the article has not yet been observed. It has become more and more clear that inter-ministerial co-operation in the field of culture is required, especially on issues such as the Slovenian language, the culture industries, heritage conservation etc. There are bilateral discussions between the different ministries to identify common policies; in 2006 the main co-operation activities are undertaken between the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Education and Sport (the school year of 2006/2007 was to be a Year of Culture, see more in chapter 8.3.1). The most important point for inter-ministerial cooperation should be that the government, as a whole, is responsible for the National Programme for Culture, but in many ways this is still an aspiration.

In 2006, when the Ministry of Culture prepared a Report on the implementation of the National Programme for Culture (2004-2007), it was noticeable that the cultural activities of other ministries are not included at all. The Programme for the next period 2008-2011 is under preparation but concerned ministries are not involved in this procedure either which entirely preserves the sectoral nature of the document.

Inter-ministerial collaboration proved its importance during the tax reform in 2006 when the Ministry of Culture tried to introduce more tax incentives for investing in culture and more favourable treatment of income from artistic work (see chapter 5.1.5).

In some areas, there is an established practise to involve the Ministry of Culture in the process of the preparation of sectorial strategic documents that have a cultural dimension too; for example, the Programme for Children and Youth 2006-2016, Resolution of the National Development Projects 2007-2023 and theDevelopment Plan and Policies for Slovenian Tourism 2007 - 2011.

In the last few years, some general mechanisms have also been introduced to facilitate co-operation among the different ministries in order to develop a more holistic approach to policy making. For example, the Single Programming Document as part of the State Development Programme 2007-2013 reveals the need for the incorporation of culture in different structural funds, mainly the regional development fund and social fund.

Another example of inter-ministerial cooperation is the so called "targeted research programme". This a special instrument of the Ministry of Higher Education and Science, in co-operation with other ministries, which is intended to provide expert support to the ministries' strategic activities related to the implementation of Slovenia's Development Strategy 2006-2013. To this aim, the Ministry of Culture plans to commission cultural policy studies, in 2006 (budget of 54 000 euros), with the possibility of receiving an additional sum of 45% to 60% of this amount from the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology.

Slovenia/ 2.4 International cultural co-operation

2.4.1 Overview of main structures and trends

The main factor that influenced international cooperation in recent years is the accession to the EU, which changed the focus of international co-operation in Slovenia. As a result, the countries of the EU became the target when planning Slovenian cultural activities abroad, particularly the country holding the Presidency of the Council of Ministers of the EU. Special attention is devoted to the preparation of the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of Ministers of the EU in 2008, which comprises closer co-operation with Germany and Portugal.

One of the general aims of the National Programme for Culture 2004-2007 is to intensify the presence of Slovenian culture abroad and its enrichment with the achievements of worldwide cultures. In this context, three specific objectives are mentioned:

presence of Slovenian culture in the European cultural space and internationally recognised cultural capitals through cultural exchange;
preservation of cultural values, traditions and contents which connect countries with Slavic languages and encouragement of cultural exchanges and projects with these countries; and
stimulation of programmes and projects that are entitled to receive support from international financial sources, especially from European funds.

International cultural co-operation is fostered via:

international artist and other professional exchanges;
interstate agreements;
participation in the professional and artistic activities of international organisations;
Slovenian membership in international organisations; and
programmes to promote Slovenia and Slovenian culture.

Co-operation is fostered mainly in the fields of visual art, music, theatre, inter-media, libraries and publishing, in the film industry, amateur cultural activities, and cultural activities of different minorities, cultural heritage and archives.

Slovenia co-operates on a bilateral level (mainly with European countries), on multilateral level (e.g. Middle European Initiative), participates in the activities of different networks (e.g. IETM, Junge Hunde) and the overall EU programs (e.g. Culture 2007, Media 2007, Minerva Plus) and those within structural funds (especially the European Fund for Regional Development). Moreover, Slovenia also takes part in the programs of the Council of Europe (e.g. Mosaic, Eurimages, Audio-visual Observatory, Europe- a common Heritage, European Heritage Network).

The main political document in this field is the National Programme for Culture 2004-2007 and the Programme of cultural promotion, before and during, the period of Slovenian Presidency of the EU.

Slovenia/ 2.4 International cultural co-operation

2.4.2 Public actors and cultural diplomacy

In 2005, the Sector for Promotion and International Co-operation was reorganised within the Ministry of Culture in Slovenia, with the aim to reinforce the engagement of this ministry in the area of general promotion of the Slovenian state and its culture abroad. At the multilateral and bilateral level, the International Cultural Relations Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs covers the most important policy priorities in this field. In line with the manifesto of the Slovenian government and in cooperation with the relevant ministries, the division's role in bilateral relations includes taking charge of drafting agreements and signing up to international umbrella agreements on culture, education and science and the related inter-governmental protocols and implementing programmes.

The Republic of Slovenia does not have cultural institutes or agencies, such as the British Council, the Institut Francais, the Instituto di Cultura Italiana and the Goethe Institute; which are all active in Slovenia. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs covers cultural relations with other countries and plays a major role in defining and coordinating Slovenia's foreign cultural policy. The idea of professional promotional activities abroad, in order to expand the cultural hinterland to the wider European arena, is an issue already in existence for years, but its form is still under discussion. For some decades it has been possible to send fine artists to international studios in Paris, and more recently the Ministry of Culture has acquired a studio in New York and a flat for artists in Berlin. Freelance artists can apply for a residency at these locations on an annual basis. The gallery space A+A was established in Madrid in the 1990s and ten years later transferred to Venice, where it functions as a site for the Venice Biennale as well as an exhibition space available for international projects.

The Ministry of Culture has annual or biennial calls for international presentations of art, to be presented at fairs and festivals. It also supports international events in Slovenia such as the Biennial of Graphic Arts, BIO, the Biennial of Industrial Design, the Forma Viva Open Air Sculpture Collection in Maribor, and the European Triennial of Slovene Small Sculpture. International platforms in the field of contemporary dance and theatre are also supported. Since 2003, the mobility of artists is supported through working stipends, competitions and awards, and residency schemes which are announced annually.

There are 47 international umbrella agreements on culture, education and science, currently signed by the Republic of Slovenia. The international umbrella agreements are generally enabling bilateral contacts in the field of scholarship exchanges, exchanges in the field of art and culture and introducing individuals to the languages and civilisations of other states. According to the new strategy, the umbrella agreements will be signed with countries with different political systems, such as Russia, China and other non European countries. The agreements will probably no longer be signed with EU member states; although neighbouring states are an exception.

In 2006, The Department for International Cultural Relations, of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, had a budget of approximately 230 000 euros in order to promote Slovenian culture abroad. The Ministry of Culture devotes an additional figure of double this amount, but this funding is limited only to those activities which cover cultural activities that are channelled by the ministry for promoting Slovenian culture abroad. International cultural cooperation by cultural organisations is considered a part of their regular activities and thus included in their regular public funding. This division makes it difficult to determine a total figure for expenditure in this field in Slovenia.

Slovenia/ 2.4 International cultural co-operation

2.4.3 European / international actors and programmes

Slovenia takes an active part in international organisations (UNESCO, Council of Europe, and EU) and is also closely involved in multilateral and regional associations and initiatives, such as the Central European Initiative, the Quadrilateral (Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary), the Adriatic-Ionian Initiative, the Central European Cultural Platform, the Alps-Adriatic Working Group, etc. Slovenia joined both the Anna Lindh Foundation and ASEF (Asian Europe Foundation) in May 2004, and has been successfully included in their activities. The Republic of Slovenia is cooperating in organisations and forums which include central European states (Slovenia, Austria, Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia). The goals of the partnership are to distribute information and raise awareness of the cultural life in the participating Central European countries, the European Union and beyond, to exemplify the creative power and strength of expression of artists and to highlight the common cultural identity of Central Europe, within the context of European integration.

The Republic of Slovenia also cooperates within the Forum for Slavic Cultures. The goal of the Forum is to promote the development of cultural cooperation among all countries whose populations speak Slavic languages. The Forum can contribute to better understanding of the cultures of participating countries, through the exchange of information and knowledge and the direct dissemination of both these issues to the public, especially in the domains of language, literature, culture and art, education and communications. One of the most important plans is the publication of 100 Slavic novels. The Forum for Slavic Cultures could also facilitate the implementation of bilateral cultural agreements and programmes concluded between the participating countries.

The Ministry of Culture is responsible for implementing and monitoring the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. The importance of discussions carried out at UNESCO, with a view to adopting an international convention on the protection and promotion of the diversity of cultural expressions, was also stressed within ASEM / ASEF dialogue.

Slovenia/ 2.4 International cultural co-operation

2.4.4 Direct professional co-operation

The most intensive Slovenian actor in the international performing arts scene at the transnational level is Bunker, which has been active internationally since its formation in 1997. One of the biggest projects of this NGO is the annual Mladi Levi Festival that brings up to 15 foreign artists or groups to Slovenia, ranging from emerging young artists to already well established ones. The festival budget for 2006 is made up of one third support from Slovene public funds, one third from international sources (British Council, AFAA, Open Society Institute, Institut Ramon Llull, Pro Helvetia, European Cultural Foundation...) and one third from sponsors, donors and volunteers.

Slovene artists also tour all over the world (at least 10 to 20 guest performances every year). In the past year, the budget for touring has been reduced considerably. 10 years ago it was much easier to obtain travel funds from the Ministry of Culture.

Bunker is involved in the following international networks:

Junge Hunde;
Theorem;
IETM;
D.B.M.; and
Balkan Express.

Networks are never a direct source of financing, but they offer a good base for establishing relationships with future partners. An example of this type of development originated from the D.B.M. network, when five partners decided to develop a project "Sites of Imagination", in the Mediterranean region. The project was granted funds from the EU Culture 2000 programme and will take place from May to October 2007. The partners are L´Animal a L´Esquena, L´Officina, Al Kantara, Carovana and Bunker.

For five years, the Junge Hunde network was a recipient of Culture 2000 funds that enabled all the members of the network to invest in emerging artists, organising accommodation, residencies, and educational training all across Europe.

An example of a successful international co-production is the latest performance of the group Betontanc. Bunker and the New Theatre Institute of Latvia co-produced the performance Show Your Face! created and performed by the Slovene theatre Betontanc and the Latvian theatre group, Umka.lv. Each of the partners (Bunker and New Theatre Institute of Latvia) invested one third of the budget and the last third was invested by the Theorem network which is also funded by Culture 2000. The total budget was approximately 75 000 euros.

The Theorem network is a platform for a partnership dedicated to the fostering of collaborations in the performing arts on a European level, with a special focus on the co-operation and exchange between the "old", "new" and bordering EU countries. The main focus of the members' activity is European scale collaboration including: co-production and circulation of new theatre and dance works, exchange of information, common trips to European festivals, etc. The production Show your face! met the criteria and therefore was awarded the grant.

For the last three years, Slovenia is investing a lot of financial and human resources in the Balkan Express Network, which aims to encourage collaboration within the Balkan region. It is supported by the European Cultural Foundation.

Slovenia/ 2.4 International cultural co-operation

2.4.5 Cross-border intercultural dialogue and co-operation

Historic and geographical links put Balkans in the center of this topic while cross-boarder co-operation in general could be understood as an approach to the realisation of the Common Slovene Cultural Area where collaboration with Slovenes in neighbouring countries represents the main vehicle in building cross-border tights.

In the last years following activities concerning the participation in ICD related international or EU programmes can be identified:

Inauguration of the Centre for European Perspective (CEP), an independent, non-profit organisation working on issues of peace, security and multicultural understanding, focusing particularly on the Western Balkans and its EU perspective.
Participation in Nurope - Nomadic University for Art, Philosophy and Enterprise in Europe with organisation of the third phase in September 2007 in Ljubljana; and
CROMO: three-year project of Slovenia, Italy and Austria with the aim of intensive rising of awareness of interculturality in secondary schools in border areas.

There is no comprehensive strategy but only support for different individual national initiatives for ICD policies such as:

Europe Lost and Found: A project over several years within the framework of introducing international cultural policies into the activities of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It studies relations between the Western Balkans and Europe (regionalisation vs. balkanisation, borders as points of meeting and dialogue, the European Constitution, the future of Europe, the element of mobility in education, cultures and life models, relation between formal and informal, above all in the fields of education, culture and political decision-making). The first phase of the project, Lost Highway Expedition, was carried out in partner towns in the Western Balkans in August 2006, the second phase in 2007 will be a follow-up to the first, with exhibitions, publications and discussions, and the third phase in 2008 will take place in Western Europe (Find Europe Assemblies) and Slovenia (Euro-orientalism conference in Ljubljana, publications, Radical Education exhibition in Ljubljana, discussions, debates, discussions on the level of primary and secondary schools and at university level);
Kinoatelje / Cinestudio: projects from the border;
Nomadska plesna akademija / Nomadic Dance Academy: the non-governmental cultural organisation Fičo Ballet, from Ljubljana, is the initiator of a research-educational-art project for encouraging the development of contemporary dance in this area and education in the field of theory and criticism of contemporary dance in the Balkans;
Skupaj / Together: a foundation with a pilot project for the psycho-social well-being of children in post-conflict situations in Kosovo, together with the contents of the OSCE pilot project for education on children's rights; and
Sarajevski zvezki / Sarajevo notebook: publication in a literary review which links the cultural space of the former common state in the Balkans.

See chapter 4.2.3.

For more information, see our Intercultural Dialogue section.

Slovenia/ 2.4 International cultural co-operation

2.4.6 Other relevant issues

An important programme in the field of "culture in development" is the foundation "SKUPAJ", which is designed for children with psycho-social difficulties. The programme is divided into groups and its main goals are: helping children to overcome traumas, creating a healthy environment for children to learn, helping children to start building new lives and to regain trust in adults. The International Cultural Relations Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is currently implementing a pilot project in Kosovo, within the context of the OSCE. The project is introducing therapeutic elements through music and art classes. All of this work is combined with teaching children about their rights.

In 2006, the Government Office for Slovenes Abroad took over all responsibilities for supporting of cultural activities of the Slovenian Diaspora from the Ministry of Culture. Before this change in 2005, approximately one million euros was spent on cultural support for the diaspora. The largest sums went to their umbrella organisations and professional institutes such as publishing houses, theatres, and research institutes. The Office carries out projects related to the Slovenian minority in neighbouring countries (Italy, Austria, Croatia and Hungary) and Slovenian emigrants around the world (Argentina, Canada, Australia, Germany, Sweden...). The Office maintains contact with the Slovenian minority and emigrant organisations, promoting their cultural, educational, economic and other links with Slovenia and providing assistance with respect to their legal status. Financial support for programmes and projects involving Slovenes abroad, and for cooperation with them, is provided through public calls for tenders. The Office also co-finances tuition fees for Slovenian language courses in Slovenia, covers travelling expenses for participants from the Diaspora country, co-organises seminars for teachers and cultural animators of the Diaspora, supports activities for the preservation of archival materials of Slovenian associations and organisations abroad and confers acknowledgements to meritorious associations and individuals from the Diaspora. The Office is also responsible for monitoring and coordinating the activities of the ministries that are responsible for cooperation with Slovenes outside the Republic.

There are many important international cultural events in different fields which makes selection for support very problematic. Some of them are:

Vilenica including a literature prize (international gathering of established authors from Central Europe and beyond with the special attention for lesser known literatures of Europe);
Days of Poetry and Wine (Medana, a village in the wine region is host to a group of distinguished young poets from around the world);
Biennial of Industrial Design (presents an expert selection of industrial design products by Slovene and foreign designers, contemporary trends in world industrial design);
International Graphic Biennial in Ljubljana (50 years in existence);
Forma Viva in Kostanjevica and in Piran;
Biennial Puppet Festival in Ljubljana (established in 1995);
Ljubljana Summer Festival (traditionally hosts well known classical music performers and orchestras);
Jazz Festival Ljubljana (a high-quality programme of jazz music);
Druga Godba (international festival of acclaimed world music groups);
Festival Brežice (Early Music Festival which takes place at about a dozen venues including castles and monasteries in the South-East of Slovenia);
Lent Festival in Maribor (around 400 events and a great number of visitors);
Ljubljana Film Festival LIFFe (an annual overview of selected cinematography - in 2007, there were over 100 films with 50000 spectators and with 70% European productions;
Exodos - International Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts which lost state funds in 2007 and after 13 years of existence reduces its program on the third by keeping municipal financial support ;
Ex ponto (which links ex-Yugoslav cultural initiatives);
Break Festival (an international festival of young emerging artists);
City of Women Festival (with a focus on contemporary arts and female creativity);
Ljubljana Gay and Lesbian Film Festival (established in 1984); and
Magdalena (International Festival of Creative Communication in Maribor is a competitive platform for young designers).

Slovene presidency of the EU

In the preparation for its Presidency of the EU (first half of 2008), Slovenia has announced cultural dialogue as one of the planned priority issues. Activities related to this priority are the opening of the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue (organised by the EU and Slovenia in Ljubljana), an Informal meeting of European common cultural points (with the main topic on intercultural dialogue between the SE Europe and the EU) and an international conference on "Europe, world and humanity in the 21st century" (dealing with questions on what Europe has to offer as its message in terms of its own humanistic tradition, in respect to the understanding of the basic problems of the globalising world and what can globalisation, which we do not yet fully understand, tell Europe).

Besides cultural dialogue, the Ministry of Culture has undertaken the following important topics:

the implementation of a European agenda for culture in a globalising world: the preparation of a new Action Plan of the Council for Culture 2008 - 2010,
mobility of artists,
inclusion of the cultural and creative sectors in the Lisbon Strategy,
the Directive on TV without Borders,
the Recommendation on media literacy, and
the Recommendation on creative contents on the World Wide Web.

Other planned sub-ministerial meetings for the first half of 2008 are: an international conference on "Cultural Heritage and Tourism" (discussing cultural heritage as a high quality sustainable tourist product and an important generator of economic advancement of the local population), an international conference on "Digital Cultural Contents" ( focusing on concerned strategies of the EU member states, as well as inter-operability of digital cultural contents recorded on media with museums, libraries, galleries, art and music, with emphasis on the e-cultural contents and potential new dossiers in the field of media), DLM (Document Lifecycle Management) Forum Meeting and Meeting of the European Board of National Archivists (EBNA) of the EU member states and the candidate countries (regular annual meeting with topic: improving the management of archived material and development of archiving services in the EU, with emphasis on the development of a recommended specification for the management and storage of electronic archives).

Slovenia/ 3. General objectives and principles of cultural policy

3.1 Main elements of the current cultural policy model

The democratisation of culture in Slovenia had already started in the 1980s. Therefore, the Slovenian cultural policy developed at an incremental pace during the process of transition in the 1990s. After the abolition of the self-management system, there was no explicit cultural policy in Slovenia with explicit objectives and / or priorities until the adoption of a new National Programme for Culture 2004-2007. But even afterwards no structural changes have happened.

According to both basic documents, the Exercising of the Public Interest in Culture Act (2002) and the National Programme for Culture 2004-2007, the main elements of the current cultural policy model are:

The central role of public authorities in the area of culture: the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia defines itself as a social state, where the social-democratic value paradigm is generally accepted as a civilisation achievement. The further development of cultural goods as public goods and related presumption of public interest for culture are also part of this paradigm;
Intensive regulation as a method of managing cultural affairs which mirrors the German tradition of legal regulation and includes relatively extensive cultural regulation, including secondary legislation;
Weak monitoring: there are no regular activities to monitor the implementation of regulation and there is an absence of solid cultural indicators and related cultural statistics;
Complicated procedures: the process and procedures to distribute public funds aimed at increasing transparency and competitiveness, are in fact difficult and frustrating for both the cultural administration and for the receivers of public funds;
Expert advice on financial decisions: expert committees composed of artists and other concerned professionals prepare all the proposals for financing, except for the budget reserve of the minister for the so called "unplanned actions", which in 2006 represented 0.26% of the entire state budget for culture;
Heavy institutionalisation of Slovenian culture: public cultural institutions emerged out of the civic initiatives which began in the 19th century. They were nationalised as a consequence of regular financing received during the first decades of the last century. After the Second World War the communist ideology created a monopoly over professional cultural activities. De-etatisation is a very sensitive process, especially in countries with a strong social-democratic tradition like Slovenia. It seems that the ex-Yugoslavian self management legacy gave more professional autonomy than could be achieved through privatisation. There is, however, political intention towards liberalisation expressed through the announced modernisation of public sector (in National Programme for Culture 2004-2007) but until now nothing in this direction happened yet;
Public cultural institutions are not part of state or local administration: as a legacy of previous ex Yugoslavian self management system all institutions are separate legal entities under public law with full legal and business capacity and their own management structure; the latter is composed of experts from different fields (business, law, arts) who are not representatives from the cultural area (as it was the case in previous system), but are appointed among the experts by the founder, which is the public authority. These institutions are so called QUANGOs, which operate according to the arms' length principle;
Multiannual programme financing: in 2004, besides annual project funding, NGOs benefited from three-year structural financing, which temporarily gave them stable working conditions for the first time. Since the three year period was coming to an end, a new public call for the next period was launched in September 2006;
Decentralised cultural infrastructure: The main concept for cultural development applied after the Second World War was polycentric, and based on 25 traditional cultural centres in Slovenia. Municipalities are in charge of museums, library activities, amateur cultural and art activities and other cultural programmes of local importance. In areas where national minorities live, the municipalities are also obliged to support their cultural activities. There is no intermediate level of government between the state and local authorities yet, but the establishment of a regional level is a political priority of the current government. Since the next elections are in autumn 2008 and legislation has not been adopted yet, this political project will fall in the next political mandate.

The main elements of the allocation of state funds are:

State funding model: Due to the small cultural market, traditionally paternalistic relations between public authorities and the cultural sector and weak tax incentives cultural activities highly depend on public funding;
High fixed part of the annual state budget for culture: Since the majority of state public funds goes to public institutions (ca 70%), new modes of production are financially marginalised;
Policy of extensions: no new construction or any developments in the national cultural infrastructure (even the new National Library project remains unfulfilled for more than a decade); only renovation of historical buildings (e.g. Slovenian Philharmonia, Drama Theatre, Opera House, Modern Gallery, Metelkova premises, Slovenian Kinoteka). The Ministry of Culture, in 2005, co-financed 28 investments in the municipal cultural infrastructure (especially for the refurbishment of libraries and cultural homes). The situation was similar in 2006;
Centralised funding of larger municipal institutions: The establishment of local governments, which would independently take decisions on their own priorities, presented a threat to the decentralised concept. Therefore, since the middle of the 1980s, all larger municipal cultural institutions (ca 40) have become state financed. However, local governments independently manage these institutions and appoint directors to their respective councils. After more than two decades of this interventionist measure, the state has decided to leave financial obligations to the founders no later than 1 January 2009 or to delegate them to the new regions when they are set up (see chapter 2.2);
Empowerment of culture through the EU Structural funds: in the period from 2007-2013, the cultural sector will have available approximately 150 million euros, that is approximately 22 million euros annually, which is significantly more than in the period 2004-2006 when the Ministry of Culture was successfully drawing approximately 15.5 million euros. While the Ministry of Culture still takes care of the regular functioning of the existing cultural infrastructure through national budget lines specially devoted to culture, new money is limited to the EU Structural Funds, where culture is considered merely as an instrument to achieve other social goals.

Slovenia/ 3. General objectives and principles of cultural policy

3.2 National definition of culture

According to the Exercising of the Public Interest in Culture Act, 2002 cultural activities are defined as all forms of creation, communication and conservation of cultural assets in the field of cultural heritage, literature, performing arts, music, visual arts, film, audio-visual arts and other arts as well as in the field of the new media and in the field of publishing, libraries, cinematography and in other fields of culture. In this practically unlimited framework, it is the task of The National Program for Culture to formulate the public interest and therefore define the scope of cultural policy.

Slovenia/ 3. General objectives and principles of cultural policy

3.3 Cultural policy objectives

The general objectives of Slovene cultural policy are determined by the Exercising of the Public Interest in Culture Act, 2002. They are: supporting cultural creativity, access to culture, active participation in cultural life, cultural diversity, cultural heritage conservation and development of Slovene cultural identity together with the development of so called Common Slovenian Cultural Space, which includes Slovenian minorities living in neighbouring countries: Italy, Austria, Hungary and Croatia. According to this Law, further policy elaboration is left to the National Programme for Culture, defined as a strategic document for the permanent and integral development of Slovenian culture. The first one was adopted for the period 2004-2007 and underlined the following priorities: to preserve and develop the Slovenian language; to promote cultural diversity; to ensure access to cultural goods and services; to introduce direct support for artists; to encourage and promote cultural education in schools; to educate young people for cultural professions; to encourage the culture industries and major investments from business to culture; to implement information technology in the field of culture; to modernise the public cultural sector in order to achieve better efficiency, openness and autonomy; and to include NGOs in cultural services provision. Special attention is paid to restoration, actualisation and awareness of cultural heritage. This middle-term programme was developed and finally accepted in the last year of the mandate of the previous government and its minister of culture (2004).

At the end of October 2007, the government issued a draft of the next National Programme for Culture for the period 2008-2011, which has yet to be adopted by Parliament. The priorities are to support artistic creativity, development of the Slovene language, preservation and actualisation of cultural heritage, digitalisation, cultural education, cooperation among ministries to realise projects funded from the EU Structural Funds, new capital investments and integration of culture in the social and economic development of Slovenia. For information on the public debates surrounding this programme, see chapter 4.3.

Culture, as a value in itself, is expected to have multiple effects on the economy and on social cohesion. In former times, culture was subject to political factors; nowadays it is subject to economic issues. The task of cultural policy is to balance the constitutive and the instrumental role of culture in society.

Finding equilibrium between contemporary creation and cultural heritage preservation is becoming an ever more sensitive question, since traditional values are attaining a stronger position in the patriotic development of the young Slovenian state under the right wing coalition.

Slovenia/ 4. Current issues in cultural policy development and debate

4.1 Main cultural policy issues and priorities

Although culture on a declaratory level still enjoys some special attention, the new social climate means that it is pushed to the margins of political agenda-setting.

However, the new minister has not proposed any changes of National Programme for Culture 2004-2007 during the three years of his mandate in spite of the fact that this programme was adopted in the last year of the mandate of previous minister and that he has legal basis to do that legitimately. The National Programme for Culture document is very broad and indefinite, which allows almost unlimited discretion in action. He has put the focus of his policy on media legislation and raising funds for media pluralism. In this context, amendments were made to the Mass Media Act (Official Gazette No. 35/2001, 62/2003, 113/2003, 123/2004 and 60/2006) and a new Radiotelevizija (RTV) Slovenia Act (Official Gazette No.96/2005) was adopted.).

The Ministry outlined the positive consequences of the Media Act as follows:

introduction of an annual call for pluralisation of media, in the amount of approximately 4million euros;
the right to a correction and a reply - this concerns a constitutional right which was amended in the new Act;
the period for delivering information by the media has been shortened;
protection of children and young people against excessive violence and pornography;
a permanent solution for financing programmes of special importance; with the new media call, 2.3 million euros was ensured in 2006 for programmes with special importance, which is equivalent to approximately 3% of payments for RTV;
increased level of Slovenian music on radio programmes which must now cover at least 20% of broadcasting time, on programmes of special importance for 25% of the time and on programmes of RTV Slovenia, 40% of broadcasting time.

Funding for the media increased from 1.87% of the national budget for culture in 2004 to 3.59% in 2005 and 3.12% in 2006.

The Ministry also outlined the positive consequences of the RTV Act as follows:

the financial operation of a public institute is now positive;
digitalisation of radio-diffusion broadcasting is currently in a state of successful implementation; and
the licence payments for RTV has not increased for over a year; in fact it has decreased (by an inflation percentage). The new Act has a new provision on an exemption for the licence payment for socially weakest group (approximately 430 TV subscribers).

At the end of October 2007, on the 3rd anniversary of the Government, the Ministry of Culture presented the following activities in the area of culture:

adoption of the Resolution on the National Programme for Language Policy 2007-2011 Official Gazette No 43/2007: enlistment of more than a hundred measures aimed at provision of the legal obligation for use of the Slovene language, academic research in the field of language usage, language capacity building and linguistic development;
a draft of the National Programme for Culture 2008-2011, which has to be adopted by Parliament. The priorities are to support artistic creativity, development of the Slovene language, preservation and actualisation of cultural heritage, digitalisation, cultural education, cooperation among ministries to realise projects funded from the EU structural funds, new capital investments and integration of culture in the social and economic development of Slovenia;
adoption of the Act on the Public Agency for Books, with the main objective to introduce an arms length principle for the book policy, to assure financial stability and to raise the profile of Slovene literature at home and abroad;
drafting of the Cultural Heritage Protection Act (see also chapter 5.3.3);
improving the position of self-employed persons in the culture sector and freelance journalists (their agreements and contracts for work are exempt from health insurance contributions);
further boosting of support to authors through royalties in the fields of music, visual arts and literature;
a new instrument of support for the collective promotion of Slovenian literature and humanism at major European book fairs (e.g. in the autumn of 2006 in Zagreb, and in 2007, in Leipzig and Bologna relating to literature for youth and children);
a considerable increase in funds intended for visual arts as well as funds for scholarships (40 new scholarship holders annually), resident participation and further provision of exhibition fee payments;
preparation for the institutionalisation of modern dance of national importance;
digitalisation of library heritage (Digital Library of Slovenia - dLib.si);
a considerable increase in funds intended for immovable cultural heritage in 2007;
obtaining the European Heritage Label for three monuments: Ljubljana's central cemetery Žale, the Franja partisan hospital and the Memorial Church of the Holy Spirit in Javorca over Tolmin;
successful use of funds from the European Regional Development Fund (continuation of a complete restoration of the castles at Grad, Pišece, Snežnik and Negova);
a considerable increase in funds for co-funding of audio visual projects at the Ministry of Culture (by 130 percent since 2004);
a considerable increase in funds for the Slovenian Film Fund (by 50 percent since 2004);
important investments (the main one is renovation of the national opera and Metelkova); and
a favourable budget for culture in 2008, with the increase of 8%.

Slovenia/ 4.2 Recent policy issues and debates

4.2.1 Cultural minorities, groups and communities

The Slovenian Constitution recognises three minorities: Hungarian (6 243-0.32%), Italian (2 258-0.11%), and Roma (3 246-0.17%). There are also "new minorities" - namely groups from former Yugoslavia - which do not have the status of official minority, but enjoy their cultural rights as citizens: Croats (35 632-1.81%), Serbs (38 964-1.98%), Bosnians (21 542-1.10%), Macedonians (3 972-0.20%), Albanians (6 186-0.13%) and Montenegrins (2 667-0.14%), who migrated when the war broke out in the ex-Yugoslavia or were already established in Slovenia when the country declared its independence in 1991. This data on the "new minorities" was taken from the 2001 census. More factual estimates indicate that they actually represent an even larger percentage, from 7% to 9% of the whole population. The legal basis for their rights is Article 61 of the Constitution, which states that each person shall be entitled to freely identify with his / her national grouping or ethnic community, to foster and give expression to his / her culture and to use his / her own language and scripts. The legal basis for the policy is also found in the Exercising of the Public Interest in Culture Act, 2002 (Article 65), which defines that the state can finance programmes intended for the "cultural integration of minorities and immigrants" and "the needs of blind, deaf and other groups of population with special needs". In 2007 the German speaking community received its recognition on the basis of bilateral agreement on Culture, Education and Science between Slovenia and Austria. Traditional autochthonous minorities, Hungarians and Italians enjoy collective rights (bilingual education and administration, parliamentary representation, etc.), laid out in Article 64 of the Constitution. The Roma minority is catered for by a separate Article, which indicates that the "status and special rights of the Romany community living in Slovenia shall be regulated by law" (Constitution of Slovenia, Article 65). In 2007 this law has been finally adopted. The Roma Community Act (2007) defines the scope of special rights of the Roma Community, the jurisdiction of state authorities and the local community authorities in exercising those rights, and the organisation of the Roma community in order to implement their rights and obligations as set out by the Act. Self-Governing Ethnic Communities Act defining the special rights of Italian and Hungarian minorities was adopted in 1994 already Romany communities have their own town councillors in the municipalities where they live (19 of 210 municipalities).

In 2005, a special working group on the transversal issue of cultural rights, with members from different ministerial units, was established. Its main task is to discuss individual questions from the field, to give advice to the heads of units and to monitor the implementation of international conventions dealing with cultural rights.

In 2006, the cultural programmes of minorities were identified as a sub-programme in the national budget for culture, which is divided into for separate areas: Cultural activities of the official minorities; Cultural activities of the Roma population; Cultural activities of other ethnic minorities (i.e. "new minorities"); and a Programme for blind and deaf people.

This transparency shows, very clearly, that from a total budget of 100 000 euros in 2006, official minorities, together with the Roma population, received around 80% of the budget, while other minority groups receive 20%. Official minorities are entitled to structural funding (for their institutions and regular activities), while all others compete for project money via public tenders.

On the other hand, the Ministry of Culture is the most active of all ministries in attempting to form a special model on the protection of cultural rights of all minorities, which is a result of combining theoretical and practical experiences originating from particular issues and their needs. The model is a result of the recognition that an active intervention on the part of the government in complex social situations is necessary in order to facilitate positive intercultural and interethnic relationships. The model also includes constant evaluation and improvements to achieve actual, and not only formal, equity for participation in cultural life. The problem of money for "new minorities" remains outstanding. This is especially the case since the lack of policies for "new minorities" in the other fields raises the feeling that cultural policy measures are suppose to compensate them.

Besides the Ministry of Culture, additional project funding is provided through the national Public Fund for Cultural Activities. In the year 2006, ca 27 000 euros was allocated for the:

organisation of cultural events and touring of cultural groups and artists;
preparation of seminars, workshops, lectures, summer camps;
counselling, supporting, informing in the field of cultural activities; and
publishing of periodicals and other publications.

Table 1: Print media for minority groups in Slovenia, 2003

Publication	Minority group	Name of owner or controlling organisation	Founding year	Circulation
La Voce del Popolo	Italian	Union of Italians	1944	4 000 in Croatia and Slovenia
Nepujsag	Hungarian	Institute for Information	1959	1 800
Romano Them	Roma	Union of Roma	1996	500
Beseda	Serbian	Association of Serbs of Slovenia	-	-
Bosnjak	Bosnian	Bosnian Cultural Association of Slovenia	1999	2 000

Source: Tania Gosselin: Minority Media in Hungary and Slovenia, Peace Institute, Ljubljana 2003

Table 2: Broadcasting for minority groups in Slovenia, 2006

Broadcaster	Minority group	Name of owner or controlling organisation	Founding year	Circulation
Italian Television Koper	Italian	RTV Slovenia	1971	9.5 hours / day
Radio Capodistria	Italian	RTV Slovenia	-1949	24 hours / day
Hungarian Lendava Studio Programme	Hungarian	RTV Slovenia	1978	30 minutes / 4 times per week
Muravideki Magyar Radio	Hungarian	RTV Slovenia	1958	13 hour and 15 minutes / day
Studio D (Novo mesto)	Roma	Private company Krater	2002	30 minutes per week-
Romskih 60 on Radio Murski Val	Roma	Private company Podjetje za informiranje	2002	60 minutes per week

Source: RTV and private broadcasters.

By the end of 2007, Roma people will get their own transmission on public broadcasting station - channel SLO1.

Citizenship participation is guaranteed on the highest political level for both official minorities - each has its representative in the Parliament, with the same responsibilities as other deputies. In accordance with Self-Governing Ethnic Communities, Article 3 (Official Gazette RS, No. 65/94), the minorities' representatives:

give consent to matters concerning the protection of special rights of ethnic communities. The decisions are made together with bodies of self-governing local communities; and
discuss and study matters concerning the status of ethnic communities, they adopt standpoints and they submit proposals and initiatives to competent bodies.

See also chapter 3.3 and chapter 4.1.

For more information, see
European Heritage Network: Country profile Slovenia

Slovenia/ 4.2 Recent policy issues and debates

4.2.10 Gender equality and cultural policies

The position of women in culture and cultural policy can be examined through the participation of women in: leading positions in public institutions; on councils of public institutions; on national bodies in the field of culture; on expert commissions of the Ministry of Culture.

Table 6: Share of women holding leading positions in public institutions, 2003

	National public institutions and funds	Municipal public institutions financed by the Ministry of Culture	General libraries
No. of directors	27	40	60
% share of women	22.2%	42.5%	80%

Sources: Ministry for Culture

Table 7: Share of women as members and Presidents of Councils of public institutions, 2003

	National public institutions and Funds	Municipal public institutions financed by the Ministry of Culture	General libraries
No. of presidents	27	40	60
% share of women	25.9%	25%	66%
No. of members	146	223	430
% share of women	33.6%	38.1%	55.8%

Sources: Ministry for Culture

Percentage of Women in National Councils:

Table 8: Share of women on the National Council for Culture, 2003

	Number	Percentage of women	President
Members	7	28.6%	Man

Sources: Ministry for Culture

Table 9: Share of women on the National Council for librarianship, 2003

	Number	Percentage of women	President
Members	11	63.6%	Woman

Sources: Ministry for Culture

Table 10: Share of women on Expert Commissions of the Ministry of Culture, 2003

	Number	Percentage of women
Members	61	36%
Presidents	16	31.3%

Sources: Ministry for Culture

The data shows that the number of women is decreasing with the importance of the position. The percentage of women holding leading positions in national public institutions as central and leading institutions is 20%, while in the municipal public institutions the percentage amounts to approximately 40%.

It is also evident that the great numbers of women, almost 80%, are employed as librarians. Regardless of this fact, the percentage of council members and presidents indicates that this percentage is decreasing on the level of management (there are only 59% female members and 66% chairwomen). This decrease can be explained by the fact that the municipalities, while appointing their representatives, are not bound to the profession of librarian. In this way they can include more men. The greater percentage of chairwomen than members of the council indicates the degree of trust and competence, which obviously recognises women in the field of librarianship. The highest position, Director of the National Library, is held by a man. Yet the National Council for Librarianship is chaired by a woman. Many women are represented in this council (64%). In the National Council for Culture, which is an independent body appointed by the Parliament, there are 30% women, but the chairman is a man.

Although the majority of the employees in the public cultural sector are women, the share of women in expert commissions of the Ministry of Culture amounts to one third (35%). Apparently men are considered to be greater experts and that is a basic criterion for appointment to the commission. We should point out that in the field of cultural policy no special attention is paid to gender in regular hiring practices. However the state is preparing a Resolution on the National Program for Equal Opportunities of Men and Women (2005-2013), which defines the bases of gender equality politics in the Republic of Slovenia, sets goals, measures and key decision makers in politics.

The main initiative with an objective to produce and organise affirmative action projects, in order to draw attention to the disproportionately low participation and representation of women in the field of arts and culture, is undertaken by the Association for the Promotion of Women in Culture - City of Women. Its programmes and activities have been facilitated through a network of partners, who have ensured financial support as well as conceptual input and feedback. The Association is engaged in ongoing collaborative projects with a variety of cultural and women's organisations, and works with external experts, international curators and selectors, on specific elements of its programme. Its largest endeavour is the organisation of the annual International Festival of Contemporary Arts - City of Women.

In 2006, quotas of female political candidates have been implemented for the first time.

Slovenia/ 4. Current issues in cultural policy development and debate

4.3 Other relevant issues and debates

For some years, there has been a debate on the introduction of regions in Slovenia. Regionalisation is also a key issue for cultural development and for further development of the cultural infrastructure (see also chapter 2.2, chapter 3.1 and chapter 7.1). It is foreseen as a solution for almost 40 institutions of broader importance which are state funded and municipal founded. Due to the influence of the EU, there are now 12 statistical regions. In 2006, the Slovenian constitution changed and the sensitive political process of setting up regions became one of the main topics. The political coalition in power announced that the legislation is ready to establish 14 regions and for them to be functional on 1 January 2009. Since regular elections are foreseen for the autumn of 2008, execution of this project will fall into the next political mandate.

The premises of all three arts academies (Academy of Fine Arts, Academy for Theatre, Radio, Film and Television and the Music Academy) are in catastrophic condition. A new location has been finally decided, but construction has not started yet. Another crucial project is the construction of a new National Library which has been on the agenda for decades.

Following the retreat of the Yugoslavian Army, the former barracks known as "Metelkova" were turned over to the cultural sector. Half of the property is owned by the city of Ljubljana and has been occupied by alternative cultural movements. The other part belongs to the state, which has been renovating the venues and its cultural infrastructure to house the Museum for Ethnography and some ministerial offices. The remaining space will be dedicated to the Centre for the Contemporary Arts, but in 2007 very vivid discussions about the exhibition concept took place. The Ministry of Culture underlined, on different occasions, that the Modern Gallery has impartially favoured certain artistic circles, which can only be overcome by establishment of exhibition grounds with broad access for all visual artists. The Modern Gallery argues that only technical management of the new venue would lead to de-professionalisation and voluntarism in this field. In the overall shortage of premises destined to contemporary arts, one of the most important infrastructural acquirements in the last period was the acquisition of theOld Power Plant in Ljubljana for the use of non-governmental organisations, especially in the performing arts sector.

The adoption of both the Media Act and RTV Act still troubles some parts of the public. The main issue driving public discussion is RTV's governing structure and related political influence. While the political coalition in power argued that the previous governance system was not transparent, enabling political forces to hide behind the fictive democratic curtain of civil society, the political opposition and the majority of public experts believe that this is a worrying development of returning public television into state television once again. The changes are twofold:

the responsibilities of the previous council of RTV are now divided between a programming council, with the right to choose a general director and to deal with content, the supervisory board in charge of financial, organisational and managerial supervision and the general director who appoints all editors and has full executive power. The current governing structure is hierarchical, while the previous structure was closer to participative decision-making. While the political coalition praises the new structure for transparency and responsibility, the opposition describes the new solutions as regressive; and
in the previous system, various stakeholders listed in law had the right to appoint their representatives to the governing body (Council of RTV). In the new programming council, members have to be chosen from proposals given by various associations, universities and even individuals. The previous system had a consultative element, with representatives of civil society in the governance structure, while the current system is closer to an advisory role of the civil society in the appointment procedure.

The clash between the two positions is so substantial that the political opposition insisted on a referendum about the new law, where it lost with 49% against 51%. In October 2006, the conflict required the first interpellation during the mandate of the current government: the Minister of Culture who is ultimately responsible for the media in Slovenia was called by the opposition to defend his policy in front of the parliament. Unfortunately, this issue does not mean that culture is at the centre of the political agenda in Slovenia, but shows instead that centrality depends only on political weight; the media certainly has such political weight. The minister was successful on this occasion.

The most controversial cultural policy issue in 2007 concerns the situation of Slovenian film production and a vision for its future organisation.

The main problem identified by the Ministry of Culture is that Slovenian filmmakers / producers are unable to realise their projects within contractual liabilities with the Slovenian Film Fund because producers don't have enough funds. The Slovenian Film Fund, acting as a guarantor of the national cultural interest and legal use of public funds, increasingly has to rescue projects with extra funding on top of the resources that it has already provided. Otherwise, projects will not be completed and the Film Fund will loose its initial investment. In order to solve this problem in 2007, the Ministry halted regular annual film production and concentrated, on the one hand, on completion of all unfinished film projects (8 features films). On the other hand, the government is concentrating on the preparation of new legislation as it considers the existing law as the main obstacle for consolidation of the film industry in Slovenia. The main hypothesis of the ministry is that the Slovenian Film Fund is, as the chief financer of realisation and promotion, and increasingly distribution, completely alienated from the way and quality of film marketing as well as from film sales, so consequently there is no effective legal basis for at least a partial reimbursement of invested public resources.

The filmmakers cannot accept either the ministerial occupation of the Slovenian Film Fund by his own people (including the nomination of a senior civil servant as an acting director of the Fund) or the suspension of film production in 2007 that was legally adopted by former management. They also oppose the part of the draft Film Institute Law which foresees the fusion of the Slovenian Film Fund and the national technical film infrastructure (Viba film) into the same legal entity, under the direct influence of the Ministry.

2007 also saw public discussion on the draft National Programme for Culture 2008-2011. The first such document for the period 2004-2007, produced by the last government, is running out of a mandate. In spite of the legal provision for the government to report annually to the Parliament on its implementation, only two reports, in 2004 and in 2005 have been presented. The Ministry openly admitted two basic shortcomings of the strategic document which seriously diminish its credibility: the inflation of general objectives (10) and sectorial goals (more than 45) and inconsistent indicators for their monitoring, including poor cultural statistics. In spite of the legal provision that the document can be annually adjusted, the Minister has not taken this option into account, although he publicly expressed several times his doubts about the legitimacy of the document. Some critics say that it functions as a camouflage for politics and cultural bureaucracy.

During the four month long public discussion of the new draft National Programme for Culture 2008-2011, which was prepared by the group of experts nominated by the minister, several criticisms were put forward: such as the lack of any situational analysis or research that would support the document; inconsistency regarding the relationship between culture and the economy; judgemental ambitions of cultural policy makers regarding the justification for public funds; ideological discussion around the new Centre for Contemporary Arts in Metelkova (see above); insufficient support for new models of production outside the public institutions; lack of structural funding for academic publishing houses... One of the most common reflections concerned the absence of concrete measures and related finances for the implementation of, again, very numerous and indefinite objectives.

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5.1.1 Constitution

The General preamble of the Slovene Constitution refers to culture in 2 Articles:

Article11 stipulates that "the official language in Slovenia is Slovene, whereas in the areas populated by Hungarian and Italian national community, it is Hungarian and Italian"; and
Article5 stipulates that the state "...safeguards and assures the rights of autochthonous Italian and Hungarian community.....is concerned with Slovene national minorities in neighbouring states...is concerned with Slovene emigrants and fosters their contacts with homeland... is concerned with the preservation of natural assets and cultural heritage and creates the possibilities for harmonious societal and cultural development of Slovenia".

In the Chapter on human rights and fundamental freedoms it reaches into the field of culture in the following Articles:

Article59 guarantees the freedom of artistic expression;
Article64 states that both constitutionally recognised autochthonous minorities, the Hungarian and the Italian, are guaranteed special rights;
Article65 stipulates that the status and special rights of the Roma community should be given according to the Constitution and regulated by law. While there are no special laws in place, there are some laws which contain special rights for the Roma people (e.g. to be represented in the municipal councils in the areas where they reside); and
Article39 guarantees freedom of expression and free access to information of a public character.

In the Chapter of the Constitution dealing with economic and social relations, Article 73 is intended to safeguard natural and cultural heritage. While the state and local communities are obliged to look after the preservation of natural and cultural heritage, the duty of protecting the most important part of the heritage - natural sights, rarities and cultural monuments - is a duty which everyone must observe by law.

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5.1.2 Division of jurisdiction

At the moment, Slovenia has two political territorial levels: state and municipal. As described in chapter 4.3, there are no regions in Slovenia; not yet. The construction of regions (and their number) has been one of the most sensitive political questions in Slovenia for a long time.

The Ministry for Culture prepares system solutions and performs administrative, expert and other tasks in the area of:

Art (performing arts, musical arts, visual arts, architecture and modelling, inter-media art, book and library science);
Cultural Heritage (monument protection, museums, archives included the management of the register of cultural heritage and the development of an information system and the documenting of the cultural heritage);
Media and audio-visual culture (besides regular tasks ministry evaluates the circumstances and proposes measures in reference to ensuring media pluralism);
European Matters and Cultural Development (EU affairs, cooperation with international organisations dealing with cultural policy issues, evaluation, development and documenting cultural policy);
Minority Cultural Rights and Development of Cultural Diversity;
Slovene Language; and
Promotion of Slovene Culture and International Co-operation.

Supervision of the performance of statutory and regulative provisions in the area of culture and media is done by the Inspectorate of the Republic of Slovenia for Culture and Media, a body incorporated within the Ministry.

Tasks concerning archive and documentary material are performed by the Archive of the Republic of Slovenia, a body incorporated within the Ministry. According to the Archives and Archival Institutions Act (Official Gazette No. 30/2006) the state assumes responsibility for all 6 regional archives.

The relationship between the state and the municipalities (210) in the field of culture is regulated by the Exercising of the Public Interest in Culture Act, 2002.

The law provides special attention to:

Slovenian minorities in Austria, Italy, Hungary and Slovenians throughout the world; (in 2006 this concern was transferred to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs);
the two official minority groups in Slovenia: Hungarian and Italians;
the Roma community;
the cultural integration of immigrants; and
the special cultural needs of blind, deaf and dumb and otherwise handicapped groups.

The municipalities are obliged to:

ensure, in accordance with special sector laws, the functioning of libraries, museums and galleries and look after cultural heritage in their areas and at the same time to maintain cultural monuments owned by them (the Librarianship Act (Official Gazette No. 87/2001 in 96/2002), the Cultural Heritage Protection Act (Official Gazette No. 7/1999, 110/2002 and 126/2003);
cover other cultural needs of their citizens (amateur culture, local cultural centres, publishing, libraries, arts cinema..) identified by the local cultural programmes; and
provide spaces that are intended for cultural activities in their area and upgrading their cultural infrastructure.

The municipalities, which historically have developed into cultural centres of broader significance, are bound by the law to exercise and develop this role also in the future. The state is supposed to help them in doing so by additional means, based on special agreements between the state and municipality. At the present moment, the state still finances local public cultural institutions of broader significance directly (around 40), but the government recently announced that state funding will stop on 1 January 2009 at the latest (see chapter 2.2).

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5.1.3 Allocation of public funds

The procedures related to allocation of public funds in culture are included in the Public Finance Act (Official Gazette No. 79/1999, 124/2000, 79/2001, 30/2002, 56/2002), which is important above all for the way public institutions are financed and the General Administrative Procedure Act (Official Gazette No. 80/1999, 70/2000, 52/2002, 73/2004, 119/2005, 105/2006), which applies to the functioning of administration. It is also regulated by the Exercising of the Public Interest in Culture Act, 2002. According to the latter, the procedures are regulated by the Executive Act on the Execution of Public Tenders and Public Calls, the Executive Act on the Manner of Execution of Public Institutions, Public Funds and Public Agencies in the field of Culture and the Executive Act on Expert Commissions.

The Exercising of the Public Interest in Culture Act, 2002 provides 3 different procedures for financing.

Direct Call to Public Institutions. The Ministry or municipality, i.e. the founder, call upon a public institution to prepare a yearly work programme, which is the basis for the beginning of a dialogue between the founder and the cultural producer on programme objectives, their extent and the need for financial resources.
Public Tender. This is intended to provide programme financing for NGOs and support to projects by all kinds of cultural producers (above all individuals, NGOs and public institutions of which the founder is somebody else). Public tenders are officially published and the producers compete for financial support.
Public Call. With respect to its content and eligible producers, public calls are more or less the same as public tenders. The important difference lies in the fact that producers do not compete among themselves, but are granted financial support as long as they meet the required criteria and depending upon the level of resources available for the call. In practice, public tenders are mostly used.

In all three kinds of procedures, commissions composed of external experts participate in decision-making. They prepare a proposal which is submitted to the Minister who in turn makes a final decision based on (or contrary to) their proposals. It is seldom that the Minister overrides their proposals, especially since the decision-making process and the work of the expert commissions are public. The Minister is therefore under the pressure of public opinion. There are exceptions, however. For example, in 2004 when the Minister disagreed with the expert commission for the visual arts and, in the end, decided against their proposals. In the end, the head of the expert commission resigned.

The confrontation of politics and special fields of activity should bring quality to decision-making. On the other hand, it exposes political responsibility as a counterweight or is an alibi offered to the Minister by a system of expert commissions / peer evaluation.

The Minister or the competent authority in a local community can exceptionally make decisions on the allocation of public funds without a public procedure in the event when financing is especially ear marked (e.g. for a special post) or if there is not enough time to carry out the procedure: in 2005 this amounted to 0.45 % of the budget of the Ministry of Culture.

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5.1.4 Social security frameworks

There are specific measures for self-employed persons in the cultural sector including recognition of their freelance status for tax purposes and social security. The bases for granting these privileges are exceptional achievements and the government's decision to encourage growth in the number of professional artists. This special status is awarded for three years and may be extended. In 2006, 1 500 self-employed artists out of 2 328 registered had been given this special socio-economic status which cost in 2006 4.29 million euros or almost 2.92% of national funds for culture.

A retired cultural worker who has made an especially important contribution to Slovene culture but whose pension does not correspond to the contribution he has made may be granted a republic allowance by the Minister after consultation with the expert commission from the area of work of the candidate. In determining the level of the republic allowance social circumstances are taken into account. A republic allowance may also be granted as an addition to a family pension. Public funds for the republic allowance under this Act shall be provided by the ministry responsible for culture from that part of the state budget intended for culture. In 2006, 203 000 euros were spent for 89 such republic allowances. Another intervention in the pension system are exceptional pensions for artists which had been granted in past according to topmost artistic merits. The measure originated in previous period is from time to time vividly publicly criticised as a relict from previous system.

For more information, see our Status of Artists section.

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5.1.5 Tax laws

As of January 2005, authors lost their rights to a 40% income tax deduction on material expenses. This deduction has been reduced to 10%, with no possibilities to justify actual costs. If an author registers his or her activities regularly the reduction is 25%. Self-employed people in the field of culture continue to have the right to deduct 40% from their income tax base, if they earn less than ca. 25 000 euros. If they exceed this amount, they must provide accounts and receipts to justify the actual costs. A new Law on Income Tax, which is going to be in force from 1 January 2007, entails some changes. A 2% deduction for purchasing certain goods and services (including books, paintings, investment in monuments) will be replaced with a new measure which will designate 0.5% to purposes of public interest (culture is included). A new Law on Corporate Tax introduced a 0.3% deduction for donations to various good causes and also a special deduction for culture of 0.2% of taxable income, with the possibility of averaging over a three year period.

VAT was introduced on 1 June 1999. The reduced 8.5% rate is used to tax books, while CDs, videocassettes are exposed to the normal 20% VAT rate due to harmonisation with EU Directives. The reduced rate also applies to cinema tickets and entertainment events. Cultural services of non-profit cultural organisations are exempt from paying VAT. The same right can be extended to artists if their turnover does not exceed ca. 25 000 euros per year and if they decide that they prefer to be exempt; a seemingly difficult decision. Gifts to museums, libraries and archives are exempt from excise duty.

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5.1.6 Labour laws

Employment relationships in the field of culture are regulated by general legislation; some special provisions regarding public servants are also included in the Exercising of the Public Interest in Culture Act, 2002. In Slovenia, the Civil Servants Act mainly regulates the status of state employees and only its initial principles and articles apply to public servants. The law allows for separate questions to be regulated by special laws which regulate separate areas of public sector.

Otherwise the employment relationships with public servants are regulated by the same law that applies to the overall economy, i.e. the Employment Relationship Act (Official Gazette No. 42/2002 and 79/2006). This kind of system is possible only because all public institutions in Slovenia are independent legal persons, entered in the register of companies together with enterprises and they conduct activities in the same way regardless of their public financing (sometimes entirely). The main consequences for the field of culture are:

that the employer is a public institution and not the state; and
that no transfer is possible within the system of public servants.

Otherwise there are no essential differences since the salaries and the manner of promotion are uniformly regulated by the Salary System in the Public Sector Act (Official Gazette No. 56/2002, 72/2003, 126/2003, 70/2004, 53/2005, 14/2006, 27/2006 and 68/2006). This uniformity has also a positive aspect. Due to equalising measures between the salaries of different public sectors, those of the public culture workers should be raised in 2007.

The Employment Relationship Act (2006 last amendment) is based on non fixed-duration employment and allows for fixed-duration employment only as an exception. Therefore, the Exercising of the Public Interest in Culture Act, 2002 enacted special provisions which would allow for more flexible working relationships in the cultural field. Fixed-duration employment also makes it possible to receive a higher wage within an otherwise uniform system of salaries. The law also introduces reasons for hiring people on fixed-term contracts: because otherwise workers would be made redundant or when the work exceeds the needs identified in the work plan of the public institution. These provisions are extremely important because the Slovenian cultural field is over institutionalised and all employees are public servants. As one would expect, there is a strong resistance to the law. At the moment, only new comers / young generation are engaged on temporary contracts. However, resistance is also felt on the governmental side. The provision related to the higher payment of temporary employed staff has not yet been implemented.

The Ministry of Culture has, on behalf of employers with representative trade unions in culture, concluded a Collective Agreement for Cultural Activities in Slovenia. This agreement regulates separate legal questions and includes provisions intended to regulate the issues on which both sides have reached an agreement.

From the point of view of the cultural field, Slovenia has neither special legal provisions nor experience concerning the inclusion of volunteers into working relationships.

For more information, see our Status of Artists section.

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5.1.7 Copyright provisions

The Slovenian Copyright and Related Rights Act (Official Gazette No. 21/1995, 9/2001, 30/2001, 85/2001, 43/2004, 58/2004 and 17/2006) (CRRA) follows the tradition of droit d'auteur. Copyright is an indivisible right to a work and is a uniform right, which consists of exclusive personal powers (moral rights), exclusive economic powers (economic rights), and other powers of the author (related rights). Although the CRRA was amended several times since its adoption in 1995, there were no changes or debates on moral rights as the concept of moral rights is a well established concept in Slovenian doctrine.

There are several provisions which provide limitations of copyright in order to enable users free access to copyright material. However, the limitations are only permissible in cases mentioned in the CRRA, provided that the extent of exploitation of a copyright work is limited by its intended purpose, is compatible with fair practice, does not conflict with the normal use of the work, and does not unreasonably prejudice the legitimate interests of the author. The limitations are systematically divided in two schemes: legal licences and free use. Legal licences permit the use of copyright material without the assignment of a respective economic right, but on payment of equitable remuneration. CRRA allows such use in the case of reproduction from readers and textbooks intended for teaching and for the reproduction of periodical publications of articles on current topics of general interest, provided that the source and authorship of the work is indicated. It is also lawful to reproduce or distribute works without assignment of economic rights, but on payment of equitable remuneration for the benefit of the people with a disability. On the other hand free use is allowed for the following purposes: to provide access to information of a public nature, for public performance of a disclosed work when used in teaching, temporary reproduction, private and other internal reproduction (in this case the author has a right to equitable remuneration which is collected as blank media and equipment levy), quotations, accessory works of secondary importance, free transformations of disclosed works, reproduction of databases by the lawful user, public exhibition or sale of artistic works, works permanently located in generally accessible premises, use in official proceedings and testing of equipment.

Another provision which limits authors' right and enables unrestricted public lending of copyright works in public libraries is the provision of public lending right. Public lending right is reduced to the right to equitable remuneration, when the original or a copy of a work is made available for use, for a limited period of time, without economic advantage, and if done through organisations performing such activity as public service.

Secondary rights are not defined separately nor there are any provisions relating particularly to secondary usage of works. However, certain types of copyright works (i.e. musical and literary works) fall under mandatory collective management. Therefore, broadcasters must refer to a competent collecting society for permission to use material from their repertoire (an individual author cannot refuse to permit use of his work, if the work is a part of a collecting society's repertoire). Collecting societies are obliged to conclude a contract for the non-exclusive assignment of rights for the use of authors' works in accordance with the valid tariff. Broadcasting organisations shall monthly submit to the competent collecting society a list of all broadcast copyright works.

The amendment to the CRRA made in 2004 was rather exhaustive. Certain changes had to be made in order to bring CRRA into line with EU Directive 2001/29EC on Copyright in the Information Society, others relate to the particularities of Slovenia (like collective management of copyright and related rights). New provisions on technological measures were introduced in addition to already existing provision on protection of rights-management information. Respectively the penal provisions of CRRA were amended, so that there is a fine prescribed for circumventing effective technological measures and for refusing to make available to persons having legal access to the subject matter of rights to enforce limitations to copyright and related rights. Certain new limitations of authors' rights were introduced (i.e. reproduction and distribution of works for the benefit of people with a disability and acts of temporary reproduction, limitation to the right of transformation in cases of works of architecture, limitations to the right of the makes of the database), others were modified (i.e. private and other internal reproduction, free use of artistic works for promotion of a public exhibition or sale of artistic works, free use of works for performance of tasks relating to public security or any official proceedings). In the chapter of related rights, the definition of a performer was changed as well as the definition of exclusive economic right of performers. Amendments were also made to the provisions on collective management of copyright and related rights. The cases in which collective management is mandatory were reduced to: communication to the public of non-theatrical musical works and literary works (small rights), management of the droit de suite, reproduction of works for private or other internal use and its photocopying beyond the scope of free use, cable retransmission. Furthermore, the provisions relating to authorisation of collecting societies, their obligations and supervision were amended. The landmark change in the collective management system was the introduction of mediation as a measure for resolution of disputes concerning conclusion of an inclusive agreement and disputes concerning conclusion of an agreement for cable retransmission of broadcasts. Some other minor adjustments were also made like exhaustion of the right of distribution which now relates to the European Union instead of to the Republic of Slovenia and expansion of the subject matter under the public lending right which now relates to all works, not just written materials as before.

The latest amendment to the CRRA was made in 2006 with the goal of improving the deficiencies inherent in the collective management system (introduced in 2004). The amendments state that if a common agreement can not be reached within four months of a dispute, each side has the right to propose arbitration. The system of setting tariffs has been a problem for many years. There are many contentions between collective organisations and users of authors' rights; it is easier to adopt ideal legislation than to make it work.

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5.1.8 Data protection laws

In Slovenia, the protection of data has not yet been exposed as problematic in view of the access of cultural organisations to reach a potential public.

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5.1.9 Language laws

In 2004, the Act on Public Usage of Slovenian Language (Official Gazette No.86/2004) was passed. It was in preparation since 1996. The law supports the further development and enforcement of the Slovenian language in traditional and numerous new areas opened up by the information society. Furthermore, it is supposed to enforce the Slovenian language in times of globalisation. To this end, it summarises the content of certain provisions from older legal provisions dealing with public usage of the Slovenian language (the Consumer Protection Act, the Mass Media Act, Companies Act etc.) and tries to abolish gaps concerning responsibility, inspection and sanctions. The law does not contain provisions on obligatory grammar, word and orthography characteristics of the Slovenian language, it rather provides for its status as an official language and the language of public communication without, at the same time, prohibiting the use of foreign languages. To this end, it determines the basic rules of language to be used by the state administration and other agencies of public authority, for education, media, commerce (marketing), industry, public performances etc. Monitoring legal provisions, creating a language policy and its implementation, are tasks of the government in general and the Ministry of Culture in particular.

Slovenia/ 5.2 Legislation on culture

As the political system was transformed at the beginning of the 1990s, legislation on culture also had to be changed in its entirety. The new Constitution of Slovenia in 1991, established traditional rights with regard to culture including freedom of artistic creation, cultural development and heritage protection as well as providing copyright, cultural and linguistic rights for Italian and Hungarian minorities, rights for the Roma community and assistance for Slovenes living in either neighboring countries or around the world.

In December 1994, the public's interest in culture was regulated for the first time. In November 2002, the Act was revised in its entirety in order to create proper means for its implementation and to reconsider the model. Thus, the Exercising of the Public Interest in Culture Act, 2002 is now an umbrella law and currently consists of:

setting rules for cultural policy decision-making (openness, participation, responsibility, efficiency, coherence);
enacting five main cultural policy objectives (see chapter 3.3);
defining the main actors (in addition to the public authorities, the National Council for Culture and the Cultural Chamber of Slovenia);
establishing some special mechanisms for cultural policy formulation (National Program for Culture and regular annual report to the Parliament on its implementation, public tenders and calls for proposals for public funding, which set the aims, criteria and conditions for the allocation of public funds, mandatory agreements between the state and municipalities which define common cultural policy objectives);
launching the system of public cultural services (special chapter concerning the establishment, administration, operation and financing of public cultural institutions);
financing cultural activities (institutional funding for public institutions and projects and program funding for NGOs); and
defining the rights of artists regarding social security and pensions.

There are also other general acts affecting culture, i.e. the Public Finance Act, the Local Government Act, the Civil Servants Act, the Salary System in the Public Sector Act, the General Administrative Procedure Act (see also chapter 5.1).

Besides the umbrella law, there is another law, which is affecting different spheres of culture: Providing Funds for some Programmes in the Culture Act (Official Gazette No. 24/1998 and 108/2002). The latter is a Financial Act that in 1998 ensured financial means for some urgent programs in the period 1998-2003 and in 2002 was extended to the year 2008. The funds were distributed in various areas: investments in the premises of public institutions, co-financing to build up municipal libraries and to provide IT to general libraries, monument restoration, support for library networks, cinema and multimedia centres, and amateur culture and youth cultural centres. The Ministry of Culture obtained a special budget, but the amount of financial resources which accumulated on the budget was almost never disposed of entirely. The Providing Funds for some Programmes in the Culture Act was adopted on the initiative of the members of the Parliament and does not represent a comprehensive strategy but a summary of different interests.

The Structural Funds of the EU provided a new framework for projects financed from the European Regional Development Fund during the period 2004-2006 (e.g. castles owned by the Republic of Slovenia, Multimedia Centres, etc). The Providing Funds for some Programmes in the Culture Act enables the Ministry of Culture to reserve resources for the European Regional Development Fund. The law has contributed to regional development, while on the other hand, the securing national investments in, for example, the national library, arts academies etc.

In addition to the Exercising of the Public Interest in Culture Act 2002, there are others that regulate specific cultural sectors such as: Mass Media Act, Librarianship Act, Cultural Heritage Protection Act, and Archival Material and Archives Act.

Some specific areas are also regulated through legislation such as the France Prešeren Award Act and the Providing Funds for some Programmes in the Culture Act.

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5.3.1 Visual and applied arts

There is no specific sector law.

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5.3.2 Performing arts and music

There is no specific sector law.

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5.3.3 Cultural heritage

The cultural heritage sector is regulated by:

the Cultural Heritage Protection Act which applies to all kinds of movable and immovable cultural heritage (2003 latest amendment); and
the Protection of Documents and Archives and Archival Institutions Act, 2006.

The protection of natural heritage is regulated by the Nature Conservation Act. Until 1999, natural and cultural heritage were regulated within the same law and within the same office. In 1999, the natural heritage came under the jurisdiction of Ministry of Environment, Space and Energy, while the cultural heritage remained under the jurisdiction of Ministry of Culture.

The Protection of Documents and Archives and Archival Institutions Act governs the methods, organisation, infrastructure and implementation of capture and storage of documents in physical and electronic form, the effectiveness and value of such materials, the protection of archives and conditions for use of archives. It defines the tasks of archival institutions and the public archival service, as well as related services. The supervision over the implementation of its mandatory obligations is regulated accordingly.

The main dissent during the legislative procedure concerned the idea to integrate all of the six regional archives into the Slovenian National Archive, which is already a part of the Ministry of Culture. Due to very powerful lobbying, regional archives preserve their autonomy and remain separate legal entities.

The immovable cultural heritage is regulated by different laws managing space, buildings, regional development and spatial document development on the national and local levels. The Cultural Heritage Protection Act, adopted in 1999, regulates the protection of movable and immovable cultural heritage, with an additional chapter designed for museums.

In order to carry out its role in the construction of a uniform system of heritage protection, the state had to engage experts to participate in the formulation of a heritage preservation policy. The Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of the Republic of Slovenia remains a separate public institution.

The Cultural Heritage Protection Act, adopted in 1999 and amended 2002, 2003 and currently under review outlines:

a clear definition of the administrative and professional functions of protection;
a legal binding document dealing with rights and obligations of heritage owners;
the interests of heritage protection via spatial and other planning regulations;
regulation of heritage trade;
the primary role of the state and the subsidiary role of the municipalities regarding heritage protection as a public service; and
the role of the state within the country in the relation to the municipalities, and abroad, in the relationship to the international community.

In this process, seven regional institutes for monument protection lost their independent status and were merged into a new national institute. A strategy for cultural heritage has been incorporated in the National Program for Culture which states that Slovenia wants to preserve and promote its cultural diversity by preserving and protecting its cultural heritage and by increasing its accessibility. This means making sure that all information on cultural heritage should be available, also a pre-condition for increasing expert knowledge in this area.

The main policy instruments for cultural heritage support are:

the enlargement of the register for cultural heritage so that it would take into account not only immovable but also movable property;
a uniform system for the preservation of artistic heritage regardless of the origin and location;
reinforcement of the Slovenian Restoration Centre as a co-ordinator of restoration activities;
the introduction of indirect financial incentives to attract investment in cultural heritage; and
the introduction of a license and concession system.

The aim of the revision of current legislation is to suppress those problems which haven't been successfully solved by existing legal provisions. Among them are:

improvement of cultural heritage management;
harmonisation of conservation practices and standards;
rationalisation of public services in the field of cultural heritage;
clarification of monument protection taken into the consideration future regionalisation
introduction of the concept of public benefit of protection of cultural heritage; and
more respect of the rights of owners of cultural monuments.

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5.3.4 Literature and libraries

The Exercising of the Public Interest in Culture Act, 2002 presents the legal basis for the main supportive measures such as public tenders and public calls for financing libraries, literacy culture, translation of classical works of humanistic and literature (see chapter 8.3.1) and working scholarships (see chapter 8.1.2). In recent years, a fairly comprehensive system of financing for book publishing was constructed (see chapter 4.3). Parallel to this, the idea to delegate all executive tasks to a Public Agency has been developed resulted in the adoption of the Act on the Public Agency for Books in 2007. In order to more efficiently organise and combine the currently rather uncoordinated governmental policies in this area, the new Law merged support for the production of books and magazines in the fields of literature and science. However, the main objectives concern the empowerment of expertise in the decision-making process concerning the allocation of public funds and the sustainability of funding, including the diversification of different sources on national and trans-national EU levels. These tasks are now delegated to the Public Agency for Books (see also chapter 4.1).

Libraries are regulated by the Librarianship Act adopted in 2001 and amended in 2002.

The Act has four main aims, all of them based on the statutory obligation of municipalities to provide library services for their citizens:

to orient municipalities towards the provision of library services for their citizens in the optimum manner, either by reaching an agreement with the nearest library to provide these services on the basis of a contract. This means founding a branch unit of a larger library or founding an independent library. The latter must be large enough to cover the needs of at least 10000 inhabitants - library professionals have estimated that an entity of this size has sufficient professional and economic strength to develop successfully in its environment;
to regulate the regular and stable funding of public libraries. This chiefly involves two issues. The first is ensuring that library services are evaluated according to uniform criteria, so that the financial obligations of municipalities for a given range of services are known. The second, in the case of a library being jointly founded by two or more municipalities, ensuring that the coordination of shares of funding between these municipalities does not threaten the normal operation of the library. If the municipalities are unable to reach an agreement, the number of inhabitants of the individual municipalities shall be taken into account. To avoid everything being based on compulsion, the state provides incentives for municipalities by co-funding the annual purchase of books and the process of digitalisation. Out of 220 books per 1 000 inhabitants 90 of them were bought by state funds in 2005;
to develop a national bibliographic service as the infrastructure for the library system. The COBISS has been in place since 1990 and continues to develop, and although there is a question regarding prestige or hierarchy in the relationship between the National Library and the Service, they have been able to work in a synergetic way. There is a healthy competitive relationship between the two institutions regarding the purchasing of new products; and
to establish a uniform system for the National Library, which means continuing to provide a supply of library services across the whole of Slovenia, a high level of professionalism in the work of librarians (library studies at university level and constant training provided by the National Library), a developmental role for the National Library and the Librarians Society of Slovenia and the inclusion of large regional libraries as the pillars of the public library network.

In 2006, a new Act on the Legal Deposit of Publications (Official Gazette No. 69/2006) was adopted. Its main novelty is that it reduced the number of legal deposits to the national library from 16 to 4, with some exceptions concerning the publications that are produced with public support, which remain at 16.The funding for a deficit compensation for legal deposits was provided in the amount of 400 000 euros and therefore the total amount of financing to purchase materials was increased in 2006. The Act includes a provision on collecting electronic internet publications, which is one of the first such statutory provisions among EU member states.

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5.3.5 Architecture and environment

Information is currently not available.

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5.3.6 Film, video and photography

The law related to the film sector is the Film Fund of the Republic of Slovenia Act (Official Gazette No. 17/1994, 22/2000 and 59/2001), which will be amended with provisions offering new financing models (see chapter 4.2.6).

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5.3.7 Culture industries

There is no specific overall legal framework to promote and develop the culture industries in Slovenia.

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5.3.8 Mass media

See chapter 4.2.5.

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5.3.9 Legislation for self-employed artists

See chapter 5.1.4.

For more information, see our Status of Artists section.

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5.3.10 Other areas of relevant legislation

Information is currently not available.

Slovenia/ 6. Financing of culture

6.1 Short overview

Within the public sphere, culture in Slovenia is co-financed by two main actors: the state and local communities. On the state level, the Ministry of Culture is responsible for the distribution of the majority of public funds for culture (ca. 90%). Various programmes and projects are supported by the cultural budget including those of public cultural institutions (national and municipal), the Film Fund of the Republic of Slovenia and the Public Fund of the Republic of Slovenia for Cultural Activities, programmes and projects of both minority groups as well as subsidies and grants for artists, professional societies, scholarships, cultural festivals, investments in information technology, sites and monuments, minimum social security for freelance artists, retirement benefits for cultural workers etc.

In Slovenia, there are still no regional authorities that operate between the state and local level, although there are plans for new regions to be operating by 1 January 2009 (see chapter 2.2). In a country of 2 million people and approx. 20 000 km² there are 210 local communities. The obligations of the local communities in the cultural field are: to ensure conditions for common library activities, cultural and arts activities and amateur cultural activities, conservation of tangible and intangible cultural heritage and other cultural programmes of local importance. In areas where national minorities live, the local communities are also obliged to support their cultural activities.

Public cultural expenditure in 2006 amounted to approximately 257 million euros and corresponded to 0.86% of the GDP.

The share of the state in public cultural expenditure, in 2006, was 60%, with the local level providing the remaining 40%. (This division includes all local level expenditure on culture, but at central level it only refers to the expenditure of the Ministry for Culture).

The share of state cultural expenditure, as part of the total state expenditure in 2006, amounted to 2% and the share of local communities' cultural expenditure, as part of the total local communities' expenditure in 2006, amounted to 6.3%.

Household spending on cultural activities and goods in Slovenia was calculated, in 2004, on the basis of the National Household Budget Survey made by Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia. In 2004, this amounted to ca. 465.5 million euros or 4.43% of the total household budget. The majority of the cultural household expenditure was spent on the RTV subscription (30.4%) and press (20.6%). Household spending on cultural activities and goods in Slovenia, in 2004, corresponded to 1.77% of the GDP.

National cultural expenditure, calculated on the basis of public cultural expenditure and household spending on cultural activities and goods, in 2004, amounted to 680 million euros and corresponded to 2.59% of the GDP.

Table 11: Share of household spending, 2000-2004

	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004
Share of household spending on culture in GDP*	2.00%	1.89%	1.81%	1.77%	1.77%
Share of public cultural expenditure in GDP*	0.84%	0.82%	0.81%	0.80%	0.82%
Share of national cultural expenditure in GDP*	2.84%	2.71%	2.62%	2.57%	2.59%

Sources: Ministry for Culture, Ministry for Finance, Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia.
* A revision of GDP calculation for the years 2000-2004 was made in the middle of the 2007. The methodology of household spending was harmonised with COICOP-HBS classification (Division HE09 Recreation and culture, witch covers the main cultural expenditure of households). The same methodology was used in the publication of Eurostat: Cultural statistic, 2007 edition.

Slovenia/ 6. Financing of culture

6.2 Public cultural expenditure per capita

Public cultural expenditure per capita in the year 2006 was 127.9 euros and corresponded to 0.86% of the GDP.

Slovenia/ 6. Financing of culture

6.3 Public cultural expenditure broken down by level of government

Table 12: Public cultural expenditure: by level of government, in euros, 2006

Level of government	Total expenditure	% share of total
State	154 257 346	60
Local (municipal)	102 506 679	40
Total	256 764 025	100

Sources: Ministry for Culture, Ministry for Finance.
NB. All public cultural expenditure on the local level is taken into account. On the state level it refers only to the expenditure of the Ministry for Culture.

Table 13: Share of public cultural expenditure, by level of government, 1996-2006

	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
State	69%	68%	67%	59%	61%	65%	64%	64%	64%	64%	60%
Municipalities	31%	32%	33%	41%	39%	35%	36%	36%	36%	36%	40%

Up until 1999, the state co-financed the most important local cultural institutions. In 1999, and in the first half of 2000, 38 of these local public cultural institutions have been co-financed by the municipalities. However in the second half of 2000, the state took over co-financing of these institutions again.

Slovenia/ 6. Financing of culture

6.4 Sector breakdown

Table 14: State cultural expenditure in Slovenia, by sector, in euros, 2006

Field / domain / sub-domain	Direct expenditure	Transfers to institutions	Total	% total
Cultural goods	36 966 242	14 986 053	51 952 295	35.42
Cultural heritage	27 497 860	10 055 045	37 552 905	25.60
Historical monuments	8 825 184	9 384 239	18 209 423	12.41
Museums	18 672 676	670 806	19 343 482	13.19
Archives	3 623 089	156 005	3 779 094	2.58
Libraries	5 845 293	4 775 003	10 620 296	7.24
Arts	49 384 421	4 297 534	53 681 955	36.60
Visual arts (including design)	6 376 601	607 207	6 983 808	4.76
Performing arts	43 007 820	3 690 327	46 698 147	31.84
Music	22 963 716	1 432 307	24 396 023	16.63
Theatre and musical theatre*	20 044 104	1 301 047	21 345 151	14.55
Multidisciplinary	0	956 973	956 973	0.65
Media	1 558 578	13 917 912	15 476 490	10.55
Books and press	0	4 959 489	4 959 489	3.38
Books	0	4 179 361	4 179 361	2.85
Press	0	780 128	780 128	0.53
Audio, audiovisual and multimedia	1 558 578	8 958 423	10 517 001	7.17
Cinema	1 558 578	4 152 589	5 711 167	3.89
Radio	0	2 395 773	2 395 773	1.63
Television	0	2 410 061	2 410 061	1.64
Other	14 709 291	10 857 807	25 567 098	17.43
Interdisciplinary	7 080 454	1 720 747	8 801 201	6.00
Socio-cultural	619 725	444 216	1 063 941	0.73
Cultural relations abroad		508 408	508 408	0.35
Administration	6 460 729	0	6 460 729	4.40
Educational activities	0	768 123	768 123	0.52
Not available by domain	7 628 837	9 137 060	16 765 897	11.43
TOTAL	102 618 532	44 059 306	146 677 838	100.00

Sources: Ministry for Culture, Ministry for Finance.
Notes: Financing for Funds, e.g. the Film Fund, the Fund for Cultural Activities, are classified under "transfers"

Direct expenditure includes financial support for:

public institutions founded by the municipalities;
the purchase of library material and IT equipment for general libraries;
investments are included in transfers; a share of which is planned for municipal investments;
funds for investments for municipalities transferred from the budget of the Ministry of Finance are not included in the total sum;
funds planned for municipalities for monument restoration are also classified as transfers.

Slovenia/ 7. Cultural institutions and new partnerships

7.1 Re-allocation of public responsibilities

In 2006, constitutional amendments on local self-government which are crucial for the formation of provinces in Slovenia were adopted finally. It is now explicitly stated that the provinces should be set up by law, as well their status and jurisdiction defined. In addition to decentralisation and subsidiarity, the amendments are important as they give provinces the necessary framework to act as partners for European structural funds and in cross-border regional co-operation. It is now possible to transfer some jurisdiction to local authorities without their approval. However, the state must also earmark the necessary funds for the new tasks. This move is being implemented to enact the principle of subsidiarity. This development is an opportunity to entrust the regions with responsibility (including funding) for larger state cultural institutions and therefore overcome the current gap between state funding and local funding(see also chapter 4.3).

Slovenia/ 7. Cultural institutions and new partnerships

7.2 Status/role and development of major cultural institutions

Obtaining a legal status as a public institution as the only option for regular public funding is no longer an optimal solution for cultural producers. The latter are, as a consequence of the self-management heritage, still separate legal entities, but at the same time, part of the public sector obliged to follow the public servant and public finance systems. A modernisation of the public sector therefore demands a separation between:

public bodies which should become part of the state or local administration such as monument services, archives etc., and;
others which need lump sum financing, flexible working relationships, and an independent relationship with the state such as theatres, galleries, cultural centres, etc).

This type of separation would also be a good way to increase the power of NGOs and civil society.

The National Programme for Culture 2004-2007 has identified the modernisation of the public sector as one of its priorities; however, no serious changes have taken place yet. The draft programme for the next period, 2008-2011, repeats this intention, adding that a special interministerial working group in charge of this task will be set up.

Slovenia/ 7. Cultural institutions and new partnerships

7.3 Emerging partnerships or collaborations

To date, there are few examples of emerging public-private partnerships or collaborations in Slovenia. Some measures such as tax incentives have attracted private sponsorship for cultural events (e.g. festivals) and are the first step in creating an environment for co-operation. There are some examples of "good practice" in this area such as the regional cultural centre "Festival Brežice" which attracted 58% of its turnover through sponsorship in 2001. Another interesting example is the regional cultural centre "Narodni dom Maribor" which attracted 25% of its turnover through sponsorship in 1998 (26% from ticket sales, 40% from a municipality grant and 9% from the state). One of the most successful projects is the traditional Summer Festival Lent which attracts not only an incredible concentration of cultural events and around 350 000 visitors, but also the greatest number of sponsors.

Slovenia/ 8. Support to creativity and participation

8.1 Direct and indirect support to artists

See chapter 8.1.1.

Slovenia/ 8.1 Direct and indirect support to artists

8.1.1 Special artists funds

In addition to the social security scheme for freelance artists (see also chapter 5.1.4) and income tax deductions on creative work (see also chapter 5.1.5), there is a system of funding to support new musical works, ballet and folklore choreography and dramatic works. Public servants are still free to engage in work outside of their institutions and therefore, all successful actors or musicians are permitted to work for more than one institutional or non-institutional group.

With the Librarianship Act (2002 latest amendment), Slovenia began to meet certain requirements towards the authors of works which are borrowed from public libraries. The law stipulates that a library compensation scheme to support authors is to be introduced on the basis of funds generated from the public lending of books. Special rules were adopted, which not only determine the extent to which the state has to provide support for this purpose, but defines the types of work and which authors are eligible to receive compensation. By introducing a library compensation scheme, the state wished to encourage creativity in different art fields. The funds generated from this scheme are distributed, on the one hand, to living authors on the basis of lending frequency in libraries. On the other hand, the funds are used for working scholarships given to promising authors of a high quality. All who are entitled to receive compensation must have their works available for lending in general libraries (with the exception of other kinds of libraries, i.e. school or high school libraries) and they must contain texts, illustrations, photographs, music or film. In 2006, 775 000 euros went for this purpose.

Persons eligible to obtain library compensations and working scholarships are authors, poets, authors of other text based works, translators, illustrators, photographers, music and film authors. The library compensation can be obtained by authors from the lending of original and translated books, audio-cassettes, CD records, video cassettes and DVDs, provided that all works, which are available in libraries, were borrowed to the extent that goes over a certain threshold. Working scholarships, however, have to be applied for via public tenders who are managed by the relevant authors / artists association; the latter are given the right to implement this scheme on the basis of a public tender issued by the Ministry of Culture.

Slovenian libraries are included in Co-operative Online Bibliographic System & Services (COBISS), which makes it possible to track library loans. In the framework of the COBISS system, a special web application for implementing the library compensation has been created which means that each year authors can consult the system and find out for themselves whether they qualify for library compensation and notify the Ministry in the event that they are entitled to receive compensation. The system also enables authors to review the data on their books and make corrections.

Slovenia/ 8.1 Direct and indirect support to artists

8.1.2 Grants, awards, scholarships

In Slovenia, there is only one national award in the field of culture (Prešernova nagrada). It is given by the Administrative Board of the Prešeren Foundation. Members of the Board are appointed by the Parliament and are artists, creators of cultural life and / or scientists from all major fields of culture (15 members in total). Every year, a maximum of 2 national awards for outstanding achievements or lifework are given. The Prešeren Foundation also awards up to 6 prizes for important artistic achievements.

The selection of award winners and their works has always been of utmost importance for the formation of the field of art, for understanding the role of culture in different political systems (socialism, self- management, democracy) and for determining the proportion of power between the politics and classes of artists and among classes of artists themselves. The national award ceremony is held on the eve of the National Day of Culture, which is celebrated as a public holiday. The convergence of these two events bestows a particular significance to the award and together they represent an annual ritual. The ceremonial parade of award winners, is not only festive, but celebrates the existence and recognition of Slovenian cultural identity and promotes an understanding of common values.

In addition to the national award for culture there are around 70 other prizes awarded in the field of culture in Slovenia. The prizes pursue a balance between the exposure of an artists' body of lifework and the recognition of an individual work of art which is meant to be an incentive for more artistic achievements. The total financial value of the awards granted in the year 2003 including the national award, was approximately 312 500 euros. This amount is approximately one twelfth of the amount invested into the social security system for self-employed artists. The national award accounts for half of the total financial value of all prizes. The biggest number of awards was given in the field of publishing and performing arts, namely in the field of theatre. This reflects the meaning of "language" in the national consciousness. Professional associations of artists give the largest number of prizes (18) while public institutions award 16 prizes and public foundations 11 prizes. The reason why the number of prizes increased in the 1990s is due to the opening of public institutions to new audiences, the need for greater visibility and the presentation of a diversity of productions (all of which is financed from tax payer money).

Professional associations manifest their presence and express their competence to claim what is the best in individual fields through awards. Through public institutions they organise festivals and meetings through which they promote their work and the prominence of their products.

The awards given by public foundations help them to invigorate their position as stakeholders of cultural policy and at the same time as designators of criteria of excellence in their fields. In this regard public foundations compete with professional associations. However, the difference is that the prizes awarded by the two public foundations in the field of culture (Slovenian Film Fund and Republic of Slovenia Public Fund for Cultural Activities - JSKD) are not financial, while professional associations are making an effort to add a financial component to their awards. Public foundations therefore envisage the meaning and significance of their awards as recognition of its own importance. On the contrary, professional associations are already aware of the problems of artists and thus try to give financial awards. The state helps them in doing so by providing funds from the state budget up to 70% of all financial awards. With one exception: all prizes which are awarded by local communities originate from the former political system, leading us to conclude that the politics of the time considered culture as an element of development and an outward affirmation of the local community.

Table 15: Breakdown in the number of awards given in different culture fields, 2003

Field	Number
Different art fields	8
Music	3
Amateur	5
Art history	1
Visual arts	6
Publishing	13
Cultural heritage	4
Archeology	1
Performing arts	13	From these given by:		Number
Inter-media arts	3		Cultural institutions	9
Film, cinema	7		Association, Union	2
Audiovisual arts	2		Fund	1
Ethnologic	1		No data	1
Librarianship	1
TOTAL	68

Source: the questionnaire prepared by Darja Jurjec, Nataša Pihler, Saša Jocič and interpreted by Saša Jocič (2003).

Table 16: Source of awards given in different culture fields, 2003

Source of Awards	Number
State	1
City municipalities	4
University	2
Cultural institutions	16
Funds	2
Public Fund for Cultural Activities- performing arts	3
Public Fund for Cultural Activities- music	2
Public fund for Cultural Activities - different fields	1
Film Fund	3
Enterprises	4
Associations	19	From those given for:		Number
Media	5		Music	2
Publishers	6		Art history	1
TOTAL	68		Visual arts	2
			Publishing	4
			Performing arts	1
			Cultural heritage	3
			Ethnology	1
			Librarianship	1
			Film, cinema	2
			Different fields	2

Source: the questionnaire prepared by Darja Jurjec, Nataša Pihler, Saša Jocič and interpreted by Saša Jocič (2003).

Table 17: Overview of the number of awards given by year

Year of first granting	Number
1940 - 1950	4
1950 - 1960	1
1960 - 1970	8
1970 - 1980	7
1980 - 1990	6
1990 -2000	27	Granted by:		Number
2000 - 2001	4		Cultural institutions	9
No data	11		L'esprit de corps	11
TOTAL	68		Media	5
			Publishers	1
			Enterprises	1

Source: the questionnaire prepared by Darja Jurjec, Nataša Pihler, Saša Jocič and interpreted by Saša Jocič (2003).

Table 18: Type of awards given and by whom, 2003

Type of the award	Number
Financial	40
Honorable	28
TOTAL	68
Funder	Number
State	19
Municipalities	4
Granting bodies	23

Source: the questionnaire prepared by Darja Jurjec, Nataša Pihler, Saša Jocič and interpreted by Saša Jocič (2003).

In 2004, the Ministry gave national public institutions involved in music the possibility to offer residencies. Young artists were thus given the opportunity to gain their first experiences of working in public institutions which would otherwise, because of a fairly restrictive employment policy, have been impossible for them. This was received enthusiastically by music institutions which made full use of the possibility.

More recently, the Ministry of Culture has been providing funds for residences in art studios, also abroad e.g. in New York, Berlin, etc. In addition, the Ministry provides financial support for the participation of artists in international events.

Slovenia/ 8.1 Direct and indirect support to artists

8.1.3 Support to professional artists associations or unions

In the past, professional artists associations were funded in the same way as public institutions and their employees received the same salaries as other public servants. In 2003, they lost these privileges. Consequently, they have to apply via public tenders for project or programme financing.

The Chamber of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia, by law, is to operate as a communication point between public authorities and the cultural field. The amount of public money it receives depends on its activities which are still very modest.

Slovenia/ 8.2 Cultural consumption and participation

8.2.1 Trends and figures

Table 19: Cultural participation trends in figures, 2006

	Professional theatre* (drama and puppets)	Slovene Philharmonic
Number of units	11	1
Number of performances	5 440	119
Number of visitors	760 724	108 561
Number of visitors per 1 000 inhabitants	379	54
	Opera and Ballet (2005) (Ljubljana, Maribor)	Cankarjev dom (cultural centre)
Number of units	2	1
Number of performances	277	1 146
Number of visitors	283 130	338 615
Number of visitors per 1 000 inhabitants	141	168
	Museums and dislocated units*	Galleries*
Number of units	32	10
Number of new temporary exhibitions	154	72
Activities accompanying permanent exhibitions	103	25
Number of visitors	819 987	512 632
Number of visitors per 1 000 inhabitants	408	255
	Public libraries
Number of units	61
Number of all visitors per 1 000 inhabitants	4 579
Number of members	538 865
Number of performances	15 081
	Books and journals published
Number of books and brochures published	5 740
Number of literature books (UDK 8), published	1 524
Number of books published per 1 000 inhabitants	2.7
Number of towns with more than 5 000 habitants and with a bookshop	44

Source: Ministry of Culture.
* Public institutions co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and located in municipalities.

Creating a public demand for culture is a task that producers of culture have long recognised as a condition for their existence and development. In Western Europe, the fall in attendance at artistic events is already a cultural-political problem. In Slovenia, in some fields, cultural consumption increased constantly for several years, but it seems that consumption figures are slowly approaching those of the Western countries. For example, the number of visitors to Slovene professional theatres has increased dramatically in recent years: there was an average of 215 visitors to the theatre, annually, per 1 000 inhabitants, in the period 1993-1997; theatre visits, in 2001, amounted to 352 visitors per 1 000 inhabitants; in 2005, this figure increased to 442 visitors per 1 000 inhabitants. Unfortunately, the figure for the year 2006 shows a different picture; theatre visits to professional theatres in this year amounted to 379 visitors per 1 000 inhabitants. Slovenia boasts two independent opera and ballet houses (Ljubljana and Maribor) and both have recorded a rise in audiences in recent years, especially Maribor Opera and Ballet House. In 2006, major restoration works at Ljubljana Opera and Ballet House started. In spite of this fact, the company did not stop operating and it made a guest appearance in some other public cultural houses, such as Cankarjev dom. Cankarjev dom is a cultural centre in Ljubljana, which operates as a mediating agency and it unites musical, theatre, exhibition, and film activities and cultural-humanistic education. The vitality of this cultural centre also appears in its ability to market itself as a conference centre, thus earning, together with funds obtained from the sales of entrance tickets, more than half the funds required for its operation.

A saying circulated in Slovenia in the nineties, that this is a land in which more people attend a symphony concert than a football match! In 2003, for example, the Slovene Philharmonic had 49 visitors per 1 000 inhabitants and in 2005 this increased to 55 visitors per 1 000 inhabitants. In 2006, this number diminished to 54 visitors per 1 000 inhabitants.

The number of visitors, to museums co-financed by the Ministry of Culture, has been increasing since 2002, although the number of recorded visitors shows a tremendous fall in 2005: in 2002, public institutions recorded 1 402 348 visitors, in 2003 - 1 448 402 visitors, in 2004 - 1 744 390 visitors, in 2005 - 1 200 532 visitors, and in 2006 -1 332 619 visitors. This fall in figures is actually due to more rigorous supervision of data collection, obtained on the basis of issued tickets (the data collection does not include the astimate of visitors to the opening of exhibitions). An increase in the number of visitors to museums can be ascribed, above all, to the marked increase in the educational and adult educational activities of museums and galeries. Some 80% of visitors to educational programs prepared by museums and galleries are participants of educational programs targeted at young visitors

The number of loans, at general libraries, in Slovenia is rising (in 2005, 61 public libraries had 251 local libraries and library buses and 658 library bus stops), and in recent years, the lending of books and other library material has also increased. Slovene general libraries have, recently, greatly increased the number of different services that they provide.

Slovene publishing activity is rich, both in terms of diversity and in terms of quality and complexity. In 2006, 4 579 books and brochures were published (in 2001 - 4 069), approximately one quarter were literature books.

Public archives, financed by the Ministry of Culture, contain 59 983 metres of written material, of which 1 945 metres were acquired in 2005. The archives also contain archive materials in special formats and other medium, such as films (in 2005, there were 6 175 movie titles and 1 640 video titles), photographs (in 2005, there were 364 166 photographs), microfilms, maps, various sound carriers etc.

Table 20: Data on radio and television, 2005

	Radio	Television
Number of radio or television programmes	61	50
Number of radio programmes or TV programmes with national coverage	5	2
	Total	Of which domestic films
Number of cinemas	46
Number of film distributions	1 245	39
Number of visitors	2 443 776	72 239
Number of visitors per 1 000 inhabitants	1 221	36

Source: Statistical Office RS,

Audiovisual media is an important factor in strengthening the Slovene national identity and in preserving the Slovene language. 97% of households have televisions, 36.4% receive cable programmes and 30% satellite programmes. The number of printed dailies is also increasing. The largest share of audiences - more than 90% - is attracted by audiovisual media (radio and television), newspapers 6% and journals 2%. Research shows that reading habits among those younger than 18 years are falling sharply and, at the same time, they are above average users of television.

The number of cinemas in Slovenia fell drastically in the 1990s (from 1986 to 2000, their number almost halved). Audience numbers fell accordingly (from 1986 to 2000, their number fell by 59%). The number of cinemagoers began to increase again, with the founding of cinema complexes (the first opened in Ljubljana in 2001). Data on audience figures for Slovene films are encouraging; from 1995 to 2000, the number of showings in Slovene cinemas increased four-fold, and the audience numbers increased six-fold. From 2001, there was a growth in attendance at Slovene cinemas (2001 - 1 791 000 visitors, in 2002, this figure rose to 2 689 000 visitors, and in 2003, there were 2 884 000 visitors). In the second half of the present decade, the positive trend seems to be stopping again: in 2006, attendance at Slovene cinemas was 2 443 776 persons.

Slovenia/ 8.2 Cultural consumption and participation

8.2.2 Policies and programmes

There are no specific programmes linking participation in cultural life to the broader issues of civic participation and citizenship. See also chapter 4.2.4.

Slovenia/ 8.3 Arts and cultural education

8.3.1 Arts education

Tertiary arts education falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology. There are three arts academies (the Academy of Fine Arts, the Academy of Music and the Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television.). Some programmes are also run at the Faculty of Arts, such as Library Science, Publishing, History of Arts and Musicology. Course on fashion and design are organised by the Faculty of Natural Science and Technology.

See also chapter 4.3 regarding the three academies.

Higher arts education has not yet been restructured according the Bologna process. The only exceptions are two programmes in the Faculty of Arts in Ljubljana (Library Science and Publishing).

The National Programme for Culture has also recognised the need for a more active role of cultural policy in education. The major problems lie within higher education, as there are no study courses for important cultural professions. There is a special question on how to ensure that priority support is given to programmes and projects which can make up for the lack of professional training in the field of culture. Education for professionals that directly co-operate in the maintenance and restoration of cultural heritage do not exist in the present educational system. This is true for higher education and for secondary schools. Education is only provided through non-institutional training opportunities whereby professionals work under mentors, take part in special courses, seminars, workshops and additional education abroad. Museology, is not, at the present moment, an independent field of study, but only a subject in some Departments of the Faculty of Arts. The same is true for the study of conservation. There are only some possibilities to take course at the post-graduate level in some Faculties. A different situation exists in the field of librarianship, which has its own study course in the Faculty of Arts.

A problem which has arisen in the last couple of years is the lack of education for cultural managers in the fields of art and cultural heritage. At the moment, there is no under-graduate or post-graduate programmes in this field. Some subjects are taught at the Faculty of Social Sciences and in all three Art Academies. Progress was made in the field of restoration when an under-graduate course was introduced in 1996 (not all kinds of cultural heritage). A professional programme for carving and restoration of wooden objects was also introduced on the secondary school level.

The amount of financial support for scholarships and school fees provided by the Ministry of Culture, in 2005, was 770 833 euros (ca 120 students). The scholarships and school fees were provided for students in different fields of art and audiovisual culture, post-graduate study abroad and education for cultural professions in multimedia cultures, as art critics, in restoration, for translators of classic works of literature and humanism. Support for under-graduate studies abroad are only financed when there is no similar under-graduate programme in Slovenia.

Arts education is one of the priorities of the National Programme for Culture and is defined as creative education and education for creativity. Special attention is placed on the cultural content in pre-elementary education (nursery, kindergarten), in school curricula and in the teaching programmes of cultural institutions. One of the main goals is to link cultural and educational sub-systems and to re-establish mechanisms for a systematic and organised network of both. To this aim, in 2006, the Minister of Culture and the Minister of Education announced that the school year of 2006/2007 was to be a Year of Culture. Kindergartens and schools on elementary and secondary level are invited to focus on cultural education and include special programmes of the cultural institutions to their regular activities. The Ministry of Culture established a special website, with data on all of the cultural programmes for children and young people. It also continued with the programme "Growing with the book", which means that every pupil in the seventh year of elementary school receives one literary book. The Ministry of Education dedicated its annual public tender Hidden Treasure to "culture and creativity" and announced special training and consultation for teachers and school principals. A cultural bazaar is planned also as an event where cultural organisations can meet the schools and inform them of their educational activities and programmes. In 2006, the cultural bazaar was devoted to the presentation of cultural public institutions. "Cultural days" continue as part of schools' extra-curricular programmes.

Slovenia/ 8.3 Arts and cultural education

8.3.2 Intercultural education

Basic documents for education, such as the White Paper on Education (1996) or special legislation, take into consideration an intercultural approach to school activities, together with the appreciation of Slovenian culture and tradition. In elementary schools, some of the mandatory subjects - Slovenian language, Society, Geography, History, German language - include intercultural education. Interculturalism and tolerance are also covered by optional subjects such as Philosophy, Religion and Ethic and Civic Education.

In the school year 2003/2004, the National Education Institute published the Catalogue of Counselling Services, in which schools were given the opportunity to organise an advisory service or a thematic conference, where a counsellor of the Institute would present the possibilities for encouraging interculturalism in school. In the school year 2002/2003, schools received a circular letter from the Minister of Education and the director of the National Education Institute, in which special importance was given to intercultural education.

Intercultural education also includes modules about the cultures of other communities living in Slovenia.

For more information, see our Intercultural Dialogue section.

Slovenia/ 8.4 Amateur arts, cultural associations and community centres

8.4.1 Amateur arts

The information in this chapter has been prepared by Vojko Stopar, Fund for Amateur Cultural Activities.

Amateur arts have a specific tradition in Slovenia, especially as an important source of national cultural identity with a special role in social processes, because of its specific social functions.

In the last 10 years, the position of amateur arts in Slovenia has not changed much. They are still defined as organised forms of free-time mass cultural activities which contain cultural and social dimensions.

In the domain of culture, amateur arts are extremely diverse in its essence: it is close to traditional folk culture in some milieus, aspires to top forms of professional culture, or remains an expressive part of contemporary subculture.

Amateur arts also provide access to culture which is not determined by the social status of an individual or by the specific circumstances of an individual, such as disability, or by regional factors.

An important function of amateur arts is promotion of cultural diversity, intercultural dialogue, creative pluralism and cultural goods. A large number of creative works, regardless of their genre, audience, aesthetic taste, ideology or ethnic content is characteristic of such activities and are also aimed at involving vulnerable people in social life.

The presence, activities, knowledge and experience of amateur / voluntary arts organisations are important factors in the complex provision of cultural goods, public awareness of the importance of top quality artistic events and quality of cultural life in general.

Amateur arts as social activities therefore contribute to social cohesion in the sense of:

a possibility for social involvement of marginalised social groups;
a way of improving relationships inside specific social groups;
a psychotherapeutic category as an instrument for psychogenic effects, psychophysical prevention and maintenance of psychological stability;
discovering new personal potentials and ways of acting; and
entrance into new social relationships and improvement of the existing ones.

Because of both qualities cultural and social, amateur arts in Slovenia were always strongly, directly or indirectly supported by the government on the state or local level. Slovenian independence from Yugoslavia in 1991 brought about a new system of local government that rocked the foundations of the funding for amateur culture which was tied to the network of 68 local communities (now 210 local communities). A lack of consensus among them endangered the organisational and financial structure of amateur culture.

In 1996, the government established the Fund for Amateur Cultural Activities (since 2000 Public Fund for Cultural Activities - JSKD) to prevent the collapse of an expert and financial framework supporting the work of cultural societies. With this fund, the government started to take direct responsibility for civil society institutions. The JSKD is obliged to support amateur cultural societies and their unions. It also acts as cultural intermediary, performs organisational and administrative services in the field of culture for local communities and is vehicle of cultural policy in many places. The JSKD has expert and administrative personnel at its headquarters in Ljubljana and 59 local offices in all major urban centres in Slovenia. The Fund also organises reviews and promotional events on the local, regional, and national level for all art fields (music, theatre and puppet theatre, folklore, film, dance, fine arts, literature, and intermedia projects), thus allowing interactive comparison and evaluation of achievements and can be said to stimulate innovation and creativity.

The JSKD makes annual calls for financing of projects and programs, provides small investments and equipment for cultural groups and youth culture centres and societies. In addition, almost every local community is supporting "everyday life" of cultural groups and societies on their territory with rooms and financing.

Data from 2005 shows that there are approximately 4 000 groups of amateur arts, most of them are choirs (about 1 550), theatre and puppet groups (450), folklore dancing groups (350), contemporary dancing groups (200), fine arts groups (200), literature groups (150), wind orchestras 150), groups specialising in cultural heritage (100), etc. There are about 100 000 individuals involved in amateur arts activities. They have organised 17 700 cultural events for almost 3 million spectators.

The most prominent activities are choral singing (http://www.rapportbalalandras.free.fr), folklore dancing and wind orchestras, but also all other activities are of a high quality level.

In the last few years, intercultural dialogue was one of the main topics of the JSKD programmes, especially providing financial and organisational help to ethnic minorities, their cultural groups and associations.

On the international level, JSKD is one of the founder - partners of the regional (Central and Southeast Europe) network of socio-cultural organisations and institutions called European Culture Cooperation -ECuCo (http://www.European-Culture-Coop.net). The Network organises conferences, colloquia and other gatherings, joint cultural projects (festivals, exhibitions), enhances exchange of information, mobility of artists (professional or unprofessional) and cooperation among festivals.

JSKD is also a member of the Initiative Committee (together with representative organisations from Denmark, the Netherlands and Belgium) of the European Network for Active Participation in Cultural Activities NAPCA (http://www.amateo.info). The Network, with the goal of connecting socio cultural or amateur art organisations working on the national level in all European countries (47), will be launched at a conference in Ljubljana, in June 2008.

In 2007, possible changes in the organisational structure of amateur arts in Slovenia were announced as a result of the new Laws on Regionalisation. It is expected that the responsibility for maintaining the high level of amateur arts activities will be taken over by regional administrations; the branch offices of the JSKD will be abolished and the JSKD will just maintain its role as a coordinator.

Slovenia/ 8.4 Amateur arts, cultural associations and community centres

8.4.2 Cultural houses and community cultural clubs

There are approximately 980 cultural centres in Slovenia located in smaller towns. They provide the main space for creation, socialising and concerts. They also provide shelter to amateur cultural associations especially in the fields of music and theatre. There are new cultural centres emerging which focus on contemporary creative forms and are particularly attractive for young people. These "youth cultural centres" encourage new innovative cultural practices and give young people access to modern technology. There are about 60 youth cultural centres in Slovenia which are located in bigger urban areas. Both the cultural centres and youth cultural centres are mainly owned by local communities, which finance their operations and maintenance.

Since 1998, the Providing Funds for some Programmes in the Culture Act, allocates some state support for the preservation and development of amateur culture and to equalise related standards among municipalities. These resources are intended to co-finance urgent investments and to purchase equipment which is required. Unfortunately from the planned budget of 5 000 000 euros (for the period 1998-2003), only 1 450 000 euros or 30% was allocated. The Act was prolonged in 2004 for another five years. Although the planned budget for the extended period is almost 8 300 000 euros for all foreseen programmes, only 1 700 000 or 20% of the funding is expected to be granted as can be seen in the allocations granted during the first two years of the period 2004-2008 and planned state budget for the 2007 and 2008.

Slovenia/ 9. Sources and Links

9.1 Key documents on cultural policy

Čopič, Vesna; Tomc, Gregor; Wimmer, Michael: Kulturna politika v Sloveniji. Ljubljana: Fakulteta za družbene vede, 1997.

Čopič, Vesna; Tomc, Gregor: "Threat or opportunity? Slovenian cultural policy in transition" in: Journal of Arts Management, Law, and Society Vol.30, no.1 spring 2000, str.42-52, ISSN 1063-2921.

Ministry of Culture, News, See http://www.mk.gov.si/en/splosno/novice/archive/

Ministrstvo za kulturo: Predlog zakona o varstvu kulturne dediščine. See http://www.mk.gov.si/slo/.

Ministrstvo za kulturo: Predlog zakona o Javni agenciji za knjigo Republike Slovenije. See http://www.mk.gov.si/slo/

Gosselin, Tania: Minority Media in Hungary in Slovenia. Ljubljana: Peace Institute, 2003.
See http://www.mirovni-institut.si/slo_html/publikacije/Gosselin01.pdf

Milosavljevič, Marko: Television Across Europe: regulation, policy and independence -Slovenia. Budapest: Open society Institute, 2005. See http://www.eumap.org/topics/media.

Ministrstvo za kulturo: Analiza stanja na področjih kulture in predlog prednostnih ciljev. uednik. Grilc, Uroš, Ljubljana: Ministrstvo za kulturo, 424. See http://www.mk.gov.si/slo/.

Ministrstvo za kulturo: Resolucija o nacionalnem programu za kulturo 2004-2007. http://www.mk.gov.si/slo/.

Ministrstvo za kulturo: Slovenski nacionalni kulturni program. Predlog, Ljubljana: Nova revija, 2000.

Ministrstvo za kulturo: Poročilo o (so)financiranju kulturnih programov in kulturnih projektov v letu 2006. See http://www.mk.gov.si/slo/.

Ministrstvo za kulturo: Predlog Nacionalnega programa za kulturo 2008-2011. http://www.mk.gov.si/slo/.

Ministrstvo za kulturo: Poročilo o (so)financiranju kulturnih programov in kulturnih projektov v letu 2005. See http://www.mk.gov.si/slo/.

Ministrstvo za kulturo: Poročilo o (so)financiranju kulturnih programov in kulturnih projektov v letu 2004. See http://www.mk.gov.si/slo/.

Državni proračun 2006: Obrazložitev finančnega načrta Ministrstva za kulturo. See http://www.gov.si/mf/slov/proracun/sprejet_proracun/2006/obrazlozitev_posebnega_dela.htm

Slovenia Cultural Profile
See http://www.culturalprofiles.net/Slovenia/Directories/Slovenia_Cultural_Profile/-5.html

Slovenia/ 9. Sources and Links

9.2 Key organisations and portals

Cultural policy making bodies

Republic of Slovenia - National Assembly
http://www.dz-rs.si/index.php?id=192

Government of the Republic of Slovenia
http://www.gov.si/vrs/index.php?lng=eng

Ministry for Culture
http://www.mk.gov.si

National Council for Culture
http://www.mk.gov.si/si/strokovne_komisije_sveti_in_skladi/nacionalni_svet_za_kulturo/

Slovenian Fund for Cultural Activities
http://www.jskd.si/

Slovenian Film Fund
http://www.film-sklad.si/html/old/eng/index.html

Professional associations

The Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts
http://www.sazu.si/

Slovene Writers' Association
http://www.drustvo-dsp.si/

Association of Slovene Publishers
http://www.drustvo-zaloznikov.si/

Slovene PEN Centre
http://www.penslovenia-zdruzenje.si/html/introduction.html

Professional Association of Publishers and Booksellers of Slovenia
http://www.gzs.si/DRNivo2.asp?ID=8162&IDpm=323

Slovene Association of Literary Translators
http://www.dskp-drustvo.si/html/o_drustvu.html

The Reading Badge of Slovenia Association
http://www.bralnaznacka.com/

Archival Association of Slovenia (AAS)
http://www.arhivsko-drustvo.si/

Association of Slovene Filmmakers
http://www.drustvo-dsfu.si/

Society of Slovene Composers
http://www.dss.si/

Association of Museums of Slovenia
http://www2.pms-lj.si/SMS/index.html

Slovene Museum Society
http://www2.pms-lj.si/smd/

Union of Slovene Library Associations
http://www.zbds-zveza.si/

Publishing, Printing and Media Association, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia
http://www.gzs.si/

Association of Slovene Festivals (SloFA)
http://www.nd-mb.si/

Union of Cultural Societies of Slovenia (ZKDS)
http://www.zveza-kds.si/

Association of Ballet Artists of Slovenia
http://www.dbus.si/

Union of Slovene Folklore Groups
http://www.zveza-zltss.si/

Slovene Drama Artists Association
http://www.ljudmila.org/~zdus/

Grant-giving bodies

Ministry for Culture
http://www.mk.gov.si

Slovenian Fund for Cultural Activities
http://www.jskd.si/

Slovenian Film Fund
http://www.film-sklad.si/html/old/eng/index.html

Office for Youth of the Republic of Slovenia
http://www.ursm.gov.si/

Trubar Foundation
http://www.drustvo-dsp.si/

Ministry of Foreign Affairs
http://www.mzz.gov.si

Ad Futura,Science and Education Foundation of the Republic of Slovenia
http://www.ad-futura.si/

British Council
http://www.britishcouncil.org/

Goethe Institute
http://www.goethe.de/

French Cultural, Scientific and Co-operative Service of the Embassy of the Republic of France in Ljubljana
http://www.ambafrance.si/

Ad futura, Science and Education Foundation of the Republic of Slovenia
http://www.ad-futura.si

Cultural research and statistics

Centre for Cultural Policy Research, Peace Institute
http://www.mirovni-institut.si/

Legal Information Centre for NGO Slovenia (PIC)
http://www.pic.si/

Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia
http://www.stat.si/

Culture / arts portal

Slovenia Cultural Profile
http://www.culturalprofiles.net/Slovenia/Directories/Slovenia_Cultural_Profile/-5.html

SCCA - Ljubljana Center for Contemporary Arts
http://www.scca-ljubljana.si/

L'MIT, Ljubljana Network of Info Points
http://www.lmit.org/

Student Resource Centre, KIBLA Multimedia Centre
http://www.kibla.org/

PINA, Primorski informacijski atelje, Koper
http://pina.soros.si

Cultural Contact Point Slovenia
http://www.scca-ljubljana.si/ccp

Media Desk Slovenia
http://www.mediadesk.si/

Artservis
http://www.artservis.org/

The Council of Europe/ERICarts "Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends in Europe, 9th edition", 2008

Channel		Launch	Diffusion	Technical penetration (per cent)	Output (hours / week)	Programming	Revenue source
Public	SLO 1	1958	T, C, S	97.0	168	Generalist	L-F / Adv.
Public	SLO 2	1972	T, C	95.0	129	Sports, Series, Documentaries	L-F / Adv.
Private	Pop TV	1995	T, C	80.0	134	Series, Movies, News	Adv.
	Kanal A	1991	T, C	80.0	112	Series, Movies	Adv.
	TV 3	1995	T, C	75.0	128	Series, Documentaries	Adv.

		Hours aired	% of total
Total (excluding advertising, television sales and trailers)		11 735	100
Type of production	In-house and commissioned production - first run	3 512	29.9
	Other production - first run	3 016	25.7
	Repeats	5 207	44.4
Source of works	Original Slovenian works	7 257	61.8
	US works	503	4.3
	European works	3 368	28.7
	Other	607	5.2

Sort of cultural activities	Number of units	Number of employees	Turnover	Capital	Profit
DE/22.110 Publishing of books	196	1 149	9 441 666	5 454 583	5 191 666
DE/22.120 Publishing of newspapers	105	1 551	153 258 333	5 610 833	6 466 666
DE/22 Publishing of periodicals	149	512	53 287 500	6 987 500	1 341 666
DE/22.140 Publishing of phonograms	67	132	11 287 500	4 704 166	456 250
DE/22.150 Other publishing	123	226	13 641 666	3 733 333	1 179 166
O/92.110 Film and video production	225	481	65 366 666	37 241 666	11 795 833
O/92.120 Film and video distribution	33	64	2 850	-5 604 166	462 500
O/92.130 Cinematography	82	217	15 912 500	16 016 666	-2 841 666
O/92.200 Broadcasting	209	3 041	34 704 166	8 720 833	1 287 500
O/92.400 Press agencies	411	463	3 120 833	395 833	77 083
O/92.330 Fairgrounds / entertainment	26	45	4 258 333	10 706 416	202 083
O/92.340 Other entertainment activities	166	187	4 191 666	1 337 500	139 583
O/92.530 Zoos and botanic gardens	21	235	579 166	0	2 083
TOTAL	1 813	8 303	466 875 000	194 960 416	13 964 583