Shaped by historic encounters between Romanic, Germanic and Slavic cultures, Slovenia has long been a crossroads between east and west. It lies in close proximity to a range of important cultural centres and it is possible to reach Vienna or Venice by road in just three hours. Quality of life and social standards make Slovenia a model of cultural co-existence and economic prosperity, and foreign freelance creators living and working here have found it relatively easy to integrate with the local community.

Since Slovene independence in 1991, international cultural co-operation has increased greatly, as has membership of international networks at both state and local levels. Bilateral and multilateral agreements are numerous. In 2003 cultural programmes with Austria, Belgium, Italy, Germany, Slovakia and Mexico were co-ordinated by the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology. In 2004 these programmes also included work with China, Iran, Egypt, Turkey, Spain and Macedonia. The Sector for Promotion and International Co-operation of the Ministry of Culture was established with the aim of fostering and facilitating international co-operation in the field of culture and promoting Slovene culture at bilateral, multilateral and regional levels. The sector advances and prepares promotional strategy for Slovene culture in co-operation with other ministries, diplomatic-consular representatives, cultural institutions and other organisations. It supports new initiatives in the field of international co-operation and manages records on the execution of projects.

Since 2005 the Sector for Promotion and International Co-operation has announced special bids for cultural promotion, supporting high-quality Slovene projects that are hosted abroad (see below). Such international projects are evaluated by a special committee of experts from various disciplines. The Ministry of Culture also issues annual or biennial calls for international presentations of art to be presented at fairs and festivals, including the literature fairs in Frankfurt, Leipzig and Bologna. The Ministry also supports international events in Slovenia, such as presentations of Australian, African or Egyptian culture at Cankarjev dom Culture and Congress Centre or other festivals and international platforms (see below). In the Ministry of Culture's annual assessment for programme support, the extent of international co-operation and co-production ranks among the most important criteria for selection.

At present there is a lack of Slovene organisational infrastructure abroad as Slovenia has not yet established cultural centres in the main European urban centres and there are few Slovene cultural attachés. In the case of national presentations initiated by the Ministry of Culture it has previously proved difficult to source appropriate partners. The Ministry of Culture tries to ensure the continuous presence of Slovene culture abroad by offering international placements. For some decades it has been possible to send fine artists to international studios in Paris, and more recently the Ministry has acquired a studio in New York and an apartment for artists in Berlin. Freelance artists can apply for a residency at these locations on an annual basis. Since 2003 mobility of artists has also been funded through working stipends, competitions, awards and residency schemes.

The A+A Gallery was initially established in Madrid in the 1990s and later transferred to Venice, where it now functions as a site for Venice Biennale presentations as well as an exhibition space available for international projects. On each occasion a bid for the organiser and artist representing Slovenia at the Venice Biennial as well as Venice Architectural Biennial is announced by the Ministry of Culture, and its expert visual arts commission makes a selection.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs with its close links to the network of Slovene embassies and consulates around the world, has become an important vehicle for the presentation of Slovene art abroad, too. An example is the Consulate General of Slovenia in New York, which regularly collaborates with Slovene artists who reside in New York, including Fulbright grantees, residents at the Ministry of Culture-supported studio in Brooklyn, performing arts students (jazz, acting, etc) and others, organising presentations and lectures, usually in collaboration with CEC Artslink. The MFA Division for International Cultural Relations has supported several cultural and artistic initiatives abroad, eg Sarajevo Notebooks, the Lost Highway Project in co-operation with ŠKUC Gallery, etc. On the MFA's initiative the LJU COSINUS BRX Gallery, a conceptual gallery which presents works of art based on topical issues in science and technology (under the curatorial support of the Kapelica Gallery), was established in 2006 at the premises of Janez Potočnik, the European Commissioner for Science and Research in Brussels.

Several foreign cultural information centres seek to promote their culture in Slovenia, however they increasingly work on the basis of mutuality and frequently co-operate with local cultural operators. For more details see British Council Slovenia, French Cultural Institute Charles Nodier, Ljubljana, Italian Cultural Institute, Goethe-Institut Ljubljana, Austrian Institute and Aula Cervantes, Ljubljana. All of these agencies stimulate cross-disciplinary co-operation and manage cultural programmes that are often related to education, science, information and tourism. In Slovenia the British Council offers Chevening Scholarships and, together with the Slovene Ministry of Culture, Valvasor-Chevening Scholarships, which have enabled several young people to study cultural management in the UK.

During the 1990s a network funded by the Soros Foundation (active in Slovenia from 1991 to 2000) stimulated exchanges in the region of East and Central Europe, the Baltic states, and the ex-Soviet Asian countries through its Cultural Link programme. Since 2000 new co-operations, networks and partnerships have been developed through EU cultural programmes, international foundations such as the European Cultural Foundation (ECF) or networks such as the Informal European Theatre Meeting (IETM). Various other funding schemes support the mobility of arts professionals. Several Slovene artists and cultural managers have been successful in securing grants or residency programmes offered by CEC Artslink. This is an international arts service organisation whose programmes encourage and support exchange between the United States and Central Europe, Russia and Eurasia. Detailed information on the possibilities of getting support, jobs or stipends abroad in the field of arts and culture is available on the artservis.org website database. It has been developed by SCCA-Ljubljana Centre for Contemporary Arts and is also available in English.

The Sector for Promotion and International Co-operation also co-operates in the preparation and execution of joint European projects, it monitors Slovene co-operation in the Culture 2000 and Culture Programme 2007-2013 in co-operation with the appointed Cultural Contact Point Slovenia. In 2007 the Sector co-ordinated the process of selecting a city for nomination as 'European Capital of Culture' in 2012: the city of Maribor - in close collaboration with the five other cities in neighbouring regions - Murska Sobota, Novo mesto, Ptuj, Slovenj Gradec and Velenje - was selected for nomination to the European Commission - the proposed programme, organised under the motto 'Pure Energy', may be viewed at http://www.si2012.si.

Many Slovene organisations, from both government and non-government sectors, have been keen to embrace European networking. Since the first Slovene attempts to secure EU support in 2000 and 2001, Slovene participation in EU-funded cultural projects has increased significantly. Following the 2002 call for Culture 2000 Programme, Slovenia had as many as 16 co-organisers and partners participating in 23 supported projects, and in 2003, when for the first time it became possible for Slovene cultural practitioners to participate as project leaders, five successful organisations secured funding of € 171,323 from the EU budget to lead projects, while another eight Slovene organisations participated as co-organisers in seven successful projects. In 2004 the number of projects approved within the regular Culture 2000 Call and the Celebration of Enlargement Call more than doubled: 11 Slovene applicants secured € 999,326 of support as project leaders (four out of the 11 were translation projects!), nine Slovene organisations participated as project co-organisers and another 25 Slovene organisations participated as project partners.

In 2004 the Institute for Mediterranean Humanities and Social Studies, SRC Koper of the University of Primorska organised the project The Heritage of Serenissima and collaborated in the project From Underwater to Public Attention, while En-Knap Productions was the main organiser of the project CIMET-Cultural Intersections, Mobility, Education and Tradition. The project Theatre without Borders, organised by Slovene National Theatre (SNG) Nova Gorica within the scheme Action 3 of the Culture 2000 programme, was evaluated as one of the best cultural actions - through this project, nine theatre companies from six different countries were hosted by venues in Slovenia and nearby Italian Gorizia. In the field of visual arts Neue Slowenische Kunst - NSK State was granted support for the East Art Map project and KIBLA Multimedia Centre was involved as a co-organiser in a complex intermedia project TRG-Transient Reality Generators. A significant Slovene publisher in the field of humanities, Založba /*cf got support for its translation of the collection The Making of Europe, conceived in five languages by Jacques le Goff for a network of five eminent European publishing houses.

In 2005 five Slovene applicants secured € 378,737 of support, while 11 Slovene organisations participated as project co-organisers and another 19 organisations as project associated partners; thus in total 25 successful projects involved the participation of 35 Slovene organisations. In the year 2006 Slovenia was successful with six projects in the field of books, reading and translation: five successful translations projects were proposed by Študentska založba Publishing House, Sanje ('Dreams') Publishing House, ŠKUC Association and Apokalipsa Cultural and Artistic Association. The latter also attracted one-year support for its project Review within Review. Slovene applicants secured € 66,185 of support: 10 Slovene organisations participated as project co-organisers and another eight Slovene organisations as project partners; thus in total 19 successful projects involved the participation of 23 Slovene organisations.

By way of specific example, in 2005 in the field of cultural heritage Idrija Municipality launched the project Land of Lace, and the Slowind Quintet obtained support for the Slowind 2005 - Festival of Contemporary Music. The Institute of Ethnomusicology participated as co-organiser in the project Preservation and Online Fruition of the Audio Documents from the European Archives of Ethnic Music while the Paediatric Clinic of Ljubljana Medical Centre/Klinični Center collaborated with the French organiser Art dans la Cité and the local ŠKUC Gallery in organising workshops by local artists with children in hospital. In 2006 two projects in the field of performing arts were supported: Prešeren Theatre Kranj collaborated in the co-production NACHTASYL - Treffpunkt der Traüme, while the B-51 Cultural Society became involved in Tito - Gewisse Diagramme der Sehnsucht in co-operation with Macedonia. In the same year the three-year project Small seize, the net was co-organised by Theatre for Children and Youth (GOML), while the KIBLA Multimedia Centre from Maribor participated in two projects, Travel in Europe and the Guild for Reality Integrators and Generators project.

Details of EU support for international arts and cultural projects with a European dimension may be obtained from Cultural Contact Point Slovenia, an information office for the European Commission's Culture Programme 2007-2013.

In 2002 Slovenia entered the Eurimages programme and secured significant support for international film productions. Since 2003 independent Slovene organisations (film producers, distributors, education organisations, PR teams and festivals) have also been eligible for the MEDIA Plus and MEDIA Training schemes, which aim to stimulate European film production and the European audiovisual and multimedia industries. Europa Cinemas provides financial support to cinemas that commit themselves to the programming of a significant number of non-domestic European films and to the organisation of promotional activities concerning European films for young audiences: member cinemas in Slovenia include Kinodvor Cinema, Cankarjev dom Culture and Congress Centre in Ljubljana, Art kino Metropol Celje and Kino Odeon Izola.

In 2003 the MEDIA Plus programme supported the Slovene film industry to the tune of € 79,000, but by 2004 this had increased to € 314,405. The money was allocated mostly for the distribution of selected European films in Slovene cinemas, and only a small portion of it was spent on individual film projects (the films Temna stran zemlje ('The Dark Side of the Earth') and Estrelita, produced by E-motion Film/Vertigo). In 2005 support for Slovenia from the MEDIA Plus programme amounted to € 389,688, and was again utilised for film distribution, but on this occasion more money was allocated to individual film projects: 2005 films which benefited from MEDIA Plus support included Wai by Qollective, Polnjene bučke z Leninovimi možgani by A-Atalanta, Žiga Herberstein - Moscow Notes by Forum Ljubljana and Arsmedia, The Grandmothers of Revolution by Petra Pan Film Productions, The Installation of Love by Bela Film Ltd and Thea by Gustav Film, each of which was supported with the sum of between € 15,000 and € 30,000. Also in 2005, the Ljubljana International Film Festival (LIFFe) was supported with € 30,000. In 2006 MEDIA Plus support amounted to € 350,304 and the projects supported included Happy by Družina Krumpak and Cirkus Fantasticus produced by Staragara - Ljubljana, Grandma goes South produced by Studio Arkadena, Gravity and The Slovene Girl produced by E-motion Film/Vertigo, and Lara produced by Bela Film Ltd. Information regarding MEDIA Plus funding is available at the website of Media Desk Slovenia, which was established in 2003 within the framework of the Slovene Film Fund and has provided information and administrative support to the aforementioned programmes.

Some successful cultural projects have been funded by the TEMPUS PHARE Joint European Project in the field of museology, conservation and restoration. New educational partnership programmes involving the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany and the Czech Republic are planned. The project Minerva Plus (Ministerial Network for Valorising Activities in Digitalisation), implemented in 2004-2005, is supporting the digitisation of cultural heritage in Slovenia, enabling the development of a cultural portal and the sharing of good practice with other EU countries.

During the period 2004-2006 the Ministry of Culture was included in the implementation of projects paid for from Structural Funds, and successfully drew approximately € 15.5 million from this source. Within this framework, restoration of five castles (Snežnik, Pišece, Negova, Grad and Negova) owned by the Republic of Slovenia is being financed and a network of 15 regional multimedia centres established. A 'Cultural Information Backbone' infrastructure development for Intermedia arts – m3c Multimedia Centres Network of Slovenia - has also been co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). Every year there has been a public call by the Ministry of Culture for Slovene multimedia centres to apply for funding for their programming and infrastructure costs.