International activities are most concentrated in the capital Ljubljana, which has the largest number of cultural facilities. However, useful potential partners and partner organisations may also be identified in outlying regions where cultural programmes are steadily increasing in number and considerable effort is invested in attracting audiences.

The high level of communication in foreign languages, especially English, is high. German is spoken in the area of the country adjacent to the Austrian border, Italian in the western coastal region and Hungarian in the eastern region, and schools give pupils the option of learning either French or Spanish as a second foreign language. Knowledge of the German language is indispensable for historical studies and furthermore students of Slovenia’s two universities are required to study predominantly from original literature or English translations, since foreign technical literature translated into Slovene is very limited. For a small language group of less than two million native speakers multilingualism has always been a pragmatic necessity, but the ease with which Slovenes communicate with their neighbours also has much to do with the fact that Slovenia’s western borders have always been open, since the former Yugoslavia was not located behind the Iron Curtain.

Well-designed catalogues and other printed materials relating to Slovene culture are widely available in English. In recent years there has also been an increase in the number of bilingual websites for cultural institutions. The use of E-mail for arts business communication is well established in Slovenia, although as elsewhere face-to-face visits are always more effective.

Cultural information and resource centres (for example, the Slovene Music Information Centre) are still quite rare, although sectoral associations, societies, organisers and programmers constitute an important source of information for those looking for guidance and advice. In the case of cultural exchanges of a broader type, the Ministry of Culture and its Sector for Promotion and International Co-operation can also be contacted for information. See also the chapter on Cultural co-operation agreements for some past or future activities of the Ministry of Culture.

Once a potential partner has been identified, the doors of most institutions are open for further discussions and project presentation. Working teams are usually quite small, so visitors should not be surprised if they are immediately sent to meet the director, however criteria are quite stringent and programmes are usually packed at least a year in advance.

In a country as small as Slovenia, with a tiny art market, a small number of performance re-runs and a limited number of catalogue print runs, every cultural and artistic project is necessarily a not-for-profit venture and quite a costly enterprise which, in the case of international collaborations, requires matching funds from international partners. Slovenia is in a paradoxical situation: as a country it is relatively well-off, but apart from the Ministry of Culture and the local city councils there are relatively few foundations that can be applied to for funding (please see the section on Cultural funding for more information). Foreign funds (eg the European Commission’s Culture 2000 Programme) were only recently made available to the Slovene cultural sector but it should be stressed that Slovene applicants have been quite successful. Private donations and corporate sponsorship for cultural activities in Slovenia is developing, albeit slowly.

Those wishing to launch a large-scale co-production project involving a Slovene partner should be aware of timing criteria. Cultural institutions must send their programmes to the Ministry of Culture or local city council annually, usually in November, for consideration and decision regarding budget allocation for the following year. In recent years organisations have also been required to plan their programmes three to five years in advance and to submit preliminary contracts and written confirmation of matching funds from international partners along with their applications for government funding. That said, a few institutions can take on small-scale touring projects at short notice, although in such circumstances space would probably be offered for a very short period of time, with limited technical facilities.

Last but not least, Slovenia has long been an ideal location for conferences. The tradition of organising conferences in Slovenia stretches back to 1821, when the Congress of the Holy Alliance was held in the capital city of Ljubljana. Today Slovenia has six modern conference centres, which host a large number of conferences, symposia and meetings from all over the world on an annual basis. Slovenia also has several professional conference organising agencies which offer a range of integrated event services; for cultural projects of this kind the point of contact is usually Cankarjev dom Culture and Congress Centre.

Slovene embassies and consulates abroad are information points for Slovene artists engaged in projects abroad as well as for numerous Slovene emigrant associations across the world. The largest number of them may be found in Germany, Sweden, Argentina, Australia, Canada and the USA.

The size of the national cultural environment makes international co-operation in more ambitious projects an economic necessity. Thus state policy has been to ensure organisational and financial support for occasional larger international projects which bear a promotional function. The Ministry of Culture and recently also the Ministry of Foreign Affairs aim at maintaining a balance in supporting programmes (such as guest appearances and international events at home and abroad) as well as sector development (such as technical and professional assistance, training grants and scholarship). The systematic integration of Slovene culture into international events can be attained through continuous attention to quality, level of interest and innovation comparable with the international environment.