Cultural policy
The constitutional basis of Slovene cultural policy and legislation
The 1991 the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia established the cultural rights of the population, including the right to artistic expression and several legal instruments concerned with intellectual property. The preservation and promotion of the Slovene language, as the major manifestation of a distinct Slovene identity, was an intrinsic feature of this constitutional settlement. The rights of minorities and disadvantaged peoples, including their linguistic and cultural freedoms, were protected, and mechanisms were provided to assist Slovenes living outside Slovenia. Created by the Constitution in 1991, the
Ministry of Culture is responsible for cultural policy and its implementation. The Ministry of Culture works in collaboration with other ministries in more and more areas where culture plays a role, for example social cohesion, education, sport, international exchange and diplomacy.
No fully-articulated legal basis for cultural policy objectives and the various sector-specific laws was promulgated until the umbrella law Exercising the Public Interest in Culture Act, 2002. The Act defines the public interest in culture and the fields of culture that provide cultural goods and public goods. Cultural activities are defined as all forms of creation, mediation 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 new media, publishing, libraries, cinematography and other fields of culture. This Act enshrines the social-democratic concept of culture as a key element in the development of a civil society where the ‘public interest’ is paramount, and underlines the State’s obligations to its citizens to manage and regulate cultural activities to serve this ‘public interest.’ However, in acknowledgement of the decentralised inheritance from the pre-1991 system, the State government also recognises the importance of the local and regional governments (municipalities) as providers of cultural services, and as a result significant state funds are devolved directly to the municipalities and their institutions.
Article 10 of the Public Interest in Culture Act provided the basis for the creation of a four-year strategy (2004-2007 National Programme for Culture). This strategy was designed to strike a balance between the preservation of Slovenia’s cultural identity and its development. This also included the strategic shift from single-year budgetary planning to a multi-annual (three-year) basis for non-governmental organisations. The purpose of the National Programme was far-reaching, covering educational programmes and vocational training, private-sector and business sponsorship, information technology, heritage, cultural diversity and access, the promotion of the Slovene language and the facilitation of the production of artistic creation. Its aim was to modernise practice, reduce inefficiency, increase transparency and create a self-sufficient cultural economy in the context of the integration of Slovenia into the European Union. The main objectives of Slovenia’s cultural policy, as laid out in the 2004-2007 National Programme for Culture,
were: ● Preservation and development of the Slovene language
The protection of the Slovene language as the primary language of education, commerce and political expression is a priority of all the State Ministries. Slovene is described as ‘a treasury of culture and one of the main national and state symbols.’ This is accompanied by recognition that bi- or multi-lingualism is important, especially in the context of Slovenia’s accession to the EU, and is in line with the EU’s policy of promoting European linguistic diversity. The Ministry of Culture prioritises projects that stimulate the development of written and oral Slovene, including the adoption of an Act on the Public Usage of the Slovene Language.● Promotion of cultural diversity
Drawing from the European Union’s Amsterdam Treaty (1997) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) document Our Creative Diversity (1993), Slovenia recognises the importance of cultural rights for all its citizens. Slovene culture is acknowledged as being a complex and diverse mixture of different traditions. Vulnerable and underprivileged groups such as the Roma people are also protected by cultural policy (and other state policy) in order to encourage diversity in cultural activities, and even Slovenes living outside of the Republic of Slovenia are supported as contributors to the Slovene cultural identity (see the Sector for the Book and Libraries, Ministry of Culture for information in this area).
● Ensuring the accessibility of cultural goods and conditions for creativity
Accessibility to culture and the arts, information about the arts, and the right to participate in cultural activities freely (as spectators or practitioners) are fundamental rights of all Slovenes, regardless of social or economic status, physical ability or geographical locality. Extending the access of the general population to the arts is an important on-going investment for the Ministry of Culture, including the creation of such things as regional cultural centres. Amateur arts are also supported through the Public Fund for Cultural Activities of the Republic of Slovenia (JSKD). Wider reform of the municipality funding system is also included in the National Programme and since the end of 2004 municipalities have taken over the funding of 36 municipal public institutions. ● Cultural education as creative education and as education for creativity
In line with the European Union’s policy to encourage links between culture, science, media and education, this objective promotes ‘cultural literacy’, particularly among schoolchildren and students. It is designed to ensure that the number of projects funded by the Ministry of Culture which involve children and young people in the arts increases during the lifetime of the National Programme.
● Education for professions in culture
Focused again at school children and school curricula, this objective aims to increase the number of students entering either professional cultural training or the cultural professions.● Culture as a category of development: culture as a generator of economic development, human resources, quality of life and social cohesion
It is an aim of the National Programme to increase the percentage of Slovenia’s gross domestic product invested in the creative industries. The creative/cultural industries are recognised in the programme as being vital tools for stimulating regeneration, social cohesion, personal development and improvement in the quality of life. In order to encourage investment in arts and culture from the private sector there have been a number of tax reforms. Private companies making a publicly beneficial donation (in any area, not just culture) may deduct 0.3 per cent of their turnover in one fiscal year, while sponsorship is an allowable business expenditure for tax purposes. Sales tax (VAT) is chargeable at 20 per cent on all recorded or written media (books, compact discs, videos etc), but artists with annual incomes below a certain threshold and the cultural services of non-profit arts and cultural organisations are exempt from VAT (this is elective in the case of the artists). Gifts to museums, libraries and archives are exempt from excise duty.
● Direct support for creators
This measure has led to the creation of working grants for artists (creativity grants) and the aim is provide at least 100 grants annually (see Cultural funding for more information). This measure also covers the need to modernise the self-employment status of artists and cultural workers, including introducing equity with their employed counterparts. According to the Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia, the total number of people employed in the cultural sector was 10,449 (of which 8,286 were employed in the public sector and 2,163 were self-employed) constituting approximately 1.33 per cent of the total labour market.● Information and culture
The policy document 'Strategy of the Republic of Slovenia in the Information Society' stresses the need for cultural information and access to such information (one of the purposes of this Cultural Profile).
● Modernising the public sector in culture
This far-reaching objective underlines all the aims described above, and re-states that reform in the administration of public institutions, employment law and funding (among other areas) is essential if Slovenia’s cultural economy is to develop. The importance of collaboration between cultural tourism, private enterprise and the subsidised cultural sectors is also reiterated. The roles of other Ministries (in education, science, information technology etc.) in the development of a creative society are described.
● Co-operation with Non-Governmental Organisations
This section aims to create the conditions in which non-governmental organisations can contribute to the implementation of the National Programme.
Since Summer 2007, the National Programme for Culture 2008-2011 has been under discussion at the
National Council for Culture and in the public forum.
The draft of the new National Programme for Culture 2008-2011 sets out the following as its main objectives: offering substantial support to professional creators in the field of arts and culture (individuals as well as organisations/institutions) for the creation of high-quality artistic programmes and projects and their presentation abroad; stimulating institutions to take on new challenges as well as ensuring the stability of their programmes; providing support for cultural networking and co-operation between all creators working in the field of arts and culture; promoting the Slovene culture and language at home, around Europe and worldwide; and stimulating partnerships between cultural practitioners and their counterparts working in the economic, education, higher education and civil society sectors.
The Programme argues that stronger support for artistic creation will establish the conditions for high-quality, original and international artistic creation, including bold experimental and research projects. It outlines the following strategic aims: ensuring freedom of media space and care for language and communication in an era of globalism; and protecting and conserving the heritage and developing the cultural environment and culture as a catalyst for employment and the country's development.
Financial statistics on culture
In 2006 public cultural expenditure (distributed by the Ministry of Culture and the municipalities) amounted to 0.86 per cent of GDP. Public cultural expenditure
per capita in the year 2006 was € 128. The share of the state in public cultural expenditure in 2006 was 60 per cent, the remaining portion being provided by local government. Nearly a third of the expenditure of the Ministry of Culture (28.6 per cent) was spent in the field of cultural heritage, followed by music (15.8 per cent), drama, dance and puppetry (13.8 per cent), libraries (6.9 per cent), visual arts (4.5 per cent), media (3.1 per cent), film (3.7 per cent) and publishing (3.2 per cent). As in many other small countries, sustainable domestic cultural development presents quite a challenge in Slovenia (small audiences, a limited number of larger venues etc). Statistics published by the Government Communication Office in its booklet
Facts About Slovenia, July 2007 estimated that a total of 1,029,000 spectators attended theatre and dance productions in the 2004-2005 season. Public funds remain vital to sustain the largest cultural institutions such as
Cankarjev dom Culture and Congress Centre, the
Slovene National Theatre (SNG) Maribor, the
Slovene National Theatre (SNG) Ljubljana - Opera and Ballet, the
Slovene National Theatre (SNG) Ljubljana - Drama, the
Slovene Philharmonic Orchestra, the
National and University Library (NUK), and many other public or non-for-profit private cultural institutions.
For further details of Slovene cultural policy please see the website of the Ministry of Culture -
http://www.mk.gov.si, and the online Compendium Cultural Policies in Europe at
http://www.culturalpolicies.net.
