The Ministry of Education and Sport agreed to the establishment of the Karel Pečko Foundation in 1997. Named after the famous artist (b 1920), it is aimed at the development of the Koroška region (north east Slovenia), stimulating Slovene cultural, scientific and other creative activity. Each year in September it announces a competition for undergraduate studies in the field of humanities (painting, sculpture, music, museology, art history etc), aimed at the most gifted students from the Koroška region. Two students are subsequently awarded a stipend for up to four years.