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Division for International Cultural Relations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Sektor za mednarodne odnose v kulturi, Ministrstvo za zunanje zadeve RS
Street address: Direktorat za evropske zadeve in politično bilateralo, Ministrstvo za zunanje zadeve, Prešernova 25, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Mailing address: Direktorat za evropske zadeve in politično bilateralo, Ministrstvo za zunanje zadeve, P O Box 481, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Telephone: 386 (0) 1 478 2000
Fax: 386 (0) 1 478 2340, 386 (0) 1 478 2341
E-mail: info.mzz@gov.si
Website: http://www.mzz.gov.si
Proprietor: Directorate for European Affairs and Bilateral Political Relations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Contact: Helena Drnovšek Zorko Head
Telephone: 386 (0) 1 478 2302
Fax: 386 (0) 1 478 2393
E-mail: helena.drnovsek-zorko@gov.si
Contact: Lea Deželak
E-mail: lea.dezelak@gov.si
In co-operation with other ministries, the Division for International Cultural Relations is the centre of activity concerned with drafting and concluding international umbrella agreements in the fields of culture, education and science and the related inter-governmental protocols, and implementing programmes. In the period 1992-2004, 43 international umbrella agreements were signed - see the section on International cultural exchange and international programmes/protocols deriving therefrom. Agreements on cultural properties and the Fulbright Program were signed with the USA, along with agreements on the establishment and activities of cultural centres with France and Great Britain. Four other agreements followed, with Australia, Belgium, Japan and the Netherlands. Slovenia's bilateral co-operation in the fields of culture and education overlaps with the activities of multilateral organisations and initiatives such as the Council of Europe, the EU (see European Commission), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the Central European Initiative (CEI), Platform Culture - Central Europe, and the cultural activities of the Regional Partnership, the Stability Pact for SEE, the Adriatic Ionian Initiative (AII), Quadrilaterale, and the Višegrad Group. The Division is also in charge of activities involving Slovenia in the Anna Lindh Euro-Mediterranean Foundation (ALF) and the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF). As part of Slovenia's presidency of the OSCE it is involved in organising cultural events and activities aimed at realising one of Slovenia's priorities for its OSCE presidency - promoting inter-cultural dialogue within the area of Migration/Integration. On the multilateral front, the Division also monitors the work of the Forum of Slavic Culture International Foundation. One of its regular activities is co-operation with the TOGETHER Foundation.
Prior to 2004 the Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not have budgetary funds for foreign cultural policy, however modifications were made to the state budget proposal for the fiscal years 2004 and 2005 and the independent budgetary item 'foreign cultural policy' was accepted. Slovene foreign cultural policy is concerned with the presentation of Slovenia and Slovene culture abroad as well as with the presentation of foreign cultures in Slovenia, so the Ministry of Foreign Affairs signed an agreement with the Ministry of Culture on co-operation in international cultural policy for 2003 to 2007 to enhance their working partnership in the field.
The Division for International Cultural Relations has supported several cultural and artistic initiatives, eg the project Sarajevo Notebooks (up to 2007 14 Notebooks with texts by 300 authors of the Balkan region were published by a Sarajevo publisher) and the Lost Highway Project in co-operation with ŠKUC Gallery (cf http://www.galerija.skuc-drustvo.si/skuc2.html). In September 2006 the LJU COSINUS BRX Gallery was established on the initiative of the Division for International Cultural Relations, which presents works of art based on topical issues in science and technology. See the Intermedia arts Overview.
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