Creative Europe in Slovenia: Invida – Developing Cross-Sector Approaches Between Music, Education, and Technology
Creative Europe as a catalyst
Fortissimo did not emerge in a vacuum. The European project, which developed an educational platform for music teachers, brought together 24 partners from 14 countries – a number that raised more than a few eyebrows. Scepticism about whether such a large consortium could function was present even within European decision-making bodies. To be honest, I was also cautious at first. I knew that even five partners could present logistical and communication challenges, but with twenty-four you quickly find yourself imagining an orchestra without a conductor. In any case, a great deal can happen over the course of a two-year project.
And it did. One of the partners was acquired by an American company mid-project and suddenly became ineligible to continue. We had to find a new technical partner. At several others, staff turnover required rapid onboarding and knowledge transfer.
Yet this is precisely where the value of Creative Europe became clear. Programmes like this offer more than financial support – they provide a framework for realising innovative ideas that might otherwise remain in creators’ notebooks or a PowerPoint presentations. The programme allows creative energy to meet the production reality – deadlines, markets, accountability, reporting. It builds networks of partners, facilitates knowledge exchange, and supports sustainable financial models for continued development. It encourages you to look beyond your own borders and recognise that your own backyard is only a small fragment of a much larger reality.
When the local context is not enough
In Slovenia, where music education is well organised and often taught by qualified and motivated teachers, the idea for our project might never have emerged. Since the project was conceived to support primary school music teachers, in our environment there would have seemed to be little need for additional digital support.
But Europe is diverse. In many countries, music education is taught by whichever teacher has the most available hours, not necessarily the one with the greatest expertise or confidence in the subject. In such contexts, a platform like Fortissimo becomes a necessity rather than a luxury. It is a good example of how a local environment can limit perception of an idea’s relevance, while a broader European market reveals that the solution is not only meaningful but genuinely needed. At the same time, by bringing together music, technology and education, Fortissimo is a strong example of how essential cross-sector collaboration can be.
The importance of cross-sector collaboration
For most of my life, I have been closely involved with music and have frequently collaborated with creatives working in theatre and video production. Over the years, I have often encountered these same people in technology start-ups, advertising agencies, and educational institutions. Creativity is not confined to galleries and concert halls; it requires a mindset that finds innovative solutions despite constraints – something the business world also needs. Yet the two sectors speak different languages: artists think in concepts, feelings, and visions, while business focuses on numbers, efficiency, and profitability. A communication gap can easily emerge between them, and I often find myself acting as a translator.
Cross-sector projects supported by Creative Europe bridge this gap in much the same way. They enable creatives to articulate their ideas clearly, test them in real-world environments, and gain valuable experience within market systems. This leads not only to more realised ideas and practical knowledge, but also to a broader understanding of how art, technology, and entrepreneurship can coexist.
Technology as an addition, not a replacement
With Fortissimo, we did not intend to use technology as a shortcut or a substitute for teachers or specific activities, but rather as a thoughtful addition. By using augmented reality, 360-degree video and spatial audio, we offered students an experience that is almost unattainable in real life: standing in front of a symphony orchestra and conducting it, or standing on stage among the musicians and experiencing a performance from their perspective. In this way, technology becomes a means of expanding the experience rather than simplifying it.
Today, music and audiovisual content can be created in minutes without technical expertise, contributing to the decline of traditional professions and raising important questions about the rights and ownership of AI-generated content. Technological development is advancing so rapidly that trends may shift before a project is realised – a challenge even European decision-makers cannot afford to ignore. From identifying a trend to incorporating it into call documentation takes considerable time, followed by the application period, the evaluation process, and the two-year project implementation phase. Five or more years can easily pass, which is too long at today’s pace. At the same time, the speed of technological development makes it impossible, when preparing an application, to anticipate the tools and solutions that will ultimately be used to deliver the project. Traditional structures await adaptation, while creatives await innovative tools that open up new opportunities and pose new challenges.
Artificial intelligence can help generate project ideas, design projects, analyse markets, and prepare funding applications. However, more applications submitted places pressure on evaluators. If AI allows applicants to amplify an idea into extensive documentation, only for evaluators to use AI to condense the application back into a summary, we risk creating a game of bureaucratic ping-pong.
I believe there is a strong case for using AI as an initial filter for preliminary screening and structured comparison of applications in order to significantly shorten the evaluation process. Applicants could then be informed almost immediately after the deadline whether they are among the potential finalists, reducing uncertainty and accelerating the process. However, a crucial question remains: how do we maintain the balance between automation and human judgement? Technology should expand the possibilities for creation, not replace human creativity.
Looking ahead
Slovenia has been remarkably successful within Creative Europe, which I attribute to the small size of our market and the financial constraints that drive us towards innovation, optimisation, and cross-sector problem-solving. As a lack of domestic support often prevents ideas from being realised, the European framework becomes even more important, as it gives innovation and creativity the infrastructure they need.
Creative Europe serves as a testing ground for ideas that might otherwise remain local, offering a space where perspectives, cultures, and approaches can meet. It also demonstrates that even a small country can help shape the European space through well-conceived, innovative projects. I hope the forthcoming AgoraEU programme will provide the conditions for the continued development of creativity and culture. If it can maintain the stability of funding calls while allowing flexibility, and integrate new technologies thoughtfully, it will not merely keep pace with change but will also help shape it. That, ultimately, is what creativity is about.
See also
- Invida
- Creative Europe Desk Slovenia
- Mateja Lazar, Nika Mušič and Sabina Briški Karlić: Creative Europe 2024. Slovenia’s Imprint on the European Cultural Space
- Mateja Lazar: The First Decade of the EU Creative Europe Programme
External links
About the article
The text was prepared by Nika Mušič in May 2026, in the framework of the public procurement “Development and upgrade of information portals of the Ministry of Culture for the transition to the eKultura platform” in which Motovila Institute collaborates as a partner with Ljudmila Art and Science Laboratory.