Creative Europe in Slovenia: Pionirski dom on a Journey of Courage, Learning, and Trust
Pionirski dom on a Journey of Courage, Learning, and Trust
Pionirski dom Youth Culture Centre’s journey into the Creative Europe programme began not with success, but with a rejected application. That experience taught us an important lesson: if you believe in an idea, it is worth persevering – taking time to reflect on and refine it, and to find people who recognise its value. During this process, we received significant support from Motovila – Creative Europe Desk Slovenia, which helped us sharpen our project idea and situate it within a broader European context through expert guidance and clear feedback. From the outset, Creative Europe represented a space for learning: not only about designing and delivering projects, but also about ourselves – about how to articulate our mission clearly and how to stand firmly by the values of accessible, high-quality cultural education for young people.
From the very beginning, our project partnerships have been formed at the intersection of different levels of experience. Less experienced partners bring boldness and a fresh, unencumbered perspective, while more experienced partners contribute breadth, structure, and confidence. It is through this dialogue that genuine knowledge transfer occurs – in terms of content, organisation, finance, and communication. We, too, have grown as a team through these projects: preparing applications, coordinating international partnerships, delivering activities, and reporting have all required new competencies and gradual specialisation of staff. At the same time, we have repeatedly returned to the question whether we all share an understanding of the project’s fundamental purpose. When the core objective is clear, other segments – from production to reporting – can align with it organically. A direct result of our organisation’s growth is the establishment of the Department for Education and Development, which now systematically supports international collaboration and the transfer of knowledge into our programmes at Pionirski dom. Without participation in the Creative Europe programme, and without the experiences and encouragement it brought, this step would most likely never have been taken.
A special place belongs to those partners with whom we have collaborated since the very beginning of our involvement in the international arena. One of our most enduring partnerships was established with the help of Motovila, which opened the door to a significant international meeting in Finland and connected us with an organisation that, at the time, was seeking exactly the kind of partner we were. There, in direct contact – through conversations, doubts, and shared deliberation – we laid the foundations of trust with our Finnish partners, foundations on which we continue to build today, both within Creative Europe and across other European programmes. Long-term partnership cannot be taken for granted; it grows from reliability, honest evaluation, direct yet warm communication, and a shared understanding of why what we do extends beyond the confines of any single project.
Our current project, Mind the Gap, is a natural continuation of this journey. Together with our partners, we are exploring ways to reduce social inequalities and support the mental wellbeing of young people through high-quality cultural content. The European framework offers a broader perspective, the opportunity to compare practices, and, above all, the chance to collectively seek solutions we then bring back to our local environment.
Today, we understand international cooperation as an encounter between people, ideas, and values. Creative Europe has brought us not only projects but also relationships that have grown into friendships, and trust that extends beyond individual calls for proposals. It is in these relationships that our deepest conviction is affirmed: culture is not merely a set of programmes, but a space for community – a space where all individuals, regardless of background, have the opportunity to connect and grow. And perhaps it is precisely this experience that can give other organisations the courage to take that first step.
About the article
The text was prepared by Nika Mušič in May 2025 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.
See also
- Pionirski dom Youth Culture Centre
- 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