British Council Slovenia

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History

The British Council office in Slovenia was established in 1992. It has engaged widely in the Slovene social and cultural scene through co-operation with governmental and non-governmental institutions, ministries and independent programmers.

Programme

Some significant cultural and artistic projects that the British Council has been involved in since 2000 include: the site-specific installation Map to Paradise from Ljubljana by Peter Greenaway, in co-operation with the Muzeum Institute; From Cradle to Grave, consisting of selected drawings by Damien Hirst exhibited at the International Centre of Graphic Arts, Ljubljana; and co-operation with the Mladi levi Festival, the Exodos International Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, the Druga Godba Festival, the Ljubljana International Film Festival (LIFFe) and other events. Since 2003 a programme called ‘Animating Literature’ has hosted British authors Diran Adebayo, John McRae and Donald McLaughlin, amongst others. An anthology of contemporary British short stories, translated into Slovene through a co-operative project with the Student Publishing House, was launched in 2004.

On behalf of the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), the British Council manages the annual Chevening and Valvasor-Chevening Scholarships, which are aimed at people working in the cultural sector in Slovenia. Scholarships cover 3-12 months of postgraduate study at a British university or other relevant institution. Priority areas are entrepreneurship, business and management (including NGO management), commerce, finance, public-private partnerships (PPP), administrative reform, international relations (especially the EU), urban revitalisation, environmental studies, health, energy and economic reform. It is possible to apply in areas of commercial management of culture and cultural heritage, management of cultural tourism and management of audio-visual and media industry, and in the field of specialised technical professions and production in the area of performing arts and film.The Slovene Ministry of Culture provides matching funds for these scholarships. The British Council Slovenia also runs various science-based programmes (including the Network Research Programme) in partnership with the Slovene Research Agency (ARRS).

The British Council office in Slovenia collaborated with the UK agency Visiting Arts and the Ministry of Culture on the Slovenia Cultural Profile project (website and book).

Educational projects

Workshops relating to new approaches to cultural infrastructure and the creative industries (Modernising Heritage, City Revitalisation, Fashion, Design) were organised with Slovene partners in 2004. Since 2005 Slovenia has participated in the annual Young Creative Entrepreneur (YCE) programme awards competitions, focusing on Design (2005), Publishing (2006) and Screen (2007). Slovenes have been nominated as finalists five times, with young entrepreneurs being rewarded with a tour of the relevant UK industry, where they have met with key people from the trade.

The British Council in Ljubljana also supports English language learning by offering several UK exams - for example the Cambridge Young Learners and First Certificate, and the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), and International Legal English Certificate (ILEC) on a regular basis.

External links

http://www.britishcouncil.si http://www.britishcouncil.org