Dr Ignacija Fridl Jarc appointed Minister of Culture

New Minister of Culture dr. Ignacija Fridl and former Minister of Culture Dr Asta Vrečko | Author Nebojša Tejić/STA

During the handover, Minister Fridl Jarc and former Minister Vrečko reviewed the current state of the Ministry and its ongoing investments and projects. The outgoing minister expressed her hope that these projects would continue, noting that she was leaving the ministry in good condition. She thanked all her colleagues at the Ministry of Culture for their dedicated work, as well as artists, public institutes, non-governmental organisations, and amateur cultural societies for helping to create Slovenia's vibrant cultural landscape.

The outgoing minister wished her successor a successful term of office, and the new minister thanked her predecessor for her work.

The Minister of Culture, Ignacija Fridl Jarc, announced that the Ministry of Culture is committed to saying a firm "no" to bureaucracy and a firm "yes" to creativity in culture. She emphasised that all changes to cultural policy will be thoroughly examined in close cooperation with the Ministry's professional services. The minister also announced the establishment of new cultural frameworks for Slovenia. These are aimed at supporting decentralisation, strengthening the presence of cultural content throughout the country, improving public access to cultural content, fostering amateur culture and enhancing cultural public spaces. She underlined that culture does not stop at Slovenia's borders.

One of the current mandate's objectives is drawing up documentation for the new cohesion funding period. In line with the Coalition Agreement, the focus will be primarily on reducing unnecessary administrative burden "with the aim of making it as easy as possible for both artists and audience to access culture." Particular attention will be given to cultural and artistic education, as "the future history of Slovenian culture will be written by young people." Inter-ministerial collaboration will play a key role in this endeavour. Among other outstanding issues, the Minister pointed out the importance of making book materials accessible in school libraries. She also announced plans to cooperate with the Ministry of the Economy noting that "culture is linked to certain commercial activities, particularly in the context of film."

We extend our best wishes to Minister Ignacija Fridl Jarc for a successful term of office.