The Republic of Slovenia Public Fund for Cultural Activities (JSKD) is an important non-profit governmental institution for culture and art, with experts at its headquarters in the capital city Ljubljana and 59 local offices in all major urban centres in Slovenia. It is entrusted to support amateur cultural societies and their unions (see also chapter 6.4). It is functioning primarily as a focal point for informal education in culture and backs cultural projects. It prepares seminars for the members of various cultural groups, for mentors and school teachers as well as amateurs interested in art.
Arts education is also provided on an institutional basis “outside of school hours” by music schools but they are considered as a part of the education system. In search of new audiences (and from that to legitimise public funding) cultural institutions considerably developed their education programmes, especially for children and young people. The rapidly expanding programmes for educational purposes have become part of new marketing strategies especially of museums, followed by cultural centres, concert halls and theatres. For example, a new public interest in supporting the creativity and aesthetic capacity of young people led in to the creation of a special programme strand dedicated to cultural education in the biggest cultural centre in Slovenia, Cankarjev dom (see also: http://www.cd-cc.si/default.cfm?Jezik=En&Kat=0207).
On the initiative of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports, the Ljubljana City Library and the Educational Section within the Slovenian Museum Community designed a national project entitled Slovenian Library-Museum MEGA Quiz, which is based on the establishment of a partnership between general libraries, museums and basic schools. The Quiz, which has now been carried out for the fifth year, is intended for pupils aged from 9 to 15 years. The objectives of the Quiz are: learning about cultural heritage, information literacy, reading, and virtual and actual visits to cultural institutions (see: http://www.mklj.si/eng/index.php/partnerships/mega-quiz).
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