Vasko Simoniti

Ljubljana – Prime Minister Robert Golob announced on Friday a prompt start of renovation works at SNG Drama in Ljubljana. Visiting the country’s leading theatre in the company of Culture Minister Asta Vrečko after delayed renovation preparations, Golob expressed surprise at how the building had been allowed to decay to its current state.

Visoko – The Visoko Manor, once home to Slovenian author, politician and Ljubljana mayor Ivan Tavčar (1851-1923), is being renovated with plans to set up a rehabilitation centre and secure tourist accommodation to revive the local economy and enable higher-quality tourist services in the region around the town of Škofja Loka, north-west.

Ljubljana – The parliament passed the resolution on the 2022-2029 national culture programme on Tuesday. The coalition expressed its support for the strategic document, which comes after the last of its kind in 2017, while the centre-left opposition was against it, saying it does not offer solutions to address the status quo in this field.

Ljubljana – Igor Samobor, the director of Ljubljana’s SNG Drama theatre, has resigned due to what he described as government foot-dragging over the badly needed renovation of the building of Slovenia’s largest theatre.

Ljubljana – Public Administration Minister Boštjan Koritnik met his Montenegrin counterpart Tamara Srzentić in Ljubljana on Wednesday. The pair shared the view that the pandemic has exposed the urgency for the public sector to digitalise, in which context they highlighted the citizens’ trust in new solutions as a key condition.

Ljubljana – Slovenia is celebrating Reformation Day on Sunday, a public holiday that marks more than just the start of the Reformation Movement in 1517, it also celebrates the beginnings of the Slovenian language.

Brussels – European Commission Vice-President Vera Jourova has called for a “swift solution to fund the STA that would fully preserve its independence” in a letter addressed to Culture Minister Vasko Simoniti.

Brussels – Culture Minister Vasko Simoniti met Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture and Youth Mariya Gabriel, as he was in Brussels on Monday to attend a session of the EU Council for Education, Youth, Culture and Sport and to present the priorities in the culture, media and audiovisual sectors during Slovenia’s EU presidency.

Ljubljana – The Environment and Spatial Planning Ministry rejected at the end of March the BŠP company’s request for a building permit to overhaul a rundown Ljubljana stadium designed by acclaimed architect Jože Plečnik. BŠP boss Joc Pečečnik says he will not give up on the project he launched in 2007 and will press charges.

Ljubljana – Culture Minister Vasko Simoniti held an online talk with Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatović on Wednesday to discuss media freedom and the freedom of expression, the Culture Ministry said. The pair also discussed the Slovenian Press Agency (STA) and proposed changes to the media legislation.