Symposium at the Cankarjev dom, Ljubljana, 17 March 2011

The Beletrina Academic Press in cooperation with the Forum of Slavic Cultures and the Literary Artistic Association Literatura organized a symposium about the new views on N.V. Gogol’s opus. The Forum was represented by Alen Novalija as one of the lecturers.

Russian evening at the National House, Celje, 21 March 2011

The Forum of Slavic Cultures supported the Invitation to Tea, an evening of Russian music, song and poetry, which was organized by the students and teachers of the secondary school Gimnazija Celje – Center. The event identity and the music part of the evening was carried out under the guidance of, among others, Mr Gregor Deleja, a member of the FSC Programme Council.

Codex Suprasliensis Exhibition, Brdo near Kranj, 22 March 2011

During the visit of the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Mr. Vladimir Putin in Slovenia, at the Conference Center Brdo pri Kranju, the Forum of Slavic Cultures, in cooperation with the Ljubljana National and University Library, presented an exhibition on the Codex Suprasliensis, the most precious object kept by the Slovenian National Library, which is included in the UNESCO programme for preservation of valuable documents Memory of the World. The exhibition was authored by Alen Novalija, who also prepared the accompanying brochure.

FSC Board and Programme Council Meetings in Moscow, 5 April 2011

In its April session the FSC Board approved the Rules of Procedure of the Slovenian Programme Council, created by the Slovenian Programme Council members, while the basis of the document was made up by Gregor Deleja.

Sašo Gazdić, the FSC Director at the time, put into order the FSC documentation and with the Board’s approval supplemented the official documents. In collaboration with the Omnimodo soliciting agency he composed the Act on the FSC Work Organization and Job Specifications, which was then confirmed by the FSC Board Chairperson Andreja Rihter on the basis of effective legislation and the Board’s decision.

In accordance with the FSC Statute, the above mentioned Act and the Board’s decision, on September 1, S. Gazdić appointed the members of the international Project Group for Consolidation of FSC Projects, whose duty is to scrutinize current and potential FSC projects (as well as their evaluation with respect to the Foundation’s purpose).

Contemporary Drawing Exhibition at the Cultural Centre Magaza, Bitola, 18–30 May 2011
On the International Museum Day, the international exhibition Contemporary Drawing by Stefan Bozhkov (Bulgaria), Dimitar Malidanov (Macedonia) and Zdenko Huzjan (Slovenia) was opened. The exhibition was organized under the auspices and with the financial help of the Forum of Slavic Cultures, and was accompanied by a rich three-language catalogue with biographical data and photos of exhibited works. After Bitola, the exhibition moved to the town of Prilep.

Double Exhibition at the UNESCO Headquarters, Paris, May-June 2011

During the days of Slavic culture and literature, a double exhibition took place at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris: World Heritage in the Slavic World (a photo review of monuments and natural sights under the protection of UNESCO), and the Slavs. Legends Past and Present. The event was prepared in cooperation with the Slovenian and Russian permanent delegations to UNESCO. At the vernissage, the Mission of the Forum of Slavic Cultures was presented by its Chairperson Ms. Andreja Rihter.

FSC Concert at the UN Headquarters, New York, 24 May 2011

The most of Slavic countries were represented in the concert at the United Nations Headquarters, which proved a resounding success. After Strasbourg, Paris and Moscow, it was the fourth concert of Slavic musicians staged by the FSC.

International Poetry Festival, Varna, 22–26 May 2011

The Forum of Slavic Cultures cooperated in the international poetry festival Slavic Embrace, which took place in the Bulgarian town of Varna in May. With the support of the Slovenian Book Agency, the FSC send there the poetess Cvetka Bevc.

New Titles in the 100 Slavic Novels collection

In 2011 in the Forum’s 100 Slavic Novels collection six titles were published, four in Serbia and one in Macedonia and Slovenia each. With the support of the Slovenian Book Agency and in collaboration with the Society of Slovenian Writers, The Last Villagers, a novel by the Macedonian author P. Andreevski, was published in Slovenian.

Exhibition Tour “Slovenian Book Illustration by Alenka Sottler”, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia

The Forum financially supported a series of exhibitions by the world-known and frequently awarded illustrator Alenka Sottler. The first exhibition, along with the workshop for children, was opened at the Bosnian Cultural Centre in Tuzla (Bosnia and Herzegovina) on May 26, the second was hosted by the Klovićevi dvori Gallery in Zagreb (Croatia), while the third one was held at the Kibla Gallery in Maribor (Slovenia).

Threefold cooperation with the Faculty of Humanities, University of Primorska

The Forum financially supported three projects of the Faculty of Humanities (University of Primorska): scholarly meeting South Slavic and Russian Areas in Contact. From the Myth of Slavic Mutuality to the Yugoslav Wars, May 12-13; the META Humanities international summer school with the main topic Migrations in the Mediterranean, July 4-15; and the summer courses of Slovenian language and culture Hello, This is Slovenian Mediterranean! All the events were attended by the experts and students from various Slavic countries.

Literary Evening in Prague, 15–19 June 2011

With the FSC’s logistic support, the Slovenian poetess Stanka Hrastelj took part in the IV International Literary Festival Stranou – European Poets Live, which was held in Prague, Beroun and the Krakovec castle in the Czech Republic.

The 47th Seminar of Slovenian Language, Literature and Culture, Faculty of Arts in Ljubljana, 27 June – 15 July 2011

The Forum financially supported the 47th Seminar of Slovenian Language, Literature and Culture, organized by the Centre for Slovenian as a Foreign or Second Language, functioning inside the Slovenian Language Department of the Faculty of Arts in Ljubljana. The Chairperson of the FSC Slovenian Programme Council Vladimir Žabot took part in it.

Summer School on the Island of Cres (Croatia), 23–31 July 2011

Together with the non-profit cultural organization Bunker from Ljubljana, and within the Balkan Express cultural network, the Forum held a summer school dedicated to the development of cultural politics, with the intention to continue the topic in 2012 (in the framework of the FSC activities and the European Capital of Culture – Maribor 2012. The school was attended by artists and authors feom Slavic and Non-Slavic countries.

Days of Poetry and Wine in Ptuj, August 2011

The prestigious literary event Days of Poetry and Wine again received the FSC’s financial support. The activities of the Forum were presented at the Festival by the FSC Business Manager Alen Novalija. Under the auspices of FSC, two literary evenings were held: the first in Ormož, August 23, and the other in Ptuj, August 25.

Struga Evening of Poetry, 25–28 August 2011

With the moral support of Forum and with the help of its Macedonian members, the eminent Slovenian poet Milan Jesih appeared in the Struga Evenings of Poetry. The FSC activities were presented by the Chairperson Andreja Rihter during the Festival.

International PEN Congress, Belgrade, 15 September 2011

At the International PEN Congress the 100 Slavic Novels collection was presented, along with the Forum’s other fields of activity. Besides the Belgrade publisher Gojko Božović, who was appointed the editor-in-chief of the collection by the FSC Board in its April session in Moscow, the participants and noted speakers of the event were also: Snežana Plavšić (FSC Board member from Serbia), Vladimir Kopicl (Chairperson of the FSC Programme Council), as well as the writers Dimitar Bashevski (Macedonia), Drago Jančar (Slovenia) and Aleksey Slapovsky (Russia).

Conference of the Archives of Slavic Countries, Ljubljana, Lipica, 3-5 November

The participants of the Conference, co-organized by the International Institute of the Archival Studies of the Maribor University, were representatives of archives from all the Slavic countries, with the exception of the Czech Republic. This was already the second conference that came about as a fruit of cooperation between FSC and the Archival Studies Institute. The participants agreed that the meetings of Slavic archivists should continue and their collaboration expand. The conference is a part of the umbrella project the Best of Slavic Heritage.

Slavic Artist in Residence Project, December 2011

In December the FSC Slovenian Programme Council began to carry out the Slavic Artist in Residence project – a programme of grants and residences provided for Slavic authors and artists. The Slovenian Public Fund for Cultural Activities offers residential flats, FSC supplies grants, while artists and authors in their turn have to appear in a public event during their stay at the residence. The programme was conceived by two members of the FSC Slovenian Programme Council – Igor Teršar (the Manager of the Public Fund) and Vladimir Žabot.

Project of Connecting Young Musicians from the Balkans and Southeast Europe

In collaboration with the Croatian Jeunesses Musicales, the Forum ran (and financially supported) the Musical Bridges project. The goal of the project is creating a network of young musicians which renders young Slavic musicians a better mutual knowledge, greater recognizability, and easier access to the public.

Craftattract Project

In Cooperation with the Museums of Croatian Zagorje, the FSC launched the Craftattract – a project of traditional crafts, which develops a long-term coordinated pattern of registering intangible heritage and its potential in the cultural tourism. Besides creating a huge database, the project attempts to define standards for exhibitions, organize round table discussions, and present the traditional crafts.

Studia Mythologica Slavica Academic Journal

In 2011 the Forum once again supported the publication of the Studia Mythologica Slavica scholarly review and its supplement. Together with the journal editors, experts of the Scientific Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, FSC undertook a long-term cooperation, which is going to be realized also through the interactive webpage and linking of university Slavic departments throughout the world.

The Best of Slavic Heritage and Creative Metamorphoses – preparations

The FSC Board in its April meeting in Moscow set a special fund for development of projects. In 2011, this was the source for funding initial stages of two projects (that were approved by the Board and the Slovenian Programme Council): the Best of Slavic Heritage and the Slavic Relateive(s): Creative Metamorphoses.

The coordination group of the Best of Slavic Heritage project met twice in 2011: in Novi Sad, June 6-7, and in Ljubljana, October 13. The group prepared a basis cultural heritage projects – especially for the museology seminars (that will take place in Novi Sad, Skopje, Piran and Sofia), and for the Conference on the Heritage of Socialism that will be held in the framework of the European Capital of Culture – Maribor 2012.

The fund was used to support the Cultural Society Samosvoj from Ljubljana, which organized a preliminary meeting for the project Slavic Metamorphoses that should be carried out in 2012.

Festival of Pannonia Ballads and Romances – preparation, Novi Sad, 17-20 November 2011

Near the end of 2011, the Chairperson of the Slovenian Programme Council Vladimir Žabot and the member of the same Council Slavko Šuklar visited Novi Sad. The aim of the visit was to prepare organizational and contents basis, as well as some concrete starting points for the future collaboration of FSC with the cultural institutions of Novi Sad and Vojvodina, which should take form of the Festival of Pannonia Ballads and Romances.

FSC New Web Strategy

In 2011, under the guidance of the web expert Vuk Ćosić, the FSC Internet strategy was developed, which foresees a far-reaching virtual activity and linking of FSC to partners through an updated web portal. The Internet strategy is a part of the FSC overall strategy, the basis of which was designed (with the help of the FSC main office, some members and partners) by Urša Prusnik.