According to Möderndorfer, what still keeps Slovenian art alive is Prešeren-like idealism (t/n: 'prešeren' also meaning 'merry' in Slovenian) as well as the artists' inner instinct to create. A substantial part of the keynote speech focused on the uncultured position of artists and cultural workers in contemporary society. The honorary speaker noted that politics would most certainly be more interest in culture if it brought big profits.

"Politicians should be cultured. However, every government so far has had not scruples about throwing our money into the arms of tycoons, banks, bad investments, they freely hand it over to foreigners, failed investments, percentage of sales – but has only fed culture with crumbs from the sumptuous capitalist feast and even more insultingly, the crumbs are getting smaller and smaller every year," criticised Möderndorfer, adding that the money invested into filling the capital hole in Slovenian banks would provide 35 years of financing for Slovenian culture and art.

This year's winners of the Prešeren Award for Lifetime Achievements (the so-called Grand Prešeren Award) are academic painter and graphic designer Metka Krašovec, who has been awarded for her outstanding and distinguished painting opus, and translator Aleš Berger, who has been recognised for his translating oeuvre. Recipients of the Prešeren Fund Awards are composer Nina Šenk, clarinet player, multi-instrumentalist and composer Boštjan Gombač, writer Mojca Kumerdej, composer Mitja Vrhovnik Smrekar, comic book artist Tomaž Lavrič and architects Lena Krušec, Tomaž Krušec and Vid Kurinčič from Arhitektura Krušec

P. G. (MMC); translated by K. Z.