"Culture is a driving force of human development. It changes the reality of society, and is worthy of our support. Otherwise it is very difficult to express the sincerity of the wish we often express - to wake up into a different, better tomorrow," Minister of Culture Uroš Grilc wrote in his missive at the occasion of the Cultural Day.
He started the missive by an insight into the period in which the poet lived: "At the time of dr. France Prešeren we were able to win recognition as an entity worth considering only through cultural achievements, as at that time we didn't have our own, sovereign and independent state. The bond between culture and state thus remains especially strong, and an additional proof of the bond is also the tomorrow's holiday."
As the Minister emphasized, it is important that the Slovenian cultural creativity remains close to each individual citizen, and cultural policy has an important role in achieving this goal. "He/she won't find anything supreme in art, or take notice of the creative plethora, unless the right chord is struck. He/she must be able to read, hear, see, touch, taste – it needs to be accessible. The duty of the cultural policy is to make culture accessible, and at the same time to assure conditions in which a creative spirit can work and give. That is the concern of the employees of the Ministry of Culture, and our commitment."
He also wrote that although February 8 is the anniversary of Prešeren's death, we are not celebrating an end. It is the day for celebrating and hail human creativity, and through celebrating the creative power of expression we celebrate life itself.
The Minister also stressed that Slovenians are very tightly connected to culture: compared to other European countries our visits to libraries, museums, and theatres are above average. "Thus in 2012 we registered more than 26 million borrowings of library material, almost one third of the inhabitants are members of the Slovenian general libraries, the number of visitors of Slovenian museums exceeds one million, the same goes for theatres. On the other hand the comparison proves our above-average engagement in practically every form of cultural activities, from filmmaking and photography, playing musical instruments, singing, to sculpture and painting," the Minister listed some encouraging data.
He took advantage of the occasion and invited all the citizens of Slovenia to attend any of the numerous cultural events throughout the year. "The creators can offer you a lot, and in the end they will bow respectfully. We would also like to encourage those who will participate as creators to invest their best into their activity, their performance. They will receive sincere gratitude, and applause," Grilc added.
