State Secretary Kirbiš Rojs takes part in discussion on cultural heritage in development programmes for the 2021-2027 period
Ljubljana, 14 February 2022 – State Secretary mag. Monika Kirbiš Rojs today participated in the discussion Cultural heritage in development programmes for the 2021-2027 period which was held in the National Council of the Republic of Slovenia.
The discussion was organised by the Commission for Economy, Trade, Tourism and Finance and took place in the National Council of the Republic of Slovenia. The event featured three thematic sets: opening of the event with opening remarks delivered by the President of the National Council of the Republic of Slovenia, interventions of speakers, and final discussion with conclusions.
The European Union has recognised the immense importance and role of cultural heritage in Europe’s development in its main development documents already some time ago. In fact, the European Council and the Parliament declared the year 2018 as the European Year of Cultural Heritage. Today’s discussion called Cultural heritage in development programmes for the 2021-2027 period aimed to take stock of the situation and developments regarding cultural heritage in Slovenia, and to assess the degree of integration of cultural heritage in various sectors. In the conclusion, the event called for a more systematic approach and understanding of cultural heritage, in particular in relation to protected historic city centres.
State Secretary mag. Monika Kirbiš Rojs in her intervention on the topic of Cultural heritage in 2021-2027 Cohesion Policy explained that current government placed particular attention on the area of culture. This reflects in the record high budget of the Ministry of Culture for the period 2021-2023, which exceeds EUR 200 million for the first time in the country's history. In the 2014-2020 period, the country dedicated EUR 48 million in EU funding to culture. The Recovery and Resilience Plan has further EUR 57 million ring-fenced for culture, i.e. for digitalisation as well as for renovation and conservation of cultural and cultural heritage infrastructure. State Secretary also touched on the multiannual financial framework 2021-2027 underlining that different similar measures should expect additional EUR 50 million from the European Regional Development Fund and the European Social Fund Plus.
The three-and-a-half-hour long discussion, which aimed to take stock of the situation in the area of cultural heritage in Slovenia, featured a number of interesting guests who participated in the final panel discussion and made conclusions.
The event was livestreamed and can be watched again. The recording is available at the website of the National Council of the Republic of Slovenia.