development report 2012 - UMAR

88 Development Report 2012
Development by the priorities of SDS – Integration of measures to achieve sustainable development
was exceeded during the period 2004–2007, and at the
most in 2007 (18.5%), when only five EU Member States
recorded a higher value for this indicator.
5.5. Culture
In 2010, general government expenditure on culture 333
remained at a relatively high level. The share of
general government expenditure on culture as a
percentage of GDP amounted to 1.38% (0.93% of GDP
on cultural services and 0.44% of GDP on broadcasting
and publishing). In 2009, both shares (according to the
latest international data) were among the highest in
comparison to other EU Member States. 334 During the
period 2005–2010, the expenditure on culture and its
share of GDP strongly increased, which was mainly the
result of a strong increase in expenditure on broadcasting
and publishing. 335 During the same period, expenditure
on cultural services also increased strongly in real
terms. 336 The expenditure growth is also connected to
some investments in cultural facilities carried out in
recent years and to the financing of major international
events that enhance the international recognition of
Slovenian culture. In 2011, the international project
Ljubljana – the World Book Capital was completed, and
the preparations for the European Capital of Culture
Maribor 2012 began. Moreover, the new Museum of
Contemporary Art opened, the Centre for Contemporary
Dance Art was established and the renovation of the
Slovenian National Theatre Opera and Ballet Ljubljana
was completed. In recent years, some other major
investments in cultural facilities have been made (the
Slovenian National Theatre Nova Gorica, the Cankarjev
Dom Cultural and Congress Centre, the Metelkova City
Autonomous Cultural Centre, the Museum of Modern Art
in Ljubljana), the Franja Partisan Hospital was reopened
and the Pivka Park of Military History was upgraded. The
333
According to the COFOG methodology. This covers
expenditure on cultural services and broadcasting and
publishing services. Expenditure on cultural services includes
expenditure on cultural institutions (libraries, museums, galleries,
theatres, monuments, zoos, botanical gardens, aquariums, etc.),
the organisation and support of cultural events (concerts, film
productions and other productions), scholarships, loans and
subsidies granted to artists, writers, designers, composers and
other employees in the area of culture.
334
In 2009, only Estonia's total government expenditure on
culture as a percentage of GDP was higher than Slovenia.
335
During the period 2005–2010, the share of general
government expenditure on culture increased by 0.52
percentage point, of which 0.14 percentage point is on cultural
services and 0.38 percentage point on broadcasting and
publishing. This expenditure particularly strongly increased
in 2008, when – according to the COFOG methodology –
expenditure also included expenditure on RTV SLO; the share
of expenditure also increased during the period after the data
acquisition change.
336
Expenditure on cultural services increased by 25.7% (in real
terms).
renovation of the existing facilities and the opening of
new facilities will contribute to a wider range of cultural
events on offer and the strengthening of Slovenian
cultural identity.
Relatively high general government expenditure in
culture in recent years have also been reflected in
visits made to cultural events, where the trends have
been mostly positive during SDS’s implementation.
In 2010, the number of visitors to museums and
exhibitions grounds continued to increase (by 10.8%,
reaching 2,882,400), as did the number of visitors to
theatre performances (by 2.3%, reaching 743,700). 337
In the same year, the number of people going to see
long films also increased (by 4.2%, reaching 2,888,400),
mostly on account of the higher number of cinemagoers
interested in Slovenian film productions (to 193,500),
while the number of cinemagoers who went to see
foreign feature films slightly dropped during that
period (to 2,694,900) 338 . In 2010, the total number of
visitors of all (foreign and Slovenian) feature films was
the highest during the implementation of SDS. In book
production the trends were less favourable in 2010. The
total number of publications (books and brochures)
dropped for the second year in succession. 339 In the area
of literature, an increase was recorded in the number
of foreign titles published, while in Slovenian literature
the favourable trends from previous years did not
continue, which had an impact on the reduction in the
total number of literary works published. Nevertheless,
the number of literary works published as well as the
total number of publications (books and brochures) was
higher than at the beginning of SDS’s implementation.
In public libraries, the number of members continued
to drop and reached its lowest level during the period
of SDS’s implementation (24.8%). In this respect, the
number of units of library material borrowed per person
also dropped (to 11.7). Such trends do not necessarily
mean that people are reading less frequently; they can
be the result of a more extensive application of new
technologies that enable the reading of e-books. These
technologies also provide wider access to literature. The
Slovenian digital library (dLib.si) also has a significant
impact on the accessibility of cultural content and the
preservation of cultural heritage; in 2010, the number of
337
Visitors to puppet theatres were not taken into consideration
because the 2009 statistical survey did not cover one of the
main reporting units. If puppet theatres were also considered,
the number of visitors would have been much higher in 2010.
338
In 2009, the number of people who watched Slovenian films
amounted to 51,800, while the number of foreign film viewers
amounted to 2,720,200. The high increase in the number of
Slovenian film viewers was mainly the result of viewing one
particular film.
339
According to the data available from SORS, experts in literature
and researchers from the field of publishing have highlighted
the problem of a rapid increase in the number of titles of works
published in recent years as a problem concerning hyperproduction
accompanied by a fall in the quality of publishing
standards (Analysis of the situation in culture, 2011).