Civic Culture in Slovenia: “Museums as Spaces for Intercultural Dialogue,Learning and Discussion”

Andreja Rihter

(International Foundation — Forum of Slavic Cultures, Slovenia)

Abstract: This paper, which is not a study, but rather an overview of collaborative practices between institutions in the field of culture and education, presents examples of good practice in this area, both in Slovenia and the wider region. The focus is on the role of museums as cultural institutions in the learning process, in the course of informal learning. Today, museums are visited by millions of people and could therefore be compared with sports events. The most numerous museum visitors are the young who purposefully visit exhibitions and participate in special activities organised by museums. In the last 50 years museums have increasingly focused on young people, especially preschool children.
New museums targeting children are emerging as well, with their own economic mindset and goals. But new museums also open as the role of tourism and its special offering become more sophisticated. Today, museums welcome individuals and groups interested in learning something new, unusual and different. School children come to build up their knowledge and broaden their horizons through museum exhibitions. A mere reflection of everyday life that museums offer can draw people to a museum. Activities specially designed for visitors are particularly attractive: workshops, lectures, roundtables, encounters with historic figures and similar. This paper looks into examples of good practices in collaboration between institutions in Slovenia, where the culture and education sectors together offer novel, different forms of learning.

Key words: museum, education, visitors