Bilateral Cooperation with Developing Countries
From 2008 to 2011, the Ministry administratively and organizationally ensured, coordinated and signed contractual documents (agreements, programmes of cooperation, memoranda of understanding) in the area of culture and art with the following developing countries: Ukraine, Republic of Armenia, Republic of Azerbaijan, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the Arab Republic of Syria, the People’s Republic of China, Georgia, the Republic of Indonesia, the Republic of Turkey, the Republic of India, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of Macedonia and the Republic of Kenya.
The main objective of bilateral contractual documents with developing countries in the area of culture is to create legal frameworks for the support of the mobility of artists and cultural professionals abroad and to provide greater access to the market for the distribution of cultural goods and services. The bilateral contractual documents with the aforementioned countries were signed or implemented between 2008 and 2011.
These documents were implemented through organizations in the promoter’s competence of the Ministry, Slovak institutes and foreign embassies.
The contractual documents are related to audio-vision and copyrights, cultural heritage, cultural and artistic expressions in all forms and also include exchanges of artists and professionals from these areas. The contractual documents concluded at the level of the Ministry were financed from the budget chapter of the Ministry. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the SR is the administrator of all contractual documents concluded at the level of the Slovak Government.
One of the challenges in introducing this measure is the insertion of the reference to the Convention in bilateral contractual documents, particularly with third countries.
The Ministry and the organizations in its promoter’s competence organized, ensured and financially supported exchanges of artists and cultural professionals by means of which they contributed to facilitating international cooperation with developing countries. Participation at folk festivals, creative workshops of translation and poetry, writers’ discussions, literary seminars, international music festivals, international theatre festivals, museum expositions, international film festivals, cultural heritage exhibitions, presentations of disabled artists, exchanges of television programmes, participation in international fine art competitions, book presentations, naïve art exhibitions, music-dance performances, etc. were the outcome of this measure.