| SLOVENIA - USA RELATIONS BILATERAL RELATIONS USA - SLOVENIA |
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| POLITICAL TRADE CULTURE SCIENCE SPORT TOURISM MILITARY COOPERATON | |
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| Cooperation of Education and Culture | |
| Cooperation of
Education and Culture On the basis of the Memorandum of Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Slovenia and the Government of the United States of America (Fulbright programme), the two Parties agree to exchange each year 5 to 6 scholarships for post-doctoral and post-masters education. In May 1996, an Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Slovenia and the Government of the United States of America on the Protection and Preservation of Certain Cultural Properties was also signed. The two Parties (The Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia - Office of the Republic of Slovenia for the Cultural Heritage on the part of Slovenia and the Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad on the part of the USA) appointed members of a Joint Cultural Heritage Commission. The Joint Cultural Heritage Commission, which met in October 1997, determined and harmonised the list of the American Jewish cultural heritage on the territory of the Republic of Slovenia and agreed on the protection of this. The two delegations agreed that the state and position of objects determined in article 1 of the Agreement is suitably regulated in the Republic of Slovenia. The two Parties agreed that the Office of the Republic of Slovenia for the Cultural Heritage will issue a publication "Jewish Monuments in Slovenia" in the form of a guide, and it would perhaps be published in the English language. The delegations agreed that the second meeting of the Commission would take place in the United States of America in 1998. At the meeting of the Joint Cultural Heritage Commission (October 1997) it was also agreed that the Slovene Party would inventory and evaluate the cultural heritage of Slovenes in the United States of America. This refers in particular to real estate. The Ministry of Culture - Office of the Republic of Slovenia for the Cultural Heritage is responsible for this task. |
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| American studies at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia Postgraduate program American Studies is an interdisciplinary program designed to enable postgraduate students to study modern American culture and society. The syllabus comprises the following academic disciplines: literature, history, political science, economics, social geography, visual arts. Students are encouraged to search for social and cultural relationships within the context of national (American) and international social and cultural relationships, with a stress on comparative views between the United States and Slovenia. The M. A. degree is offered on a 2 year basis and the Ph.D. degree on a 4 year basis. During the first year the students attend six courses and must pass the prescribed exams and during the following year(s) they prepare a compulsory M. A. and/or Ph.D. dissertation, the subject of which is chosen by the student with the advice of a supervisor. This is the only officially recognized program in American Studies in the Republic of Slovenia. The preparation for the program began in 1994 and the first eleven students were enrolled in 1998. The core faculty are professors from the University of Ljubljana and the University of Maribor together with Visiting Professors from the U. S. A. (e.g. from the University of Washington, University of Minnesota etc.). The coordinator of the American
Studies program is: |
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| Fulbright programme of
exchange between the Republic of Slovenia and the USA A memorandum on Fulbright exchange programme between the Republic of Slovenia and the USA was signed on 8 December 1993, ratified on 27 July 1994 and promulgated in the Official Gazette RS no. 15 of 18 August 1994. In cooperation with responsible ministries of the Republic of Slovenia and the Fulbright committee, the American Center administratively implements the programme in the framework of the American Embassy. The Minister of Foreign Affairs determines priority fields, taking account of the needs of the two universities and responsible ministries, and in the USA, the US Information Agency, which in publishing the call for applications respects the wishes and needs of the Republic of Slovenia. Budget funds from the American government for the Fulbright programme of exchange amount to $250,000. The American side last year increased the funds for the Fulbright programme by $50,000 when the Ministry of Science last year first contributed funds to this programme, to the amount of $30,000. In the USA, financing and implementing the programme takes place through two non-profit organisations:
Since 1992, when the Republic of Slovenia took over the programme itself, to the 1998/99 academic year, 48 Slovenes have participated in the Fulbright programme in the USA, of which 31 post-doctoral candidates and 17 student candidates. They did their research and lecturing at such prestigious universities as: Harvard, MIT, Georgetown and elsewhere. The number of annual stipends is difficult to define in advance, since the American government funds are allocated in a two-way programme. The average number of post-doctoral stipends awarded for Slovenia is four, exceptionally five (depending on the length of duration of the stipend), and there are normally two student stipends. In the academic year 1999/2000, there will be five post-doctoral candidates and three students in the USA. Approximately the same number of American post-doctoral candidates-professors and two student researchers come to Slovenia each year. Americans lecture and do research at both universities and in research institutes. Under the provisions of the Memorandum, the Republic of Slovenia guarantees American candidates local stipends (for post-doctoral candidates $800, and for students $600, paid in tolars). Similarly, health insurance is paid for them for the duration of their residence in Slovenia, and Slovenia pays the return air fare of Slovene candidates who go to the USA. Many former Slovene Fulbright scholars today hold important posts, such as rector of Ljubljana University, pro-rector of Maribor University, minister of economic affairs, head of the prime minister's office, directors of institutes etc. American Center |
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