08/09/2022
Nova Gorica, 8 September 2022 Gorazd Božič, who was previously the acting director of the GO! 2025 public institute, was appointed today by the city council of the Municipality of Nova Gorica as its director. Gorazd Božič is a long-standing cultural worker who has been active not only in the Gorizia region, but also nationwide and in the cross-border area. In 1996 he was one of the founders of the NOVA Music Society and has worked as a producer for numerous chamber groups and orchestras. He has been an executive producer of international music competitions and orchestral schools. He is a violist and holds a degree in civil engineering with a specialist diploma in project management in this field. He worked in his profession for seven years, after which he devoted himself entirely to working in the cultural sector. He studied cultural management at the Scala Academy of Milan. He worked in the cultural field until 2019, when he became Head of the Mayor's Cabinet. At the time, he was also closely involved in the preparation of the candidature of both Gorizia and Gorica for ECOC 2025, and closely monitored the project throughout as a link between the local community and the programme-operational GO! 2025 team. After the resignation of the first Director of the Institute, Dr Kaja Širok, he has taken over the role of Acting Director of the GO! 2025, public institute, which means he will be able to jump right into the project without delay. On this occasion, the GO! 2025 public institute’s new director said, "I would like to thank the city councillors for their renewed support, and I believe that it was the vision of the ECOC 2025 project that I put forward at the time of my candidacy that won them over. There are a few key points I would like to highlight: ECOC 2025 is the most beautiful and important project of this region in our recent common history and will be delivered with excellence – in spite of any doubts. For the first time in the history of the European Capitals of Culture, the twin cities of Gorica and Gorizia have been given the opportunity to prove that we can build bridges across borders in the language of culture. As a civil engineer, I'm used to giving life and practical value to ideas in challenging circumstances. I believe in the ECOC 2025 project because it is the project of our generation, which is one that embodies the cross-border aspect. ECOC 2025 is a collective project. We are building an ECOC community, in which each and every one of us must get involved to make the ambitious idea of the two cities come to life. The time for finding differences is over, we need to find common denominators and work together to get the most out of the project. I started on the project, together with the mayor, during my time as acting director. With the Gorica team in Ljubljana – thank you all for your important contribution – we have put the ECOC project at the heart of national cultural policy in recent weeks. The minister of culture visited Nova Gorica and signed a contract with the mayor on the co-financing of the project. The minister for cohesion has made the two cities a pilot project for EU funding, laying the foundations for the renovation of Trg Evrope (Europe Square) and the creation of Epicentre. We will only be able to carry out ECOC 2025 if all the people of Gorica and Gorizia – Slovenians, the Slovenian minority community living across the border, and Italians, that is all of us who believe that culture can build bridges of respect, solidarity, creativity and peace – come together." At this occasion, the Mayor of Nova Gorica, Klemen Miklavič, said, "The new director of the GO! 2025 public institute is a man of exceptional competences. He is both an engineer and a man who comes from a cultural background. He also has a cultural management degree from Scala Milano. Božič is someone who understands the whole process and all the stages of the ECOC development, so he will already have this knowledge at the ready." We congratulate Gorazd Božič on taking up his new position and wish him success in all his activities as part of the first cross-border European Capital of Culture!
