06/11/2022
The GO! 2025 Public Institute has appointed Dr Stojan Pelko as Programme Manager of the European Capital of Culture 2025. He has an ambitious vision for the programme and expert work, and has experience in managing the cultural sector. Upon Stojan Pelko’s appointment, Director of the GO! 2025 Public Institute Gorazd Božič said: "This is an important, if not key, reinforcement of the GO! 2025 team. Stojan Pelko will be responsible for the implementation of the winning programme that earned Nova Gorica, in cooperation with Gorizia, the title of European Capital of Culture. He has a wealth of experience in cultural policy, thinks strategically and brings positive energy and international experience to the team, while at the same time convincing us with his vision of how to implement the programme in a way that will make the legacy of the ECOC visible in the local environment long after 2025." Bozič added that "the selection coincides with a thorough financial, timing, implementation and staffing review of the bid book, which is nearing completion". One of the priorities of the new programme manager is to place the planned projects listed in the bid book in a realistic financial, HR, spatial and temporal context. In his application, Pelko advocated for the strengthening of the programme department, closer cooperation between local institutions and non-governmental actors in the implementation of the programme, and a modern communication platform for reaching the European public. The new GO! 2025 programme manager is banking on a set of fundamental values: the excellence of the artistic creations, the relevance of the programmes, the trust of the local population and organisational excellence. "The ECOC must also be an example that culture and art, for all their boldness, provocativeness, improvisation and unexpectedness, are also highly professional disciplines, where the spectator is not only amazed by the content, but also by the excellence of the organisation and the communication," says Pelko. The vacancy for the programme manager of the public institute GO! 2025 – European Capital of Culture, Nova Gorica, was published on 16 September. Thirteen candidates from three countries (Slovenia, Croatia and Italy) applied. Biography Stojan Pelko holds a Master's degree in Philosophy and a PhD in Sociology. He received hisPhD under the mentorship of Dr Slavoj Žižek on The Image of Thought, and studied audiovisual research at the Sorbonne Nouvelle – Paris III. Former editor-in-chief of the film and television magazine Ekran and lecturer in the sociology of cinema at the Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana, after a career in advertising (Luna Agency; creative director for the 1998 campaign for the newspaper Delo; creative director for the campaign for Slovenia's EU accession Slovenia. At Home in Europe), he turned his attention to strategic communications and political marketing and in 2001 founded the Korpus communications consultancy. He has designed and implemented numerous international projects in the cultural field and gained experience in public administration in Slovenia and abroad. He was State Secretary at the Ministry of Culture, Spokesperson and Communication Adviser to the Head of the EU Office and EU Special Representative in Kosovo, and Chief of Staff to the Minister of Foreign Affairs. He is the author of five books on film theory, editor of the collection of translated texts Gaps in Film and Architecture and a monograph on the dance group EnKnap; author of numerous professional publications in the fields of film theory, theatre, contemporary dance, visual arts and photography; co-author of feature and documentary film scripts and dramaturge of theatre performances. He also translates from French.
