country
activities

Zagreb, Croatia

Exploratory Seminar
May 9–13, 2004

Consultants: Paul Elicker and Jillian Poole

Mrs. Poole and Mr. Elicker led a seminar for 22 arts leaders that was held at the American Embassy on May 11. The Embassy gave each participant a copy of Managing for Money in Croatian and an English copy of Writing Winning Grants Proposals. The principal concerns of the attendees included audience development, lack of arts education on every level, local, regional and international collaboration, ways to deal with potential, lack of transparency and efficiency in governmental bodies, and developing elevator speeches and mission statements.

On May 12, a presentation was held in Split at the Croatian National Theatre for twenty-six people. The participants expressed concerns about the centralization of administrative power and its inefficiency and their lack of comprehension of funding priorities (the city allocates 10% of its revenues to culture), the fragmentation of the cultural groups and their leaders, and difficulties dealing with potential sponsors. Much of the time was spent talking about fundraising realities, forming partnerships with sponsors, and their own need to take joint action.