Zavod APIS/APIS Institute is a non-profit and non-governmental organization based in Ljubljana, Slovenia. It was established in 2012 as socially engaged institute with a vision to promote social inclusion, intercultural dialogue and respect for human rights through different educational and creative mediums. APIS specializes in socially engaged multimedia and education, combining multidisciplinary expertise with grassroots initiatives. The activities are designed towards two main goals: promotion of social inclusion and intercultural dialogue. Promotion of social inclusion of vulnerable groups by implementing activities specifically developed with the aim to deepen their relationship to citizenship, culture and community and strengthen their civic-belonginess, cultural-belongingness and spatial-belongingness. Our activities are especially designed for vulnerable groups with special focus on refugees, migrants, asylum seekers and unaccompanied minors. We address challenges of social exclusion, populism and polarization through knowledge transfer and creative approaches from the angle of inclusive and reflective societies education and outreach. Development and production of educational multimedia materials for high school teachers and youth workers on subjects related to migration, international protection, international human rights, media literacy and social issues through multidisciplinary approaches. We combine our knowledge on multimedia production with multidisciplinary approaches and collaborative work with researchers from a variety of fields, teachers, journalists, artists to develop educational toolkits and disseminate non polarizing narratives among school teachers and youth. In the field of Education for Social Cohesion APIS have contributed extensively to the areas around inclusion in the last few years, through numerous projects. Zavod APIS is currently involved in several EU projects, among which are: Nexus – Promoting the nexus of migrants through active citizenship, Volpower project: Volunteer and Empower: Enhancing Community Building and Social Integration through Dialogue and Collaboration amongst Young Europeans and Third Country Nationals and Multivizija – Multimedia, Theatre and Dance Training for Vulnerable Groups which APIS coordinates.
Romana Zajec, Programme Director, Co-founder Since she completed her philosophy studies she has been working as a radio journalist, video-journalist, documentary filmmaker, scriptwriter and producer of socially engaged exhibitions, films and events. Social themes are the primary focus of her work. Asylum seekers, refugees and understanding different forms of discrimination intrigue her attention and awake curiosity about human beings. As a programme director, she dedicates her time to the content development of the Institute, partnership-building and the inclusion of new members. She works on the development of educational programs, trainings focused on the integration of vulnerable groups, and on projects of socially engaged art production. She conducts video trainings and trains vulnerable groups, youth workers and members of NGOs in video production. She is experienced in various programs (national and European calls, Erasmus+ projects). She was participant and later coordinator of international training initiative for media professionals ESoDoc – European Social Documentary in Slovenia, supported by Creative Europe´s sub-program MEDIA. She also brought FRAME Photo Maraton to Slovenia, joining an international network of photo marathon organisers bridging South and North Mediterranean countries.
Dr. Gregor Bulc is a free-lance social and cultural policy researcher. He completed an MSc in Human Rights at the LSE and a PhD in Communication and Media Studies at the University of Ljubljana, where he also worked as a researcher and lecturer for several years. He has been involved in various research projects, including Lifestyles in the Media Society; Mobile Phones and Everyday Life, Analysis of the Implementation of Children’s Rights-Related Recommendations by Ombudsman in the Slovenian Legislation; Discourse Analysis of the New Media Art Cultural Policies in Slovenia; Music Phonography in Slovenia; Lord of the Rings International Audience Research Project etc. He has published on these and similar issues and wrote a book on cultural production and cultural intermediaries.