The minister gave hope to the SEFO project, is still searching for a way to finance it

Olomouc - The Ministry of Culture will seek funding sources to make the establishment of the Central European Forum in Olomouc (SEFO) possible, as it did not qualify for a grant of about half a billion from European funds. However, the Museum of Art must revise the project, which anticipates the creation of a unique exhibition of visual art from Central Europe, and look for possible savings. This was stated at today's meeting of Culture Minister Jiří Besser in Olomouc with the city's leadership, the Olomouc region, the Museum of Art, and Palacký University.
    "Unfortunately, many mistakes were made along the way, which even the previous leadership of the ministry did not point out,” said Besser. "It is clear that this project failed because it did not meet the basic conditions set in the call. It failed several times, but someone always turned a blind eye and opened the door until we reached this stage where it is no longer possible to close our eyes,” he added. According to him, the Museum of Art, which is a contributory organization of the ministry, will work with the ministry to determine whether the project can be submitted for another call for European funding. The second option is to secure funds from sources of the Ministry of Culture or the state budget. "In this case, we will proceed just like with other investments that are currently paused and recalculating the budget based on actual costs,” Besser added. According to him, the SEFO project has an advantage over others because the city, the region, and the university are involved in it. One of the possible partial paths he identified is also the announcement of a new call from the so-called Norwegian funds this fall. Representatives of all interested institutions will discuss the project's financing in Prague, probably in March.
    "I am glad that we have not lost hope. The project will need to be revised in any case. Whether it will be possible to save money, I do not know yet. The project was not only about a new building but also about renovating the existing building, and I am convinced that the budget was not inflated,” said Zatloukal.
    "In a certain sense, we received satisfaction because it was clear during the negotiations that the problems did not arise on our side. At the same time, the current leadership of the ministry promised us that they would look for a way out of the situation. There is an effort to create an expert team that would find a solution for SEFO. From where the money will be obtained is still unclear at this moment,” added the mayor of Olomouc, Martin Novotný.
    The cultural center was supposed to be built in a new building in the gap next to the Museum of Art. Behind the architecturally daring walls, modern works of art from all over Central Europe were to be exhibited, and the back part was to include a garden with sculptures and archaeological finds, as well as an international research center as part of the museum. The museum was to open in 2013, and the project preparation took four years.