»Tu smo – vaši smo« – prvi referendum o samoprispevku v Ljubljani
“We are here – we are yours” – the first referendum on self-imposed contributions in Ljubljana

Summary/Abstract: The present article examines the events leading to Ljubljana’s first referendum on selfimposed contributions, which represented the largest local voluntary contribution in the Socialist Republic of Slovenia until then. It analyses the impact of various factors influencing the decision to hold the referendum and the conditions in Ljubljana before 1971. That year, Ljubljana faced an increasing population, which represented almost one-sixth of the population of the Socialist Republic of Slovenia. The shortage of educational and childcare institutions had led to overcrowding in the existing schools and kindergartens. In 1967, a change in the legislation on the financing of education had resulted in the introduction of the communities of interest in education, allowing education to be financed with citizens’ contributions, taxes, and other means. Ljubljana had encountered difficulties in financing education and childcare, leading to discussions about the introduction of self-imposed contributions. In 1971, a referendum was held, where the majority of voters supported the introduction of a self-imposed contribution to improve education and childcare. The referendum was accompanied by an intensive propaganda campaign that included a broad range of activities and concluded with a convincing result, as nearly 58 % of the voters expressed support for the relevant self-imposed contribution.

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