Evelina Ferrar

by Andreas Iskra, student of Chemistry at University College London

The Slovenian Embassy held its traditional pre-Christmas reception on 21st of November for Slovenian students and recent graduates in the UK. The students were greeted by ambassador  Iztok Jarc and by Tine Murn, head of the Information Office of the Slovenian Tourist Board in London.

Ambassador Jarc presented the work of the Embassy, and declared that Slovenia takes great pride in having very successful students studying overseas. The guests were then invited to enjoy some traditional dishes of Slovenian cuisine accompanied by carefully chosen wine – all of which are greatly missed by students studying away from home!

Familiarity with English language, together with the quality of the higher education in the UK, mean that more and more Slovenian students are coming to study across the Channel. London in particular, as one of the world’s most cosmopolitan cities hosting several world-class universities, is becoming increasingly popular for Slovenian students who decide to expand their horizons by study abroad.

Social events like this provide an excellent opportunity for socialising and making new contacts among Slovenian students. Those acquaintances might prove extremely valuable when this generation of young and talented people returns to the homeland or moves around the world also working for the benefit of Slovenia.

Trustee Shirlie Roden celebrated twenty years of singing and performing in Slovenia with a joint party up at Ljubljana castle earlier this month together with Shirlie’s long-standing friend and concert organizer, Natasa Kogoj who was celebrating her 50^th birthday. The party, which began with champagne at 7pm, continued until 2 am with dancing and partying, and Shirlie performed two sets of her own music, much of which has been inspired by her visits to and love of Slovenia. Guests included the new British-Slovene Society chairman David Lloyd (who strongly supported Shirlie and her music during his time as British Ambassador in Slovenia), Dragan Bulic (who has played Shirlie’s songs on Radio Slovenija since her first visit in 1992), Janos Kern (from Imago Sloveniae who is helping Shirlie with her proposed Simply Slovenia orchestral project), Mitja Mersol, France Kek, Andreja Pecek (who commissioned Shirlie’s Slovene autobiography for Mladinska Knjiga), Angelina Premdehar (who filmed the RTV documentary on Shirlie ‘Ambasadorka Luci’) and many, many friends. ‘I was overwhelmed by the warmth and love’, said Shirlie. ‘But then this is Slovenia! It was wonderful to sing my Zeleni Zmaj song in the castle overlooking Ljubljana – the city of love.’ Her favourite present that night, celebrating twenty years of singing all around the country? ‘A large box full of motovilec (lamb’s lettuce)!’

V Uradnem listu RS je bil 31. 7. 2012, objavljen Javni razpis za dodelitev štipendij za študij v Republiki Sloveniji za Slovence v zamejstvu in Slovence po svetu za študijsko leto 2012/2013, ki ga razpisuje Javni sklad RS za razvoj kadrov in štipendije. Vlada RS je na svoji 23. redni seji dala soglasje k pogojem in višini štipendije za Slovence v zamejstvu in Slovence po svetu. Višina razpoložljivih sredstev za štipendije po tem javnem razpisu za študijsko leto 2012/2013 znaša 500.000,00 EUR. Višina osnovne štipendije za študijsko leto 2012/2013 znaša 150,00 EUR mesečno oziroma 1.800,00 EUR za celo študijsko leto. Na podlagi razpisa bo predvidoma podeljenih 150 štipendij.

O pogojih prijave si lahko preberete na spletni strani Javnega sklada RS za razvoj kadrov in štipendije (www.sklad-kadri.si).

On 26 June the Slovenian Amabassador Iztok Jarc held a reception celebrating Slovenia’s National Day in the House of Commons. Hundreds of distinguished guests attanded, including a British Government Minister, Ambassadors and Britons and Slovenes in the UK. See pictures in the gallery.