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Over 40 young Slovenes in leading-edge jobs in the UK or studying at Cambridge or elsewhere spent a rousing afternoon celebrating St. Martin’s Day on 6th November 2021 in a village hall just outside the university city.

The gathering was organised by VTIS (v  tujini izobraženi Slovenci). A few participants brought freshly-fermented Slovene wine to taste, as is the custom on this day. The Embassy of Slovenia in the UK kindly donated bottles of earlier Slovene vintages, and Kaja Pečnik from the Embassy was there in person.

Miha Pipan cooked up a Slovene meal befitting the occasion — mushroom soup, jota, deep-fried breaded chicken, home-baked bread and strudel. Gorgeous!

Joining the celebrations were also members of the British-Slovene Society, who travelled in from Milton Keynes and Oxford. 

The event will take place on 12 October at Gospodarsko razstavišče in Ljubljana and will be broadcast over internet. It is organised by VTIS (Slovenes Educated Abroad) in cooperation with the Slovenian Chamber of Commerce. The communication language will be Slovene.

The topics of discussion will be  “Development of entrepreneurship in Slovenia” and “Innovation within a (large) company”. In a workshop, VTIS will present good practices of global employers.

Participation fee for physical presence is €50 +VAT. Participation online is free.

For more information: VIEW IN BROWSER

PROGRAM DOGODKA

Starting in October 2021, UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES) will again run evening Slovene Short Language courses at various levels.

These small interactive courses develop conversation skills without losing sight of the fundamentals of grammar. They are ideal for anyone interested in the rich culture and unique language of Slovenia.   
 
All courses are scheduled to run 6:30-8:30pm.
 
This year we will be offering the following courses:
Beginners (Wednesdays)
Lower Intermediate (Mondays)
Upper Intermediate (Thursdays)
Advanced (Tuesdays)
Higher Advanced Plus (Tuesdays)
 
Courses will be taught remotely online, unless there is consensus in a particular group to return to face-to-face teaching and if it is possible. 
 
More information about the Slovene courses is HERE
                                                                                          
If you are interested, please enrol HERE
 
The courses will be taught by Maja Rančigaj Beneš (Lower Intermediate, Upper Intermediate and Advanced course) and Romana Šuštar (Beginners and Higher Advanced Plus course). For more information contact Maja Rančigaj Beneš, Slovene language lectrice: m.rancigaj@ucl.ac.uk

The Office for Slovenians Abroad informed us that Slovenia is offering scholarships for Slovenians abroad to study in Slovenia in the academic year 2021/2022.

The application deadline is 30.9.2021.

Please see this link: Javni razpis 2021-2022

If you missed it yesterday, you can catch-up with  the BSS celebration of the 30th anniversary of Slovenia’s independence on YouTube. Here is the link:
https://youtu.be/Kqj6Q1aWojQ

The programme is free to everybody. If you wish, you can make a charity donation through this link. The proceeds will go to the Barka charity we support.
https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=ZY36WP8H5CYM6

• If you feel in the mood of celebrating further, the Scottish-Slovenian Friendship Society will have their event on Friday 25 June 2021 at 6pm (BST)
  REGISTER INTEREST .
  They will have live music performances from legendary Slovenian singers to Scottish poets, quizzes and special guests. the Scottish-Slovenian Friendship Society have a great line-up to mark the occasion.

• Slovenian communities around the world will also have open access to the content of the Slovenian national television RTV SLO, prepared specially to mark this significant anniversary.

And last but not least:

• Lake Voices from Sedbergh of Cumbria are holding their own party this weekend, 26^th and 27^th June. This small town between the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales is twinned with Zreče in Slovenia, and the Lake Voices are among Britain’s most talented performers of traditional Slovene songs. They party well! If you wish to attend, you would be made most welcome. Contact David Burbidge on davidburbidge@hotmail.com.

30 years ago, Slovenia declared independence from ex-Yugoslavia, and immediately had to fight a 10-day war for survival.

Please join the British-Slovene Society on Zoom in celebrating the anniversary.

We have prepared a lively and colourful programme of entertainment and information for you.

After the programme we will have time to talk with each other in chat rooms.

Date: Wednesday 23^rd June 2021, time 1900 UK time, 2000  Slovenian time, 1400 Toronto time.

Thanks to Zoom, you can join in from anywhere!

Here is the Zoom link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84922177599?pwd=Q3FnL0pPMENONHI3bFoyQmNCdTg3dz09

Meeting ID: 849 2217 7599
Passcode: Slovenia30

You can take part for free. If you wish, you’ll be able to make a charity donation through this link, which will also be displayed during the event. The proceeds will go to the Barka charity we support.

https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=ZY36WP8H5CYM6

We look forward to seeing you!

OBVESTILO VELEPOSLANIŠTVA V LONDONU:

Državni zbor Republike Slovenije je na seji dne 25. maja 2021 sprejel Odlok o razpisu zakonodajnega referenduma o Zakonu o spremembah in dopolnitvah Zakona o vodah (ZV-1G). Odlok je objavljen v Uradnem listu RS, št. 84/21.

Glasovanje na referendumu se izvede v nedeljo, 11. julija 2021.

Vprašanje na referendumu se glasi:

»Ali ste za to, da se uveljavi Zakon o spremembah in dopolnitvah Zakona o vodah (ZV-1G), ki ga je sprejel Državni zbor na seji dne 30. marca 2021?«.

Državljane in državljanke Republike Slovenije, ki v Republiki Sloveniji nimate stalnega prebivališča ali se v času izvedbe zakonodajnega referenduma o Zakonu o spremembah in dopolnitvah Zakona o vodah (ZV-1G), to je v nedeljo, 11. 7. 2021 slučajno nahajate v tujini, obveščamo,

da bodo v nedeljo, 11. 7. 2021  med 9.00 in 17.00 po lokalnem času, volišča odprta na naslednjih diplomatskih predstavništvih in konzulatih:

GK v  Celovcu, GK v Clevelandu, GK v Münchnu, GK v Trstu, GK v Torontu, VP v Atenah, VP v Beogradu, VP v Berlinu, VP v Bernu, VP v Bratislavi, VP v Bruslju, VP v Budimpešti, VP v Buenos Airesu, VP v Canberri, VP na Dunaju, VP v Haagu, VP v Kijevu, VP v Kopenhagnu, VP v Londonu, VP v Madridu, VP v Moskvi, VP v Ottawi, VP v Parizu, VP v Podgorici, VP v Pragi, VP v Sarajevu, VP v Skopju, VP v Varšavi, VP v Washingtonu, VP v Zagrebu in VP pri Svetem sedežu, Vatikan.

V primeru, da v tujini stalno prebivate (izseljenci) in se glasovanja na diplomatskem predstavništvu ali konzulatu ne morete udeležiti, ali v primeru, da v vaši državi prebivanja ni predstavništva z odprtim voliščem, lahko glasujete po pošti, če to pravočasno sporočite Državni volilni komisiji pravočasno. DVK bo upoštevala le obvestila, ki bodo prispela na njihov naslov do 25. 6. 2021.

V primeru, da ste v tujini le začasno (zdomci) in bi želeli glasovati na diplomatskem predstavništvu ali konzulatu z odprtim voliščem ali bi želeli glasovati po pošti iz tujine, lahko glasujete, če to pravočasno sporočite Državni volilni komisije. DVK bo upoštevala le obvestila, ki bodo prispela na njihov naslov do 25. 6. 2021 do 24. ure.

Državljani, ki stalno prebivate v tujini in boste na dan izvedbe referenduma v Republiki Sloveniji, lahko glasujete na voliščih v Republiki Sloveniji (volišča OMNIA), če to namero pravočasno  do 7. 7. 2021 sporočite  Državni volilni komisiji.

Volivci obvestila o načinu glasovanja lahko posredujete elektronsko:

1. Oddajo vloge z digitalnim potrdilom:
   https://e-uprava.gov.si/podrocja/vloge/vloga.html?id=5205B. Oddajo vloge brez digitalnega potrdila:
   https://e-uprava.gov.si/podrocja/vloge/vloga.html?id=5206

Podrobnejše informacije o možnostih glasovanja iz tujine so objavljene na spletni strani državne volilne komisije:

https://www.dvk-rs.si/index.php/si/kje-in-kako-volim/glasovanje-iz-tujine

Volivce prosimo, da upoštevajo lokalne ukrepe za zajezitev epidemije  COVID – 19 in se z namenom preprečevanja možnosti okužb odločite za glasovanje po pošti.

For members of the British-Slovene Society only:

Notice is hereby given that The Annual General Meeting of the British-Slovene Society will be held at 5 pm on Tuesday 15 June 2021 online via Zoom. Any member may join the session. 

      AGENDA

     Ordinary Business

1. To receive and adopt the Report of the Trustees and Accounts for the year ended 30 Sept 2020
2. To re-elect the following as Trustees, who retire by rotation and are offered for re-election: Marcus Ferrar, Simona Bennett, Andrej Ogorevc.
3. To appoint a Secretary for the forthcoming year. Miha Košak has indicated his willingness to continue in office.
4. To appoint a Chairman for the forthcoming year. David Lloyd has indicated his willingness to continue in office.
5. To approve the Minutes of the AGM held on 9 June 2020.
6. Any Other Business.              

Please confirm your attendance by email to: davidalloyd@btinternet.com. You will then be sent an invitation to join the Zoom session together with instructions. You may also receive BSS Accounts for the year ending 30th September 2020 and the Chairman’s Statement.

In case you cannot attend the AGM and wish to vote, please use the Form of Proxy: BSS-2021-AGM-Form-of-proxy

David Lloyd, Chairman  

Dated: 10 May 2021 

From the Slovenian Embassy in London:

On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of Slovenia’s statehood and marking the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of this year, we are cordially inviting you to the second in a series of four conversations titled “Slovenia’s 30 years of Statehood: Experiences & Visions”.

Building a Resilient Nation: Lessons Learned

State Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister, H.E. Jelko Kacin
and Chairwoman of Slovenke@VTIS, Ms Bojana Selinšek in conversation
 
Tuesday 25 May 2021 at 6.00pm BST
Online
Register interest HERE

The event will address the range of challenges we are confronted with, such as pandemics, economic shocks, security threats and political changes. It will look at how the continuous occurrence of these events is becoming the ‘new normal’, testing the limits of the coping capacities of the individuals, countries and institutions. In other words, testing their resilience

Jelko Kacin is State Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister acting as the national logistics coordinator for the mass vaccination campaign against Covid-19. During the Slovenian Independence War, he was the Minister for Information and Minister of Defence from 1994 until 1997. He was also elected to the National Assembly of Slovenia twice (in 1996 and 2000), and served both terms as a Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. He was a member of the Slovenian delegation to PACE and one of the first Slovenian observers in the European Parliament, as well as a member of the Convention on the Future of Europe. As a Member of the European Parliament he sat on the EP’s Committee on Foreign Relations, and was especially active on the Western Balkans affairs. As a president of the Liberal Democracy of Slovenia party, he was also a member of the bureau of the ALDE. Between 2015 and 2019 he served as the Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Slovenia to NATO. At the outbreak of Covid-19 in spring of 2020, he was appointed as the official spokesperson for the Government of Slovenia.

Bojana Selinšek is a Project Manager at Kheiron Medical Technologies, where they develop deep learning solutions for early and accurate cancer detection and are recognised for their exemplary standard of clinical rigour and trials in frontier science of AI in healthcare. By securing grant funding and managing key projects and partnerships, Bojana is bringing strategically important opportunities to accelerate the development, testing and evaluation of the most promising AI technologies. Prior to Kheiron, Bojana worked for several years in managing clinical trials for Oxford University and UCL. Bojana is passionate about improving healthcare and in general strives to leave a positive impact in the society. In line with this passion, she is also leading and contributing to many projects and initiatives at VTIS (society connecting Slovenians educated abroad) with the ambition to improve the exchange of knowledge and best practices between Slovenians abroad and their homeland. She also established Slovenke@VTIS group with the mission to empower women and address topics related to gender equality.

The series titled “Slovenia’s 30 years of Statehood: Experiences and Visions” celebrates our country’s achievements, and is aimed towards creating and discovering new visions for the future.
 
In a series of debates (online, hybrid events or in-person events, Covid-19 permitting) taking place throughout the year, it addresses topics connected with Slovenia, our partners and friends, and current world affairs. Each debate features two main speakers, based in Slovenia and the UK respectively, each with their unique experience and future vision.
 
We cover a range of topics from current political, developmental, environmental and economic challenges, focusing on how to increase resilience of our communities and effectively tackle pertinent crises like pandemics, how to manage climate change and economic renewal based on a green and digital transition, as well as education, innovation and artificial intelligence.

Organized by: