JANUARY 2011 BUSINESS CULTURE ENVIRONMENT POLITICS SPORTS Slovenia celebrates twenty years Contents January 2011 Don’t sleep through luck – not at christmas or at any other time n 23 December 1990, after a turnout of 93.2% of eligible voters, around 95% voted for Slovenia to Obecome an independent and sovereign state; the Vesna Žarkovič percentage in favour was therefore 88.5%. They voted for Editor an independent and sovereign Slovenia. ‘The flame of hope is burning across the homeland, our dreams get closer every day,’ were the words one read in the now- yellowing pages of the time. The question being posed now is where that flame of hope is today. We have been looking for answers to these and many other questions; Have Our and we will continue to do so in a special column of this dreamS beeN magazine throughout 2011. realISed? Basketball has happened to Slovenia. A few minutes WHaT kINd OF after midday on 5 December, the general secretary of the Basketball Federation of Slovenia, Iztok Rems, stepped SlOveNIa Have out of a room at the Marriott Hotel, where the executive We buIlT? HOW committee of Fiba Europe had been meeting, and lifted are peOple his arms in victory. The subsequent cry of ‘Yeeeeess!’ DELIGHTS told all those present that Slovenia would, at the end 30 lIvINg, aNd are of August and beginning of September 2013, host its braINS, TaleNT biggest sporting event so far, the European Basketball slovenian christmas Dishes aNd Hard Championship. For Slovenia, this will be the biggest WOrk beINg sporting event in its history. In December we celebrate a number of holidays, in SuFFICIeNTly addition to Christmas. The Slovenian name for Christmas, MONTHLY COMMENTARY 24 valued aNd božič, means ‘little god’ and comes from pagan times. A course of harmony - not division 04 reWarded? The month of December is also called božični mesec IN FOCUS (Christmas month) or kolednjak. Christmas Day is ‘holy Slovenia celebrates twenty years 06 day’, the holiest day of the year. It is so holy that whoever INTERVIEW dies on this day goes straight to heaven. As the saying France Bučar: “At the time of independence, if Slovenia’s leading 10 goes: On Christmas Eve, there is an angel round every political elite had been scared of the international reaction, they corner. On the evening of Shrove Tuesday, there is a devil would certainly have never moved to independence in that way” 44 behind every corner. A farmer is not supposed to sleep at BUSINESS Christmas. If he sleeps, so will his luck. Economic growth and inflation as expected this year 14 So don’t sleep through luck – not at Christmas or LETTER FROM AMBASSADOR at any other time. We wish you a Happy New Year and Werner Burkart , Mitja Drobnič hope that you enjoy the CD by singer Aleksander Mežek, 16 ‘Podarjeno srcu’, which we are giving away free with this 06 ART & CULTURE issue of Sinfo. Given to the heart, Andrej Jemec exhibiting in Vienna, Maribor shifts into overdrive, Slovenian galleries at the photographic fair Paris Photo 2010 18 OUR EXCELLENCE Practical and ecological – a folding bike, Text in image 24 SLOVENIAN DELIGHTS Sinfo - Slovenian information Slovenian Christmas dishes 30 Editioral government Communication Office Gateway to information on Slovenia www.slovenia.si gregorčičeva 25, 1000 ljubljana Government Communication Office www.ukom.gov.si PEOPLE Tel. +386 1 478 2630, Fax +386 1 251 2312, www.ukom.gov.si Government of the Republic of Slovenia www.vlada.si Professor Igor Gregorič, a top Slovenian heart surgeon from Houston Director darijan košir Slovenian Tourist Board www.slovenia.info 33 Editor-in-Chief valerija.mencej, [email protected] Slovenian Chamber of Commerce and Industry www.gzs.si SPORTS Executive Editor: vesna Žarkovič, [email protected] Slovenian Chamber of Craft www.ozs.si Editorial Board mateja malnar Štembal, Jože Osterman, Public Agency of the RS of Entrepreneurship and Foreign Basketball has happened to Slovenia, A renaissance in Slovenian biathlon? 36 polona prešeren, Hana Souček morača, Nataša marvin, Investments www.japti.si manja kostevc Ljubljana Stock Exchange www.ljse.si CULTURAL HERITAGE Photo Editor veronicca ditrih Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia www.stat.si Christmas customs in Slovenia, Symbols of state 38 Production videotop Color media d.o.o. State Portal of the Republic of Slovenia e-uprava.gov.si Graphic design boštjan krajnc Printed by mobinet NATURAL HERITAGE 33 10 SINFO is printed on the eco-friendly FSC label paper. The FSC label provides assurance, that paper originates from responsible forest Early snow brings a dose of optimism for the winter season 44 Cover photo Darinka Mladenovič management according to the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) standards. 02 January 2011 January 2011 03 Monthly Commentary and nato, later becoming part of what is beginning of the nineties. run to December of the following year, as called the schengen system of the free an event for the widest possible audience. flow of people; and three years ago We can discern a similar picture when it should be recalled that it was indeed the slovenia adopted the euro as its legal we talk about the current state of mind in people who, on that fateful December day tender, thereby occupying a place in the slovenia in general. it seems that apathy in 1990 exactly 20 years ago, went off to the most respected economic club of Western and ennui predominate, as if there was no polling stations and in a showing of more european countries. at the same time, it energy or momentum for new national than 90 percent of those who voted, managed more or less successfully to and developmental ideas that might lead adopted one of the key historic decisions settle all the previously unresolved issues slovenia to the “lighthouse”, as one in this country, the decision in favour of with neighbouring countries, and politician put it. a major factor in this has independence. the political leadership, established exemplary relations with all been the negativism inherent in the which before the plebiscite had doubts the major countries of the world, about the collective wisdom of the something that now qualifies slovenia as ‘The mass of events slovenians, and at certain moments even a welcome partner in international considered lowering the ballot quorum to relations and allows it to anticipate that we can follow validate the plebiscite decision, could inclusion in the club of the most rapidly through the next year, thereby entirely open up to the will of the developing countries of europe. people and carry through the will be devoted to independence project to its completion, We could also put the same question the people – through right up to the independence of the from another angle: is it also possible to meetings, actions, slovenian state. for this reason the mass find in this time things from slovenia’s of events that we can follow through the independence story 20 years ago that have words and images – next year, will be devoted to the people – not been well or adequately developed? who at that time made through meetings, actions, words and are there any areas where we besmirched images – who at that time made history, the dreams of our political predecessors, history, and even the and even the main event to celebrate who fought and won slovenia’s main event to celebrate independence this year will be of the independence? of course the gravest people, in the renovated and symbolic unfulfilled legacy of this 20th anniversary independence this year square of Kongresni trg. is the fact that slovenian political circles will be of the people, and also the entire slovenia nation, apart in the renovated and from that we may simply take hope A course of hArmony - from in certain key moments of its recent that, as was the case in spring this year history – for instance in the referendum symbolic square of marking the 20th anniversary of the first not division on accession to the european Union – Kongresni trg.’ democratically elected slovenian Photo STA could not find the kind of unity that government, there will not be any repeat ennobled the then independence-winners of the political point-scoring over who he December celebrations of inDepenDence Day signal the start of slovenia at the beginning of the 90s, when the economic crisis, which turned all the takes credit for the country’s marking the 20th anniversary of events which led at that time to independence from the country and its citizens were brought economic and other indicators independence, something that has Tformer yugoslavia, and consequently its transformation into an internationally together by common goals that they all downwards into the red. in short, the entered slovenian folklore in recent years. recognised sovereign state. this time around, the slovenian government has planned the fought for, recognised and supported. the crisis affected not only the economy, it it would be a sad thing if the celebration programme of independence-related activities to span a whole year, running from this year’s fact is, slovenia today seems completely also affected people’s values, and showed of all slovenians, who each and every time Darijan Košir 20th anniversary of the plebiscite on slovenian independence (which was held at the end of divided politically into two halves, with where we are today. and the spiritual demonstrate the described national unity, December 1990) and up until the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the new constitution of government measures not being judged picture is not optimistic: