eNEWSLETTER EMBASSY OF THE REPUBLIC OF SLOVENIA IN TEL AVIV March 2016 HAPPENING NOW Tel Aviv - Ljubljana charter flight will be one of the 21 charter destinations from Ljubljana airport this summer The Slovene National Airline, Adria Airways operates flights Tel Aviv-Ljubljana several times a week, beginning June until the end of October 2016. For more information, call the Adria office at: 03-5223161. http://www.lju-airport.si/pripone/2165/S16%20-%20odhodi.pdf http://www.lju-airport.si/pripone/2164/S16%20-%20prihodi.pdf The Young Israeli Ambassadors Delegation Visit to Slovenia A group of 20 Israeli high school students led by Ambassador Yitzhak Eldan visited Slovenia on March 20-24, 2016. They visited the Slovenian Parliament, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, high schools in Ljubljana and Novo Mesto, ITF- International Trust Fund for Demining and Mine Victims Assistance Institute as well as the Delegation of European Commission in Ljubljana and met with representatives of the Jewish Cultural Center in Ljubljana. The Young Israeli Ambassadors delegation is a project that started five years ago with the aim of training a young generation of leaders with international orientation and strong willingness to contribute to society. The delegation is comprised of delegates from all sectors of Israeli population. Prior to their departure, Ambassador Barbara Sušnik welcomed the group to her residence on 14 March 2016. She presented Slovenia and discussed relevant diplomacy issues. 1 Photo: VTA JUDAICA "The Maribor Synagogue" Book presentation in Maribor On 22 March 2016 “The Maribor synagogue” was presented by authors Anja and Dr. Janez Premk with the guests, Boris Hajdinjak, Mihela Kajzer Cafnik, Dr Igor Sapač and Marjetka Bedrač who discussed the book, Maribor synagogue and Judaism as well as renovations and reconstructions of the historical spaces. The discussion was moderated by Dr. Barbara Murovec. The book “The Maribor synagogue” is the twelfth booklet from the series “Artworks in the pocket”, with which the France Stele Institute of Art History fills the lacuna in reflection, writing and reading about art monuments and spaces in Slovenia as well as in their comprehension. The presentation was organized in cooperation with the ZRC SAZU (Scientific Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts) in the framework of the “Stone Tears” project, which is supported by IHRA and Maribor Municipality. SLOVENIA IN ISRAEL Slovenian Presence in Israel In honor of the 25 years of Independence of the Republic of Slovenia, we continue to inform about the Slovenian presence in the country in each issue of our Newsletter. At this time, we are presenting the Slovenian grove (Slovenski gozd) in the Galilee. The Slovenian grove near Kibbutz Yifat in the Galilee was inaugurated in 2006 under the patronage of Adi Rosenfeld, the Honorary Consul of the Republic of Slovenia to the State of Israel for Haifa and the North. 2 Ambassador of Slovenia to Israel Barbara Sušnik visited the Slovenian grove in the company of the Honoray Consul Adi Rosenfeld on her visit to the Galilee, northern Israel on March 3, 2016. Area of the forest is 7 hectors and it comprises a park, car parking area and an amphitheater with a stage where many performances are held throughout the year including end of year school performances, holiday events of all religious communities in Israel as well as private social parties. The Slovenian forest is also a popular meeting place for sports athletes like bicycle and horseback riders. The Slovenian Forest authorities contributed "kozolec" or hay-rack, the distinguished symbol of the Slovenian rural landscape and there are also five information panels about Slovene forestry. H.C. Adi Rosenfeld and Ambassador Barbara Sušnik at the Slovenian forest. Photos: VTA 3 ECONOMY GDP The economic situation in Slovenia has extensively improved over the past two years. The Slovenian economy expanded by 2.9% last year. GDP in 2015 amounted to EUR 38.543 million (current prices). Increased global risks have prompted the government's macroeconomic think-tank IMAD to lower its Spring growth forecast for 2016 by 0.6% to 1.7% and the forecast for next year is 2.4%. According to IMAD, in 2016, economic trends will be impacted particularly by the relatively moderate growth of foreign demand, significant changes in the dynamics of investment growth after the expiry of access to EU funds under the previous financial perspective, and a further strengthening of private consumption. Household consumption growth will mainly be boosted by the continuation of positive labour market developments and the relatively high level of consumer confidence. External trade In 2015, Slovenian export companies maintain their competitive position and together with strong foreign demand Slovenian export increased by 5.2 %. According to IMAD Spring forecast export growth continues in 2016 with a slightly lower rate (3.7 %). In 2015 Slovenia also recorded high growth of import (4.4 %) and with a slightly lower rate growth will continue in 2016 (3.0 %). Growth of exports of goods has been accelerated mainly due to growth of exports to the EU, growth has also continued to Western Balkans countries. In 2015 the total export of goods directed to the EU amounted to 76.9 % and the import 80.6 %. Employment Employment, which started to pick up at the end of 2013, has increased for 1.4 % in 2015. According to IMAD Spring forecast employment will further increase this year, but its growth will be lower (0.9 %). During 2015, the number of unemployed steadily decreased. Number of unemployed people in 2015 was approx. 112 thousand (8 thousand less than in 2014), registered unemployment rate was 12.3 % (ILO unemployment rate stood at 9.0 %). Unemployment will continue to fall in 2016 (107 thousand persons) and 2017 (101 thousand persons), mainly because fewer people will loses job for business reasons and company bankruptcies. Furthermore, according to demographic projections, the sizes of the generations entering the labor market will be smaller. 4 Inflation In 2015, deflation was recorded for the first time since independence (-0.5 %) and was mainly impacted by a significant decline in commodity prices, particularly oil. Particularly lower energy prices will also have a decisive impact on inflation in 2016 and the year as a whole will again record deflation (- 0.3 %). Renewed overall consumer prices growth is expected in 2017, but it will remain relatively low (1.3 % in the year as a whole). Source: IMAD- Institute of Macroeconomic Analysis and Development of the Republic of Slovenia Slovenia – Israel Trade In 2014 bilateral trade in goods between our two countries amounted to 96.6 million EUR which is an increase by 79, 7 % compared to year 2013. In the year 2015 the bilateral trade has amounted to 76 million EUR, which represents a slight decline in comparison to 2014, but still a significant increase to the year before. Slovenian export to Israel in 2015 amounted to 44.5 million EUR and its imports from Israel to 31.5 million EUR. Tourism Slovenia marks a continuous growth of visits of Israeli tourist for the past few years. In 2015, Slovenia was visited by 50.414 tourists from Israel, which represents a 32% growth in the arrival of Israel tourists. In 2015 the greatest increase of overnight stays was by Italian, German, Israeli and British tourists. The Israelis this year generated 171.608 overnight stays, an increase by 32% compared to the year before. In average Israeli tourists spend 3.4 days in Slovenia, which is above the average of 2.5 days for all foreign tourist visits in 2015. In addition to yearly participation at the Israeli tourism fair, the Embassy intends to continue its extensive promotional activities this year in cooperation with STO (Slovenian Tourism Board) and businesses. Source: www.stat.si 5 SLOVENIA In Slovenia, women are more satisfied with their lives than men Photo: Mostphptos Women in Slovenia are more educated than men, but earn less. March 8, International Women`s Day, is a day to celebrate economic, political and social equality and women`s achievements in all areas. However, despite formal equality, gender discrimination persists in several areas. The Slovenian Minister of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, Ms. Anja Kopač Mrak highlighted the need to improve the situation in economic decision-making. "While we have managed to significantly improve the situation with regard to political decision-making by passing the relevant legislation, we have yet to take this step with regard to economic decision-making," said the minister. At the traditional meeting on discrimination and exploitation in science, the Minister of Education, Science and Sport, Ms. Maja Makovec Brenčič, said that Slovenia is striving to create an encouraging research environment that takes into account the principle of equal opportunities for women and men in science. She stressed that inequality in Slovenian science is particularly noticeable in the share of women occupying the highest academic and research positions. Although some half of PhD’s are women, the share of women decreases with every succeeding level of positions in the academia: according to the latest study, women comprise 43 per cent of associate professors, 33 per cent of assistant professors, and only 23 per cent of full professors. In Slovenia, women’s share among the 18,400 graduates of 2014 was 60 %. Two out of three women graduated in social sciences. There were around 3,200 female doctorate holders aged up to 69 years in Slovenia at the end of 2012 or 41% of all doctorate holders. In Slovenia, more than 363,500 women were in employment at the end of 2015 (or 45.2% of all persons in employment); 92.0% of them were in paid employment and the remainder was self-employed.