Politics

CULTURE & ART

Author Amos Oz in Slovenia
On the occasion of his book "A Tale of Love and Darkness" translated to Slovenian
language, Amos Oz, the renowned Israeli intellectual, novelist and essayist visited
Slovenia. Amos Oz is popular among Slovenian readers that admire his writing as well as his
engagement for peace. He participated at two literary events in Maribor within the
framework of the Maribor2012: European Capital of Culture and at one event in
Cankarjev dom, Ljubljana. The talk was hosted by Klemen Jelinčič Boeta.
(source: Cankarjev Dom)
Mitja Čander at Tel Aviv Art Week
On 25 March 2012, Mitja Čander, Program Director of Maribor- European Capital of
Culture 2012 participated at Tel Aviv Art Weekend that took place in Tel Aviv from 21
through 24 March 2012.
2012 has been declared Art Year in Tel Aviv-Yafo. The year's landmark event, Tel Aviv Art
Weekend, marked the opening of the new building of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art.
Mr. Čander also attended the ECOC Conference-European Capitals of Culture
Conference, a special international cooperation forum on marketing programs through
the arts. European Capitals of Culture are unique events that take place the whole year through;
they are aimed at absolutely everyone, be they young, old, educated or uneducated; and
all ECOC projects have a prominent European dimension. This year's European Cultural
Capitals are Maribor in Slovenia and Guimaeres in Portugal. 
Dr. Miha Kos, Director of House of Experiments at Madatech, Haifa
On 13 March 2012, Miha Kos, Director of House of Experiments (Children's science
museum) in Ljubljana visited Madatech, The Israel National Museum of Science in Haifa.
Mr. Kos led a few science workshops and met with General Director of Madatech, Dr.
Ronen Mir. They discussed cooperation on interest points.

TOURISM

Slovenia is improving its position in the Travel & Tourism ranking measured by the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI).
In 2011, Slovenia was ranked in 33rd place among 139 countries, up two

places compared to 2009. Slovenia records high scores especially in
tourism infrastructure (17th place), environmental sustainability (23rd

place), ground transport infrastructure (25th place), ICT infrastructure

(26th place) and safety and security (29th place), with notable

competitive advantages in the cost to start a business (1st place), road

density (12th place) and transparency of government policy making

(23rd place).

The numbers of Israeli tourists travelling to Slovenia are growing every

year peaking in summer. According to the Slovenian Tourist Board,

approximately 29,000 Israeli tourists visited Slovenia in 2011 and there

were 90,000 overnight stays.

JUDAICA

President of the Republic of Slovenia conferred decorations to Erika Fürst in
Ljubljana
On 27 January 2012, International Day of Holocaust Commemoration, President Danilo
Türk awarded the gold medal of the Order of Merit to Erika Fürst for outstanding
personal contribution to the Slovenian and European historical consciousness about the
Holocaust from the perspective of surviving authentic and valuable contribution to
preserving the memory of the history and the fate of Slovenian Jews.
Source: Office of the President
At his address at the award of decoration ceremony, the President emphasized the
importance of the mission of Erika Fürst, which is a stone wall in the defense against
the horrors that it has experienced and survived.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Špela Šubic at Holon Design Week
Špela Šubic, Senior Curator at MAO-Museum of Architecture and Design in Ljubljana
will attend Holon Design Week April 08-12, 2012.
Design Week Holon will focus on designers, their work, and the role they play in
everyday life in Israel. The focus of the Designers Plus Ten exhibition will be a personal
narrative of the various fields of design in Israel. Each year during Design Week the
museum exhibition will provide a platform for a new and different cross-section of
designers.
Seventeen directors of design weeks held all over the world will be attending Design
Week Holon, This international team will hold one-on-one meetings with Israeli
designers for presentations, and hopefully for work meetings as well.f