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Mit - UVK_Sinfo_2008_02February4 - Index

s o C i e t y
90-year-old author was delivered by his wife. Gradišnik wrote that a
respectful attitude to a mother tongue reflects the level of culture of
a nation. Licul was meanwhile honoured for his rich creative opus in
design. Perhaps most famed for his design of the former Slovenian
national currency, the tolar, Licul said in his speech that the omnipresent
freedom of speech was destroying the dignity and culture. ≈The
quality of communication in the public is problematic, to put it mildly.
Those most responsible for such a situation are media owners and
managers. Media, big clients and creators and designers of media
messages often forget the basic ethical ideals in their fight for profit,«
Licul said. The Prešeren Awards and Prešeren Fund Awards, named
after Slovenia's best known poet France Prešeren (1800-1849), are
the most prestigious awards in Slovenia and are traditionally handed
out on the eve of Culture Day, 8 February.
HOLIDAy MARKED by SOLEMNITy AND
PRIDE
Slovenia, one of the very few countries who honour their cultures by
official holidays, has undoubtedly endowed its holiday with content
that affirms it and makes it particularly meaningful. This year was no
exception. Torrents of visitors filled museums, theatres, and attended
special events, proving that they care about culture. Putting aside
the Prešeren awards ceremony, the traditional central celebration, it
warms the heart to regard the increasingly enthusiastic responses of
a wide range of people, who until a few years ago considered the
cultural holiday simply as another day off from work. Lately, many
who spend the day itself on the ski slopes have been taking in cultural
events in the evening. In Ljubljana, a large crowd attended the
traditional recital of Prešeren’s poems in the central city square. The
situations were similar in Vrba, the poet’s place of birth, where 4,000
people turned out, and in Kranj, where Prešeren lived for a long time
and died. Kranj, proclaimed the City of Prešeren, staged a veritable
parade of historical costumes from the poet’s time, and hosted a fair
with products and artistic items reminiscent of the period.
SLOVENIAN ARTISTS IN WINTERy SARAJEVO
The famous Sarajevska zima (Sarajevo winter) cultural festival, which
first took place in 1984 following the Olympic Games in that city, and
was not even interrupted by the horrible war in Bosnia, is one of the
most beautiful traditions of the Bosnian Federation’s capital, a city
becoming increasingly multicultural once again. Ever since its inception,
the festival has cherished its Slovenian artistic guests, who contributed
significantly to this year’s programme. Musicians of the Slovenian
Philharmonic Orchestra travelled to Sarajevo for the festival’s
opening. On February 8th, they played a concert there, conducted
by Toshihiro Yonezu, and two days later Ljubljana City Theatre gave a
performance of The Fiddler on the Roof, in which a large crew of 73
actors and other assorted theatre workers participated.
THE fAVOURITE fOREIgN DIPLOMAT
IN SLOVENIA IS RUSSIAN MIHAIL
VALENTINOVI» VANIN
The two Slovenian media for foreigners, the newspaper The Slovenia
Times and Radio Slovenia International, have announced their most
popular foreign personalities in Slovenia. The favourite foreigner
among diplomats is the Russian ambassador, Mihail ValentinoviË
Vanin. Mr Vanin began his mandate in Slovenia in 2005. His work
combines a range of activities in politics, the economy and culture.
He is keen on studying Slovenian history, literature and art. He is
striving for the active strengthening of traditionally good relations
sinfo february 08 24
between the countries, the symbol of which is also the annual
ceremony at the Russian Chapel under VršiË, for the renovation of
which he successfully raised funds from Russian banks. Slovenia has,
as he says, changed a lot since he arrived. In addition to new hotels,
highways and other buildings, it also achieved a lot in the diplomatic
area. As important achievements, he mentioned the presidency
of the OSCE and EU, and joining the Euro and Schengen. He sees
Slovenian political culture as transitional, which reflects the previous
state of Slovenian statehood and democratic development, and at a
very high level. The latter is the reason that Russian diplomats want
to serve in Slovenia. As the favourite foreign personality of 2007
in the area of culture, Australian musician Kate Hosking, who was
enthusiastic about the “beauty, courage and intellect of Slovenian
musicians” was selected. The favourite foreign sports personality is
25-year old Delano Thomas, a Californian volleyball player who plays
for ACH Volley from Bled. Among economists, the flattering title
went to Blaine Callard, the manager of the trading company Harvey
Norman Slovenia, a company with two stores, which employs 150
people and actively seeks ways to expand its business operations.
Already this year, the parallel building of three new stores is planned.
He is spreading his knowledge to coming generations of traders and
businessmen. Last year, he was a guest at the Faculty of Economics
in Ljubljana, and this year he is a mentor to young entrepreneurs in
the CEED programme. Slovenia is in his opinion becoming more and
more European − it has better restaurants, goods in the shops, better
cars and more style in clothing.
REbEKA DREMELJ fOR EUROSONg THIS yEAR
This year’s ‘Ema’, the Slovenian Eurosong selection contest, was won
by the young singer Rebeka Dremelj, whom listeners awarded the
most votes by televoting. The competition was close, since the first
runner-up, who received more than 56,000 votes, fell behind by a
mere four hundred. While Rebeka Dremelj is a congenial and hardworking
singer, her song is tailored to fit the demands of a contest
that rewards appearance and congeniality more than it does the
quality of the music. In any case, many believe that Eurosong is in
a state of crisis, which will either cause the rules to be changed, or
leave the contest an empty shell, driving off the remaining exceptions
who strive to maintain a vestige of quality.