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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.

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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.

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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

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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.

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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

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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. 42.1% of employed women had tertiary education. The share of women in high-level occupations is still low, but it is increasing. Ten years ago,

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women comprised 21.8% of managing directors and chief executives; by the end of 2015, the share of women in this occupational group had increased by 2.8 %. According to the European Commission, the share of women in parliament was 38% in 2014. Since 2012, the share of women in the Slovene parliament has been above the EU average (28%). The self-assessment of overall life satisfaction in Slovenia indicates that women are more satisfied than men (according to the Survey on Living Conditions in 2013), but they are slightly less satisfied with time use. The self-assessment of overall satisfaction shows that on average women are more satisfied with their jobs and with commuting time. Source: www.vlada.si

ENVIRONMENT Slovenia among the greenest countries in the world Green Slovenia has placed fifth among 180 countries on the Environmental Performance Index – EPI, which is prepared by Yale University in cooperation with Columbia University and the World Economic Forum. Slovenia has progressed significantly since 2014, and its excellent placing confirms that it protects the ecosystem and human health very well. Slovenia ranks behind Finland, Iceland, Sweden and Denmark, reaching fifth place in Europe and the world. The EPI ranks how well countries perform in two policy areas: protection of human health and protection of ecosystems, which are scored in nine areas comprising 20 indicators. Finland ranks first with 90.68 points, followed by Iceland with 90.51 points, Sweden with 90.43 points and Denmark with 89.21 points. Slovenia garnered 88.98 points to reach fifth place. The results of the survey presented at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos show that there have been positive global shifts in the areas of climate, energy, and access to drinking water and sanitation, all of which affect public health.

Photo: Jakše – Jeršič

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Slovenia has unique natural features, which are the basis for the country's focus on sustainability. The story of the green country and the colour green is also included in the I FEEL SLOVENIA national brand. The colour, which expresses a balance between the serenity of nature and the diligence of Slovenians, is crucial to the brand’s recognition. It denotes pristine nature and our determination to preserve it and therefore focus on sustainable development. The Slovenian Tourist Board (STB) is committed to ensure that the green and sustainable strategy is part of all its activities. In 2009, the Slovenian Tourist Board developed strategic orientations for green tourism and in 2014, they formed the Green Scheme of Slovenian tourism in cooperation with service providers and experts in the field of sustainable tourism, which is based on European (ETIS) and global (GSTC) criteria and recommends the adoption of GSTR (Global Sustainable Tourism Review) tools for measuring efficiency in the implementation of green practices. The green scheme is a system belonging to the umbrella of the SLOVENIA GREEN label, which will not only bring together efforts to promote sustainable development and enable the comparison between Slovenia and other green destinations of the world but also add national character to allow easier positioning of the green Slovenia in the world. In 2015, the Board has started to implement the scheme at the level of destinations and service providers. This year is also special for Ljubljana, the European Green Capital of 2016. The capital of Slovenia demonstrates great environmental awareness, which has been recognized by the European Commission, which made it a green capital in June 2014 “for raising environmental awareness among citizens, the 'Vision 2025' sustainable strategy, and the implementation of a series of green measures in the city in the last decade and an impressive network of public transport." In April 2015, Ljubljana also received the ‘Tourism for Tomorrow’ award from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) as the most sustainability-focused destination. The jury highlighted that the image of Ljubljana had been "completely reshaped in accordance with a focus on sustainability." Source: http://www.slovenia.si/,

Three Slovenian green projects receive European LIFE awards Three Slovenian projects have been listed among the best projects of the EU’s LIFE program that provides financial support for environmental, nature conservation and climate action projects throughout the bloc. Awards will be conferred at a ceremony in Brussels on 31 May as part of the Green Week The Wetman project furthering conservation and management of fresh - water wetlands in Slovenia is among 23 projects selected from 63 applicants competing in the segment of nature and biodiversity.The project looks to improve hydrological conditions, remove overgrowth and invasive alien fish species, and prevent the destruction of endangered habitats and the disturbance of endangered species. Aquaviva and Rebirth have made it to the top five of the 14 projects that pursue specific environmental goals by means of information and communication tools. Aquaviva looks to raise awareness of the Slovenian public about the importance of biodiversity of

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aquatic ecosystems for life on the planet, while Rebirth promotes the re-use of industrial and construction waste. Source: www.STA.si

SPORT Slovenia celebrates Peter Prevc’s ski jumping achievements

Peter Prevc, 4 Hills tournament winner. Photo: www.fis-ski.com Peter Prevc is the shining star of this ski jumping season, leaving all competition behind. Peter Prevc and Robert Kranjec wrapped up a dream season for Slovenian ski jumping, taking first and second place in the second double Slovenian win of the World Cup Finale on the giant hill in Planica. What is more, Prevc shone brightest at both season’s spectacles, the New Year’s 4-Hill Tournament as well as the Ski Flying World Championship. He is the second Slovenian ski jumper to win both prestigious competitions. Prevc repeated a 19-year-old tour win by Primož Peterka in Bischofshofen and the success of Robert Kranjec’s career in Vikersund four years ago. The 2015/2016 season established Slovenia as a ski jumping superpower, as Prevc pulled the entire team ahead. He took the crystal globe for the overall world cup win.

Source: www.sta.si,photos:www.gettyimages.com

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