Expert Jury, designated by the Minister Dr Jože Podgoršek, will select three best proposals for the award model. The award model will then be created according to the best award model proposal and, every year, the award will be granted for global achievements in apiculture by the President of the Republic of Slovenia.

Response to this open competition is expected from artists in fine arts, designers, architects, sculptors, other interested authors, legal persons and/or groups of authors. It is imperative that the applications follow the starting-points as set out in the competition documents, include an original proposal for creation of a state-of-the-art, high-quality and functionally designed object. The design of the award model, as the highest acknowledgement in apiculture in the world, shall reflect the distinctiveness and symbolism of pollinators, apiculture, protection of the environment and symbiosis of man and nature.

In addition to its international value, the award model shall constitute a superior symbolic value for the persons receiving the award, as well as for the Republic of Slovenia as the grantor of the award. The award model shall have universal value through time and it shall be internationally acceptable for all the potential awardees from the different countries of the world.

The name of the award, the ‘Golden Honeybee / Zlata čebela’, shall not be a limiting factor for the applicants – the selection of the form and material for the award model is fully up to the author(s).

The supreme distinction and best level of interpretation of the creative design presented will be assessed by the Expert Jury, composed of a representative of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food (MAFF), of the Slovenian Beekeepers’ Association / Čebelarska zveza Slovenije (the prime mover of the Svetovni dan čebel / World Bee Day project), and of the reputed experts in design, marketing and communication.

The competition documents, published on the Portal javnih naročil / Public Procurement Portal, include all the assessment criteria and rules. Applications shall be accepted by the deadline of 22 February 2021.

From among all the timely arrived applications, the Expert Jury will select three best proposals of the creative design and plan. With the best applicant, to be selected in line with the applicable assessment criteria and rules, and obtaining the most points, the MAFF will enter into a contract on the creation / manufacture of the award model.

MAFF is calling on all the interested parties to respond and apply to the open competition, as thus, they shall contribute to better worldwide recognition of Slovenia and of Slovenia’s endeavours in preserving the honeybees and other pollinators, in protecting the environment, in promoting the symbiosis of man and nature, and in achieving the goals of the World Bee Day.