At the meeting, the Committee members reviewed and approved the wording of the ‘2023 Golden Bee Award’ public tender dossier. The ‘2023 Golden Bee Award’ is to be awarded for projects or achievements in the research on honeybees and other pollinators within the most recent seven years. Objective of this public tender is to direct public attention to contributions of individuals, legal persons, or international organisations, and thereby, to stimulate achievements of projects in the research on honeybees and other pollinators, to improve their visibility and to strengthen public awareness of their far-reaching significance.

Public tender will be published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, and on websites of international organisations, in the beginning of December 2022. Deadline for placing proposals of the Golden Bee Award candidates expires on 1 March 2023. The awardee will be granted the official document of the Republic of Slovenia, a statue, and a monetary award of EUR 28,000.

The ‘Golden Bee Award’, the highest national award of the Republic of Slovenia for outstanding achievements in the conservation of honeybees and other pollinators, protection of honeybees and other pollinators, and in raising public awareness of their significance in maintaining sustainable agriculture, ensuring food security, conservation of the environment and biodiversity, cultural heritage, and securing public health, is envisaged to be awarded by the President of the Republic of Slovenia on the World Bee Day, 20 May 2023.

Through the World Bee Day, and the ‘Golden Bee Award’, the Republic of Slovenia is encouraging the transfer of know-how and of technologies, endeavouring to consolidate Slovenia’s position in the world, to be recognised as a green, healthy, proactive and innovative country. At the same time, Slovenia strives to increase the international outreach and visibility, and to improve the awareness of the general public of the indispensable role and great significance of honeybees and other pollinators for the world that we live in.