The call is open from today until 14th March and applications from Slovenia and abroad are expected. The subject of the call are projects or achievements in the field of conservation of bees and other pollinators in the past seven years (i.e. in the period 2017-2024).

The Committee will select the nominees for the prize no later than in April 2025 and the winner will be announced at the World Bee Day event on 20 May 2025, when the President of the Republic of Slovenia will hand over the prize.

The Golden Bee is designed to encourage and support innovation and to recognise excellence in individuals or legal entities that have made a particularly significant contribution to achievements and projects in the field of research on bees and other pollinators, raising their profile and raising awareness of their importance for humanity. With the award, Slovenia promotes World Bee Day, which was declared by the United Nations on the basis of Slovenian initiative, as well as transfers knowledge, good practices and technologies and consolidates its position in the world as a green, healthy and proactive country.

Prof. Lucas Alejandro Garibaldi from Argentina received the first award in 2021 for the promotion of bees and other pollinators, the president of the Slovenian Beekeepers’ Association Boštjan Noč received the award in 2022 for the preservation of bees and other pollinators, Serbian scientist David Davidović received the award in 2023 for research on bees and other pollinators and the Australian organisation The Wheen Bee Foundation Limited for achievements in the promotion of bees and wild pollinators in 2024.