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During its presidency of MED9, Slovenia will focus on strengthening Europe's resilience and competitiveness, youth empowerment and capacity-building in higher education, digitalisation and culture as well as the EU enlargement and other foreign policy issues. A number of events will be organised during the Presidency, which you can follow on the dedicated MED9 website.

The Government has proclaimed 2026 the year of the poet Srečko Kosovel to mark the 100th anniversary of his death. The proclamation was proposed by the Sežana Municipality. The proposal was supported by the Slovenian Writers' Association, while the Ministry of Culture included it among the important national cultural projects.

On the margins of the official opening of the European Capital of Culture GO! 2025, Minister of Culture Asta Vrečko hosted a working meeting of the Ministers of Culture of the Western Balkans at Villa Vipolže in Goriška Brda. The meeting was also attended by the European Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos, and the Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport, Glenn Micallef.

Yesterday, on the occasion of the Slovenian Cultural Holiday, the opening ceremony From station to station took place to unite Nova Gorica and Gorizia as the European Capital of Culture for a year. Before the opening ceremony, Minister of Culture Asta Vrečko, together with European Commissioners Marta Kos and Glenn Micallef, addressed local and international journalists in Nova Gorica and hosted a reception for distinguished guests with delegations at Hotel Perla.

Culture extends the borders of our world. Let it be borderless!

On the eve of Prešeren Day, the Slovenian cultural holiday, a State ceremony was held in the Gallus Hall of Cankarjev Dom in Ljubljana to award two Prešeren Awards and Prešeren Fund Awards as the highest recognition in the Republic of Slovenia for achievements in artistic creation.

The Government has approved the new Media Act and submitted it to the National Assembly for consideration. This is the first comprehensive overhaul of the Media Act in over 20 years, with its primary aim being to safeguard the right of the Slovenian population to comprehensive information and freedom of expression, even within the evolving new media landscape.

In the New Year every day is an opportunity to meet and learn about ourselves and each other through arts and culture. May we take heed in 2025 as we build new communities and care for existing ones.

Librarians first celebrated the Day of Public Libraries in 2002. Each year, it is accompanied by Public Library Week, which this year is being celebrated in libraries from November 18 to 22. The slogan for this year's celebration is "(Let's) Gather in the Library."

Minister of Culture, Asta Vrečko, attends the opening ceremony of the renovated Podčetrtek Castle. The castle reopens its doors after decades of decline.

Paris this year is not only the centre of the sporting world, but also a meeting point of different cultures. The Olympic Games have always been linked to culture and the arts. France is a country of culture and Paris a capital of the arts. Slovenia has strong ties with the latter, as many Slovenian artists have studied there over the years and many of them have also created and worked there.

Slovenia's colours will be represented at the Olympic Games in Paris by its largest-ever Olympic delegation, consisting of 197 members, including 90 athletes. In addition to its outstanding sports team, Slovenia will also be making its presences felt at the largest version of the Slovenia House so far.

The Ministry of Cohesion and Regional Development has approved EU funding for the project Scholarships for specialised professions in culture. The European Social Fund Plus contribution stands at EUR 3 million.

Today, in the National Gallery, the Minister of Culture, Dr Asta Vrečko, presented a charter to the representatives of the Chamber of Nursing and Midwifery Services of Slovenia – the Nurses and Midwives Association of Slovenia – and the Natural Beginnings Association on the occasion of the inscription of midwifery on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

On Monday we officially opened the Bologna Children's Book Fair, where Slovenia is this year's Guest of Honour. As Guest of Honour, Slovenia has a unique opportunity to showcase its creative talents, publishers, authors and illustrators at one of the world's leading platforms for children's and youth literature.

Slovenia will appear as Guest of Honour at the prestigious Bologna International Book Fair next month, cementing its place on the world stage as a nation rich in imaginative children's and youth literature and with an exceptional illustration heritage.

At its meeting on the 6th of December in Botswana, the Intergovernmental Committee of the 2003 Convention adopted a decision to enter “Midwifery: knowledge, skills and practices” on the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The nomination was proposed by Colombia, Cyprus, Germany, Kyrgyzstan, Luxembourg, Nigeria, Slovenia and Togo.

Slovenia is the Guest of Honour of the Frankfurt International Book Fair under the slogan "Honeycomb of Words".

This year's Frankfurt Book Fair will be of special importance for Slovenia as its guest of honour. Slovenia is only the third Slavic country to feature as the guest of honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair, where it will appear under the motto "A Honeycomb of Words". Various exhibitions related to Slovenia and its literature and culture are also part of the rich cross-border programme. Three exhibitions were opened in the period between 14 and 17 September.

“The European Commission’s Fourth Annual Rule of Law Report on the Rule of Law Situation in EU Member States in 2023 shows that Slovenia has made progress in almost all areas. Nevertheless, we will continue to work actively to improve the rule of law and to take into account new recommendations,” said Minister Tanja Fajon, State Secretary, Dr Igor Šoltes, Minister Asta Vrečko, and Minister Boštjan Pokuklar at the publication of the report.