Minister calls for better cooperation among diaspora members
Vipava/Ljubljana, 2 July - The traditional annual meeting of Slovenians living abroad is wrapping up in Ljubljana on Sunday. Addressing the main event in Vipava on Saturday, Minister for Slovenians Abroad Matej Arčon said the aim was to strengthen ties between umbrella organisations of the Slovenian diaspora.
Vipava
The main event of the annual get-together of Slovenians living abroad and ethnic Slovenians living in neighbouring countries.
Photo: Tamino Petelinšek/STA
Vipava
The main event of the annual get-together of Slovenians living abroad and ethnic Slovenians living in neighbouring countries.
Photo: Tamino Petelinšek/STA
Vipava
The main event of the annual get-together of Slovenians living abroad and ethnic Slovenians living in neighbouring countries.
Photo: Tamino Petelinšek/STA
Vipava
The main event of the annual get-together of Slovenians living abroad and ethnic Slovenians living in neighbouring countries.
Photo: Tamino Petelinšek/STA
Vipava
The main event of the annual get-together of Slovenians living abroad and ethnic Slovenians living in neighbouring countries.
Photo: Tamino Petelinšek/STA
Vipava
Minister for Slovenians Abroad Matej Arčon addresses the main event of the annual get-together of Slovenian minorities and diaspora.
Photo: Tamino Petelinšek/STA
The 19th Welcome Home meeting, which brings together hundreds of Slovenian emigrants and ethnic Slovenians from neighbouring countries, started on Thursday with an all-Slovenian meeting in the parliament.
Yesterday, some 500 participants from all around the world gathered in Vipava in the west of the country, including Slovenians living in Argentina, Canada and Australia.
There is around half a million of ethnic Slovenians or people with Slovenian origins living worldwide, and the events this week heard calls for efforts to better tap into the potential they unlock.
Highlighting the importance of cooperation, Arčon said that the aim was to bring together the members of the Slovenian diaspora. This has already been achieved in the case of four umbrella organisations of Slovenian minorities, he added.
Cooperation in culture and sport is at a high level, while there is a lot of room for improvement in economic cooperation, he noted.
"I find it very important that we have brought together this coordination of minority organisations, which will also be financially supported by the Economy Ministry," he said, adding that the next goal was to extend this network to countries around the world.
The ministry would also like to focus more on Slovenians living abroad who would like to return to their home country. The plan is to prepare a strategy and take measures to encourage young emigrants to return.
Latest surveys show that around 40% of young people who left Slovenia for various reasons decide to come back.
After the Vipava event, Arčon told the STA that the annual meeting was a way to thank the Slovenian diaspora and minorities for their contribution to independence efforts and nurture the Slovenian identity.
Today, the meeting is coming to a close in Ljubljana, where, together with expatriate bishops, Ljubljana Auxiliary Bishop Anton Jamnik will celebrate a mass for Slovenians in Slovenia and abroad. A debate on migration and modern emigration is also scheduled.
Guided tours, performances, exhibitions and debates are among other Welcome Home events that took place in the past three days or will be held today.