Do you know what the Land of Hayracks, the Kranj street theatre, the new buildings of the Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology and of the Faculty of Computer and Information Science, the Gorenjska plaza beach, the Ljubljana Marshes Landscape Park and the Horjul Primary School have in common? They all received EU support to see the light of day and you can learn more about these projects at the photography exhibition called ʺWhat has the European money done for you, for your place?ʺ. The exhibition opened yesterday at the Congress Square in Ljubljana and will run till 23 October 2014. Photos of 26 interesting projects that received EU money are being exhibited and you can cast vote for your favourite project at the website www.eu-skladi.si and get the chance of winning an interesting prize.
More than 95,300 projects received EU support in the 2007-2013 programming period, and the Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food wish to draw attention to a number of success stories that not just happened but came true thanks to the EU monies (the European Regional Development Fund, the Cohesion Fund, the European Social Fund, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and/or the European Fisheries Fund). That is precisely why the two institutions launched a contest called ʺWhat has the European money done for you, for your place?ʺ in which the general public participated by nominating the projects that changed their lives or made their lives and life in the community significantly better. 26 nominated projects were randomly drawn to enter the photography exhibition held at the Congress Square in Ljubljana.
In the opening address, Minister Violeta Bulc, MSc said that in every single municipality in Slovenia there is at least one project that received EU support: ʺIf it had not been for cohesion policy funds in the 2007-2013 period, we would not have been able to create 33,000 jobs, support more than 600 research projects, provide broadband internet services for more than 65,000 people, build almost 60 kilometres of railway lines on the TEN-T network and rehabilitate additional 65 kilometres, and, last but not least, provide drinking water supply for more than 80,000 people.ʺ The Minister stressed out that the EU funds are in fact our joint development funds and that EU support is an opportunity and not an obstacle to overcome. She pointed out that our success can only come from strictly following the rules set in this area.
State Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food, Tanja Strniša, MSc drew attention to the importance of projects promoting sustainable development, environmental protection or protection of natural resources, especially of water, protection of good-quality agricultural land, production and supply of high-quality food, preservation or creation of green jobs, conservation of biodiversity, man-made environment and rich rural heritage, and, last but not least, sustainable fisheries development. Payments worth over EUR 1 billion have already been made for this purpose under the 2007-2013 Rural Development Programme. The State Secretary also mentioned that the support by the European Fisheries Fund has been invaluable as well, since many of the projects in the area of sustainable fisheries development and fish-farming have received monies in the past seven years.
Yesterday's opening event was hosted by the famous Slovenian stand-up comedian Boštjan Gorenc – Pižama, and the audience of invited guests and numerous passers-by enjoyed the performances by the singing groups Klasek and Studenček and the Horjul Primary School children. Members of the Association of Farm Women Ivanjščice took care of the catering aspect of the event by serving some delicious culinary treats. See some of the photos taken during the event at the following link: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.544670448997586.1073741836.148742975257004&type=3&uploaded=1