This year, the 12th Slovenian Development Days will occur between October 15 and 22 under the title “For a world without hunger”.
After decades of progress in food security, global hunger and malnutrition are once again on the rise. A record number of people are food insecure, the main causes remain the vicious circle of armed conflict, climate change and economic fluctuations.
The Slovenian Development Days will start on October 15 with a national consultation on international development cooperation and humanitarian aid ( register to participate ), which is organized in cooperation with the National Assembly.
In the last 20 years, Slovenia has become an important donor of official development aid, which is a reflection of its commitment to achieving the goals of sustainable development and reducing global poverty. At the consultation, the participants will review the achievements and recommendations of the OECD Development Committee to improve the efficiency of Slovenia’s operations at a time of exceptional development and humanitarian needs around the world.
On the same day, in the National Assembly, an exhibition of photographs of the projects of partner institutions and non-governmental organizations will be opened. Those organizations through their activities contribute to reducing hunger in the world or otherwise contribute to the improvement of people’s lives.
The program of the 12th Slovenian Development Days was co-created together with partners, such as Platforma SLOGA, CEF, CEP, ITF, CMSR, non-governmental organizations, the professional and academic community and other important partners. In the program, the elementary school students, high school students, writers, professionals and the general public is included too.
Through various events – from round tables, workshops and lectures to traveling exhibitions, concerts and outdoor awareness campaigns – the organizers will show how to connect anti mine action and food security efforts and how to involve Slovenian companies in order to contribute to the food security of the most vulnerable.
On Wednesday, October 16th, from 07:30-09:30, together with the diplomatic corps and partner organizations, the Slovenian edition of the “World‘s Best News” newspaper will be distributed on Prešeren square, and in the afternoon, festival events will take place in the central Ljubljana square with workshops, presentations by non-governmental organizations, quizzes, and a concert and food security debates.
In Maribor, a workshop will be held on food self-sufficiency within a housing cooperative , and in Novi Mesto, a traveling exhibition with examples of good practices of Slovenian non-governmental organizations will respond to the challenges of sustainable development , together with a discussion on the occasion of World Anti-Poverty Day.
Providing quality food in sufficient quantities is becoming one of the most important issues for the future of humanity.
At Friday’s Open Kitchen in Ljubljana, on 18.10, well-known chefs will demonstrate in culinary workshops how to prepare delicious dishes from leftover food.
In the “living library”, the organizers will encourage responsible handling of waste and discarded food and raise awareness of the fact that everyone can help reduce hunger in the world.
The Slovenian Development Days on October 22nd with an international conference and another Slovenian humanitarian forum ( register to participate ), will be held under the auspices of the President of the Republic of Slovenia, dr Nataša Pirc Musar.
The morning panel entitled “The Vicious Cycle Between Armed Conflict and the Food Crisis” will feature panelists including Deputy Executive Director of the World Food Program Carl Skau, Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Middle East (UNRWA) Philippe Lazzarini and national coordinator of Caritas Malawi Chimwemwe Nyambose Ndhlovu, discussed important topics, including how to better integrate food security into the framework of conflict prevention and peacebuilding. Questions such as how to ensure safe and unhindered humanitarian access in crises, how to protect critical civilian infrastructure and establish safe conditions for food production, including through humanitarian demining and effective management of arable land and water resources, will be included in the discussion between the dignitaries.
The afternoon part of the conference will begin with the presentation of the Report of the mutual review of international development cooperation and humanitarian aid of Slovenia, which will be addressed by the Chairman of the Committee for Development Assistance of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD DAC), Carsten Staur. This will be followed by a panel entitled “Food security and building sustainable food systems”, where the participants will learn about examples of good practices in ensuring food security, the main challenges of transforming food systems and the role that UN agencies play in this, and the issue of how to achieve a world without hunger will be addressed and whether people can even achieve the second goal of sustainable development, which is aimed at this very thing. The panel will include the Chairperson of the Development Assistance Committee (OECD DAC) Carsten Staur, the Executive Director of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Tatiana Molcean, the Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development of Zimbabwe Anxious Jongwe Masuka and the Chairperson to the European NGO confederation in the field of sustainable development CONCORD Rilli Lappalainen.
By participating, you will contribute to the debate on one of the greatest global challenges of our time and support efforts for a better, fairer world.
Please register for the events on October 15 and October 22 using the links below:
October 15, 2024 :
October 22, 2024 :
Source: Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs
Program of Slovenian Development Days 2024 (10 October 2024) (docx, 198 KB)