The Anna Lindh Foundation in Slovenia

The Anna Lindh Euro-Med Foundation for Dialogue between Cultures (Anna Lindh Foundation or ALF) was founded in 2004 with its headquarters in Alexandria (Egypt).

The Anna Lindh Foundation focuses its intercultural action around three pillars: Empowering young voices; Influencing policymakers; Building a movement for dialogue and exchange in the face of growing mistrust and polarization among societies.

The Foundation is a network of networks with more than 4000 members from 42 Euro-Med countries. Each network has a national coordinator appointed by the Ministry of foreign affairs or elected by the members. 

Povod Institute for culture and development international relations in Culture is the elected head of the network of the Anna Lindh Foundation in Slovenia, the Network in Slovenia has over 70 members who are active in various fields within the scope of EuroMed cooperation, intercultural learning and dialogue.

This platform is delectated to share about opportunities, programs and open calls shared by and for the members of the ALF network in Slovenia.

The APIS institute presented the “Act & Art” project in the Rog Center, where on 26.1. they spoke about the results of an international research on the needs of youth workers in the integration of refugees and migrants, about the Act & Art training for youth workers and presented a series of creative workshops that the participants of the training held with vulnerable young people after the training.

Through various creative approaches, the project successfully included more than 60 young refugees, migrants, unaccompanied youth and other vulnerable youth in Slovenia. The total number of people involved in the activities is significantly higher, as local activities were also carried out in Belgium, Turkey, Germany and France.

The consortium of the Act & Art for Positive Social Change project consists of 7 partners from 5 different countries from all over the EU and Turkey. The consortium is led by Zavod APIS from Slovenia with the partnership of 6 other partners.

More.

Slovenian philanthropy is collecting applications for the “Day for Change” – a nationwide volunteer campaign! You are welcome to help build more resilient communities together on April 6, 2024.

The slogan “The most golden is the volunteer’s shovel” wants to remind of last year’s floods, which affected many inhabitants of Slovenia, and at the same time emphasizes the importance of a wide variety of volunteer actions in building communities that will be more resistant to future crises.

Organized by the Slovenian Philanthropy, the campaign will connect many actors throughout Slovenia for the fifteenth year in a row.

More information and application.

In February, the PiNA association started implementing the new project “Nurturing the world can be a job”, where they hosted partners from Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Albania at the first partner meeting.

As part of the project, which also addresses two of their program guidelines – the empowerment of young people and the creation of a supportive environment for the development of the non-governmental sector, three national support points will be created, which will be aimed at strengthening the mentoring skills of NGO representatives and at the same time contribute to the career development of young people, who will of the project developed the skills and competences they need for an easier entry into the labor market.

The project is based on an already tested model of practices in the non-governmental sector, which was developed as part of the previous “Social Innovators” project, with which they want to bring non-governmental organizations closer to young people as important employers.

More.

On January 23rd 2024, we held the annual meeting of the Slovenian network of member organizations Anna Lindh Fundation, Slovenia, which is coordinated by Institute Povod.

The Anna Lindh Foundation is the largest and central platform for civil society cooperation in the Euro-Mediterranean region, and the Slovenian Network has 70 member organizations.

We presented the current activities of the foundation globally, and the activities of Slovenian organizations in the last year.

The guest of the meeting was the head of the Anna Lindh Foundation – Bosnia & Herzegovina network, who presented their activities and the possibilities of cooperation between the two countries from their perspective.

The activities took place within the framework of the project “For her dignity – protection from violence, health and food for women and girls in Lebanon”, which together with the partner Developmental Action without Borders – Naba’a inLebanon is implemented by the Circle institute (Zavod Krog).

The activities offer them the possibility of escaping to a safe and supportive environment from a community in which they face various cultural, social, religious and economic limitations. These prevent them from expressing their feelings freely, while at the activities they have the opportunity to actively participate, share their personal experiences and get support from other women and girls.

Read more.

Exhibition opening and round table in Ptuj on Mediterranean Day

The exhibition “Stories of positive changes” shows projects and examples of good practices of Slovenian NGO’s, with which they respond to the challenges of the present time, with migration at the forefront. 

The phenomenon of migration is also significantly influenced by what is happening in the Mediterranean or Middle East.

The guests of the round table, which took place on November 28th, 2023 in Ptuj, also spoke about this topic: 

  • Robert Križanič, director of the Povod Institute 
  • Samar Zughool, director of the Institute for sustainable living – Reka Si
  • Max Zimani, director of SLOGA platform – an NGO for development, global learning and humanitarian aid
  • Štefan Simončič, president of the association EPEKA Slovenia.

Read more.

“Beyond the tales”

At the beginning of November, the Humanitas association conducted an international training in Maribor as part of the project “Beyond the tales”, where participants from Spain, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Austria and Slovenia learned more about the topic of climate migration and integrated the knowledge acquired during the previous online training.

Among other things, the participants went on a tour of Maribor and learned about its history through the lens of migration, and in Ljubljana they also attended a global learning conference on climate migration

Read more.

Rights for the mothers of Alexandria and Tanta

In Egypt, as part of the project “Education and awareness of rights in Egypt”, Krog Institute together with the partner S.O.S. Villages, Egypt, implemented workshops on children’s rights. Workshops are held for single mothers from Alexandria and Tanta. 

Because they face difficult living conditions and struggle for survival in their everyday life, they admit that they to not pay enough attention to children, are often aggressive towards children and do not take their opinions into account.

At the workshops, they gained new knowledge and understanding about the importance of respecting children’s rights, taking into account their opinions and protecting children from all types of violence.

Read more

Mediterranean Day – “Art Connects”

On the occasion of Mediterranean Day, 28th November 2023, the Museum of Recent and Contemporary History of Slovenia hosted a cultural event “Art Connects”: Concert by the Jazz Oud Quartet with guests, and a round table.

We listened to many interesting interlocutors who thought about what role it plays and how art promotes intercultural dialogue and connection between the people and countries of the Mediterranean.

The event was co-organized by the APIS Institute with the support of the Anna Lindh Foundation and the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia.

Read more.

An Artistic Exchange for Intercultural Dialogue between Egypt and Slovenia

In the framework of ALFinMOTION programme, from the 4th to the 10th of June, Povod Institute in Slovenia, hosted Mostafa Fatouh, founder and theatre director of GWANA for Arts and Development based in Alexandria, Egypt.

Read more.

“Adapting to Change”

The Euro-Mediterranean University (EMUNI) Annual Conference report has now been published.

From 8th-9th June, EMUNI celebrated its 15th anniversary and held its annual conference on New Models for sustainable universities: Adapting to Change.

Read the key recommendations from the three panel discussions and more HERE.

Refugee day – 20th June

On the occasion of a Refugee day, Humanitas Society together with Umanotera sent a press release, with which they wanted to draw attention to the importance of the issue of climate migration.

Due to the consequences of climate change, millions of people are already displaced today. In 2020, 30.7 million people were displaced by natural disasters, more than three times as many as by conflict and violence. 98 percent of all disaster-related displacement was the result of extreme weather and climate events.

Climate refugees are still not officially defined, recognised and protected under international law.

Read more.

Read the press release.

Creative Workshops for Women

The APIS Institute is organising the “Cycle of Movement Creative Workshops for Women”, which is taking place in July and August in Ljubljana. The workshops will bring together a group of women from different ethnic and social backgrounds aged 18 to 27 in a creative and movement-oriented environment.
The purpose of the workshops is to facilitate physical and mental stress relief, build trust, empower participants by strengthening self-confidence and encouraging free expression, and recognizing individual talents among participants. Techniques and topics at the workshops will be selected according to the expressed and perceived needs of the participants, the workshops in the cycle will connect and build on each other (each time a theme will be a common thread), but at the same time they will also be independent entities.

Read more.

SUSTAINABLE. LOCAL. GLOBAL. II

SLOGA, an NGO platform for development, global learning and humanitarian aid, started implementing the project SUSTAINABLE. LOCAL. GLOBAL II, co-financed by the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia
The project focuses on raising the awareness of the wider and expert public, which is a necessary prerequisite for effective planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of Slovenian international development cooperation (IDC), humanitarian aid (HA) and global learning to meet the goals of sustainable development.

Read more about the project.

Migrant Film Festival

On Monday, June 19, 2023, Slovenska filantropija hosted the opening of the 14th Migrant Film Festival, which took place in Kinodvor – City Cinema of Ljubljana. The Migrant Film Festival traditionally opened with the screening of the films “Not Go Gentle” and “Glasna tišina(loud silence) / Naxglosniech slychac milczenie.

“Not Go Gentle” is a short film based on the stories of people who cross borders in search of safety and peace, but instead encounter humiliation and torture. Despite everything, they don’t give up.

The film “Glasna tišina” intertwines the stories of seven people who fled from war, terrorism, racism, persecution and domestic violence. They seem to have achieved their goal – escaping violence and avoiding death. Is this really the end of their problems and the beginning of a new, better life?

More about movies:

More about event.

How to organize environmentally friendly meetings?

EPEKA Institute launched an educational video on sustainable approaches and environmental protection. This is within their long-term project in cooperation with the municipality of Ljubljana, “Care for the Environment”.

Watch the video here.

Learn more about the project here.

“Memorial of Eyachew Tefera’s Life”

Institute for African Studies, Slovenia, organized three days of activities for World Refugee Day in memorial of its founder and human rights advocate Eyachew Tefera.

Eyachew Tefera was a co-founder of Platform SLOGA, a long-time member and chairman of the board of Platform SLOGA, a member of the expert council for international development cooperation and humanitarian aid at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, founder and director of the Institute for African Studies, founder and board member of the Platform of African Diaspora Development Organizations ADEPT and initiator and creator of many ideas. Eyachew is mostly known for his human rights advocacy and dedication and his work for human rights and justice for all.

The series of events consisted of seminars and roundtables on asylum and human rights, inclusion and justice, including football matches and sports activities for intercultural dialogue and inclusion. Learn more here.

“ADD something meaningful.”

As part of the “ADD something meaningful” project, Kulturno izobraževalno društvo PiNA wants to encourage the inclusion of young people between the ages of 16 and 30 in participatory processes at the municipal level. They launched this questionnaire, to learn more about youth participation, needs and wishes: to what extent youth are involved in public life at the local level, in which areas youth are most active, and if and how young people would like to play a greater role in the development of the local environment. The last substantive set of questions is related to the operation of the municipality; if you are a young person who wishes to contribute to this survey, then please answer for the municipality in which you live or are most involved in local life, even though you may have permanent residence in another municipality. Your answers will be of great help to us, so please answer the questions thoughtfully and independently. The questionnaire is anonymous, and since there are no right or wrong answers, please answer honestly or as you really think and/or feel.

Despite the outbreak of war in Sudan, the Krog Institute is still active in South Darfur.

 

 

Resource: SLOGA

Zavod Krog, a member of the Anna Lindh Foundation and Sloga Platform in Slovenia, has been active in Sudan for two years in cooperation with the local non-governmental organization Hope and with funding from the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of Slovenia. The activities are taking place in South Darfur, where the situation is stable for the time being, but the needs are also increasing due to the refugees from other areas of Darfur, and at the same time, there is a lack of basic necessities such as medicine, food and other materials. Markets and shops in Niyala, the capital of South Darfur, which were subject to looting at the beginning of the conflict, are now closed, and trade routes from neighbouring African countries and Khartoum are largely closed or impassable due to control by the military or members of the Rapid Intervention Force.

Find out and learn more here.

Intergenerational dialogue for intercultural cooperation workshop on 31. 3. 2023

On 31.3.2023 at 10 CET, we invite the ALF members in Slovenia to join the online workshop on intergenerational dialogue in intercultural contexts. We will start with theoretical insights followed by the presentation of good practices by guest speakers:

  1. Ana Rejec, project manager at Krog Institute in Slovenia, and
  2. Ana Trigueiros, member of the board of directors at the Senior University of Barcelos, Portugal
  3. Ana Trigueiros, member of the board of directors at the Senior University of Barcelos, Portugal

We will continue in breakout rooms for networking and reflections.

Please, register HERE to receive the Zoom.

The Anna Lindh Foundation network in Slovenia had its meeting on 27.3.2023

Anna Lindh Fundacija, Slovenija

We conducted the Anna Lindh Foundation, national network meeting in Slovenia on 27.3.2023.

This meeting is a launch of a long-term process on structuring the function of our Anna Lindh Foundation Network for EuroMed dialogue in Slovenia.

Rethinking Gender Equality in Youth Organisations: Training Course in Brežice, Slovenia, Apply by 7 March 2023.

source: PINA

How are you dealing with gender equality in youth work settings? Are these just words and narratives that open calls want from us or is it something that you really think about and integrate in your working environment?

This training course is for you if you would like to step out of the declarative words and start to work on gender equality in everyday youth work and create a document that will help you work with the topic in a meaningful way in the future.

The training will also be a part of the international conference on the Importance of Gender equality, where there will also be a space for networking with several Slovenian organizations and getting to know the programme Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values, which places Gender equality and Gender Mainstreaming in high priority.

Learn more about this opportunity PINA institute and apply here.

ALF Heads of Network Meeting, 30 January – 1 February 2023

On 01 February 2023, the Anna Lind Foundation concluded its Heads of Network meeting organised in collaboration with the Head of the ALF French Network. Forty participants from thirty countries engaged in fruitful discussions to assess the recent work of the ALF, address challenges in its management and governance, and develop the future programming of the Foundation. The ALF Secretariat and the Heads of Network worked on strategic aspects of the network management as well as on the new programming, with a strong commitment to dynamise the National Networks and ensure impact at local and regional levels.

Watch the throwback video here

The meeting of the ALF network in Slovenia will take place in the second half of March.

The meeting will be aimed at socialising and getting to know the Slovenian members of the ALF network and at the presentation of current events in the Euro-Mediterranean region, carried out by the Foundation.

The exact place and time of the event will be announced in early March 2023.

Solidarity with ALF Turkey and Syria, 7th February 2023

Solidarity with ALF Turkey and Syria

Anna Lindh Foundation stands in solidarity with everyone affected by the devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. Our thoughts are with the victims and everyone who lost loved ones.

Our hearts go out to the people affected by the earthquakes in Syria and Turkey. You can read how you can help here: https://time.com/625…/turkey-earthquake-syria-how-to-help/

The Euro-Mediterranean Innovation Camp (EMIC), deadline to apply 3rd of February 2023.

The EMUNI University is proud to launch the Euro-Mediterranean Innovation Camp (EMIC), an exciting new venture for 2023 to nurture #innovation and #creativityamong #youth in the region.

If you are:

✅ aged 18-35 years-old

✅ resident in the Euro-#mediterranean region

✅ and with a novel idea or #invention that can eventually be commercialised, we want to hear from you!

Your application will be reviewed by a panel of experts for their novelty, applicability and feasibility. Short-listed candidates will be invited to the next phase.

The deadline for application is Friday 3 February 2023 – don’t hesitate, apply today! ➡️emuni.si/innovationcamp

In partnership with Institut “Jožef Stefan” and Université Euromed de Fès , and with the support of Ministrstvo za zunanje zadeve RS / Slovenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, @Ministrstvo za izobraževanje, znanost in šport and Union for the Mediterranean

The city of Ljubljana celebrates the Mediterranean, 28.11.2022

Within the Anna Lindh Foundation “Celebrating the Mediterranean,”  APIS Institute co-organized with the Slovenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs a concert and a panel in Ljubljana at Cankarjev dom in cooperation with the outstanding musicians: Vasko Atanasovski, Basma Jabr and Orwa Saleh.

Mojca Nemec van Gorp from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs opened the event by addressing the visitors with the following words: “In a period of great geopolitical changes, cooperation is essential. Culture promotes diversity, social inclusion and respect, and music brings people and countries from both sides of the Mediterranean closer together.”

The panel and the concert brought people together in an intercultural atmosphere where music unites us in rich diversity. 

The city of Ptuj celebrates the Mediterranean, 28.11.2022.

For the first time, the city of Ptuj in Northeastern Slovenia celebrated “the Mediterranean day” on 28.11.2022 as part of the Anna Lindh Foundation “Celebrating the Mediterranean”. 

We are delighted that we hosted such an important celebration in Ptuj, aiming for a more inclusive and decentralised approach to celebrations and important events to take place equally in cities with fewer opportunities. 

The Povod institute co-organized the concert in cooperation with Bodi centre, the Municipality of Ptuj and the outstanding musicians: Ali R Taha and Mahmoud Al-Khatib, and the musical school: INSTRUMENTAL.KO, and two bands: LAGANINI and KUD ART URBANA”  with a magical touch of poetry by Abir Al Jundi. 

The audience described the event as a reflection of our unity through the power of music. “We celebrated with excellent music, songs and poetry reflecting the richness of the artistic scene in the Mediterranean region.”

Join the African drumming course hosted by Skuhna social enterprise in Ljubljana, 22 November 2022.

Source: Skuhna

Skuhna social entreprise a member of Anna Lindh Foundation in Slovenia is hosting an African drum course for beginners which will take place on 22 November, 2022 at Skuhna restaurant. For registration and more information check out the event information here.

An intercultural Roma-African evening organized by the EPEKA institute in Slovenia, 14 November 2022.

Source: EPEKA

The Association EPEKA, Soc. Ent., in cooperation with Cultural Art Society BAOBAB organized a Roma-African Evening.

The aim of the project is to promote intercultural cooperation and to bring the general public (children, young people and adults) closer to an understanding of the Roma cultural heritage and the cultural heritage of the African continent, with the support of workshops. We also organised a round table discussion on cultural diversity and intercultural cooperation in the field of culture in Slovenia. The project also aims to develop the event into a Roma-African festival in the coming years, which could further promote intercultural cooperation and the exchange of cultural traditions.

Discussion “Between memory and forgetfulness” 27 September 2022.

Source: APIS

TUESDAY, 27.09.2022, 13.00-15:00 INVITED: Discussion “Between memory and forgetfulness”

The Discussion brings academics, museums, curators, teachers, and youth workers together with representatives from various memorial practices and policies to discuss with youth the challenges of enhancing the quality and relevance of Holocaust education and remembrance practices or practices. The aim is also to identify new opportunities and propose recommendations for improving international interdisciplinary cooperation in the memory of crimes against humanity during World War II.

Speakers:

– Thomas Lutz, Topography of Terror Foundation, Berlin

– Nataša Mataušić, historian and curator, Zagreb

– Elma Hašimbegović, Director, History Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo.

– Saša Petejan, journalist and curator, APIS Institute, Koper, Ljubljana

The discussion will be moderated by Vesna Teršelič, director of the Document – Center for dealing with the past.

Register at: https://forms.gle/Bzhs2kJDBUDq9u5W9

The project is funded by the European Union, through the Europe for Citizens program.

The discussion will be held via zoom in English.

This project is developed by the APIS Institute with Documento (Croatia) and European partners: MMH Dachau and University of Regensburg (Germany), Associazione 4704 and Topografia per la storia (Italy) and Social Academy (Slovenia).

“How Can Intercultural Learning Contribute to Sustainable Living? A study case in Ljubljana, Slovenia”, 31 March 2022

In March 2022, the Anna Lindh Foundation for Euro-Med dialogue in Slovenia conducted and published a case study that documents on-hand practices of intercultural learning for sustainable living. The group who contributed to this case study come from different geographical locations and currently lives in Ljubljana, Maribor and Ptuj. 

Here you may have access to the study case.