Minister Arčon: 'Korotan is a symbol of Slovenian identity in Vienna.'

The Korotan Student Residence and Hotel. | Author Urad za Slovence v zamejstvu in po svetu

The Minister began his visit to the Austrian capital at the Centre for National Communities - CAN. Founded in Vienna in 1983, the centre has recently been focusing on initiatives to improve the legal protection of the Slovenian and Croatian national minorities.

At the Slovenian embassy in Vienna, the Minister met with the staff to discuss, among other things, the SKICA Slovenian Cultural Information Centre. The head of the centre, Aljaž Arih, presented the activities and operation of Slovenia's first such cultural institute abroad.

In the afternoon, the Minister paid a visit to the Korotan Student Residence and Hotel, which opened its doors in 1966. In recent years, Korotan has been experiencing financial difficulties. This year, thanks partly to the efforts of the Government Office for Slovenians Abroad that set up an inter-ministerial group to solve Korotan's problems, the establishment received a capital injection from the Slovenian Sovereign Holding (SDH) on behalf and for the account of the Republic of Slovenia in the amount of EUR 1.9 million. In cooperation with and with the financial support of the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food, the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, the Ministry of the Economy, Tourism and Sport and the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, the Office will provide funding for a public programme at Korotan to strengthen its operations and promote Slovenian culture, knowledge and cuisine in Vienna. The Minister then met with representatives of Slovenian societies - the head of the Korotan Slovenian Cultural Centre, Tina Žerdin, the President of the Vienna Slovenian Initiative, Natalija Pinter, representatives of the Slovenian Institute in Vienna, Herbert Seher and Dr Stefan Vospernik, a representative from the CAN, Marko Oražem, and teachers of Slovenian, Judita Babnik and Nuša Jug Savičić. The participants agreed that the events held by the Vienna societies were diverse and interesting, and that the biggest challenge was attracting more visitors. In a statement to the media after the meeting, the Minister said that Korotan was undoubtedly a symbol of Slovenian identity in Vienna, adding that Slovenian politicians had come together in seeing Korotan as a "strategic investment". According to him, the main challenge that societies face is how to breathe life into the establishment, bring the organisations together and draw as many Vienna-based Slovenians as possible to a diverse range of events. The Minister ended his day at the Slovenian Autumn in Vienna event.

On the second day of his visit to the Slovenian community, the Minister made a stop at the Knafelj Institution in the centre of Vienna. Since its foundation in 1676, the institution managed by the University of Ljubljana has awarded scholarships to more than 1,200 students. Scholarship programmes for Slovenian students is also its main mission. Recipients include many historical figures, including Prešeren, Kopitar, Tavčar, Župančič, Jenko and Tavčar.

The Minister concluded his visit to Vienna at the Komensky School, which has classes in Czech and Slovakian but currently also hosts several groups of Slovenian language classes. The school could serve as a model to establish a bilingual Slovenian school, a long-standing wish of Slovenians in Vienna.

The minister was accompanied by the state secretary at the Government Office for Slovenians Abroad, Vesna Humar, and the Slovenian Ambassador in Austria, Aleksander Geržina.