On Thursday, February 15, 2024, this year's meeting of the presidents of Slovenian associations in Bosnia and Herzegovina was held in a small historic town of Srebrenik.
The initiator of the meeting and socializing, as in previous years, was the Ambassador of Slovenia to Bosnia and Herzegovina, H.E. Damijan Sedar. The reason for choosing the location in Central Bosnia is the "Charter Days" of the city of Srebrenik, which was celebrated on that day, in honor of the first written trace of it, when it was listed as the place of issuing the charter of King Stjepan Kotromanić to the Republic of Dubrovnik, way back in 1333.
As a result of the initiative of the ambassador and mayor of Srebrenik, Adnan Bjelić, a ceremony was held on the occasion of the pruning of the Old vine, which grows in front of the new city administration building. On that occasion, a new information board was unveiled that explains the origin and reasons for planting it in Srebrenik. A descendant of Old vine from Maribor, the oldest registered noble vine in the world, was planted back in 2015, as part of the annual plan to donate certified seedlings to cities around the world, implemented by the City of Maribor. The reason for choosing Srebrenik is the successful cooperation between the Agricultural Institute from Maribor and the Agricultural Institute from Tuzla, realized through the implementation of numerous development projects on the territory of the city of Srebrenik. The ceremony was also attended by representatives of Slovenian associations in BiH, and the program included the performance of the "Slovenčice" choir from the Association of Citizens of Slovenian Origin from Tuzla. The entire ceremony of pruning the vine, and later the coordination meeting, was recorded by the cameras of RTV Slovenia, accompanied and interviewed by journalist Dušan Tomažič.
After the ceremony, the gathering of representatives of Slovenian associations and the Embassy continued in the restaurant "Šumski raj", which is located not far from the city, in an idyllic forest environment. The meeting began with an opening address by Ambassador Sedar, who greeted all present and asked the participants to present their plans for the current year and the possibilities of the Embassy's support for the work of our associations. In their presentations, the presidents of the association briefly outlined the plans for 2024, and agreed on the dates and times of joint projects, such as student gathering, choir gathering, camping trips and other events. The meeting was attended by the presidents of all active associations in BiH, i.e. from the cities: Sarajevo, Banja Luka, Tuzla, Prijedor, Kakanj and Zenica. The Embassy delegation included Deputy Ambassador and Minister Plenipotentiary Zvone Žigon, as well as consulate officials: Ana Marinić and Bernarda Pleša.
Mladen Lunić
