New Slovenian Congress Ambassadors 2024
15 Nov 2024
The Slovenian Convention Bureau presented this year's awards to seventeen Congress Ambassadors, whose dedication, hard work, international involvement and perseverance have contributed to Slovenia's hosting of international scientific and professional meetings, as well as other business and sporting events.
Slovenian Congress Ambassadors 2024 © Žiga Intihar
Slovenian Ambassador Programme was designed by the Ljubljana Convention Bureau/Ljubljana Tourism. It was launched in 2019, with the support of the Slovenian Tourist Board and many partners. Since then, 94 outstanding personalities have been awarded the honour of Congress Ambassadors, who have brought major international events to Slovenia, helping to promote Slovenia as a top destination for international congresses, conferences and other professional meetings, as well as sporting events.
Honorary Congress Ambassador: Prof. Bojana Beović, PhD
The Honorary Congress Ambassador award was presented to Prof. Bojana Beović, MD, PhD, a renowned infectious disease expert and President of the Slovenian Medical Chamber, for her many years of diligent work in organising numerous international scientific events that have helped to raise Slovenia's profile in the global health field.
Prof. Bojana Beović, PhD © Žiga Intihar
International Congress Ambassador: Iain Bitran
This year, for the first time, the International Congress Ambassador award was presented to Iain Bitran, Executive Director of the International Society for Professional Innovation Management (ISPIM). Bitran chose Slovenia to host the prestigious ISPIM Innovation Conference 2023, which focused on innovation and the circular economy.
Congress ambassadors
The 2024 Slovenian Congress Ambassadors are: Jurij Avramovič Gregorič, PhD, organisation of The Cathlab of the Future, Prof. Gregor Dolinar, PhD, (EGMO 2023 - European Girls Mathematical Olympiad), Katja Groleger Sršen, MD, PhD (35th Annual Meeting of the European Academy of Childhood Disability), Assoc. Prof. Vida Groznik, PhD (1st European Summer School on Artificial Intelligence & 20th Advanced Course on Artificial Intelligence), Assoc. Prof. Matej Bernard Kobav PhD (30th Quadrennial Session of the CIE - International Commission on Illumination), Lucijana Kračun Berc, M.Sc. (EGMO 2023 - European Girls' Mathematical Olympiad), Dr. Lucija Perharič (EUROTOX 2023), Nataša Ritonija, M.Sc. (European Youth Olympic Festival 2023 Maribor), Sebastjan Sitar (ILGA Europe Annual Conference 2023 Rising to the Moment), dr. Martin Šala (European Winter Conference on Plasma Spectrochemistry - EWCPS), Vid Simon Šelih, PhD (European Winter Conference on Plasma Spectrochemistry - EWCPS), Prof. Gregor Štiglic, PhD (21. Prof. Vitomir Štruc, PhD (IEEE International Joint Conference on Biometrics - IJCB 2023), Assoc. Prof. Slavko Žitnik, PhD (34th European Summer School on Logic, Language and Information) and Prof. Polona Žnidaršič Plazl, PhD for the organisation of the European Biotechnology Congress 2023.
An important role in economic and social progress
"Ljubljana and Slovenia are a role model for European and international destinations with numerous international awards, especially in the field of sustainable tourism development. This also enhances Slovenia's reputation as an attractive congress destination," said Petra Stušek, M. Sc., Managing Director of Ljubljana Tourism.
She also stressed that the meetings industry is extremely important for the destination. Research confirms that, in addition to improving occupancy, deseasonalisation, increasing consumption and extending visitor stays, it stimulates job creation, facilitates the exchange of expertise and innovative ideas, and strengthens the competitiveness of the destination. She added that in recent years there has been a growing awareness of the impact of the meetings industry on destinations. "Events should not be seen as one-off endevours, but as strategic opportunities that contribute to economic and social progress."
Petra Stušek, M.Sc: "Thanks to its outstanding scientific results and membership in prestigious international associations, Slovenia as a destination has already hosted a number of important meetings, and we would like to see this momentum for international engagement transferred to young people as well.
Petra Stušek, M.Sc., Managing Director of Ljubjana Toursim © Žiga Intihar