During the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, between July 1 and December 31, 2021, Ljubljana’s BTC City will be home to the Slovenian Digital Center – Technology for the People. The Slovenian Digital Center will bring together the most progressive Slovenian companies, institutions and individuals, as well as bring new technologies closer to the general public, provide training programmes aimed at educating different target groups on the use of new technologies, offer various other content and, most importantly – present Slovenian know-how and technological development to an international public, including in a virtual showroom.

As partners of the Slovenian Digital Center, the Slovenian Ministry of Economic Development and Technology, SPIRIT Slovenia, DIH Slovenia and the BTC Company are jointly pursuing one of Slovenia’s priorities during its Presidency of the Council of the EU in 2021, i.e., “The resilience, recovery and strategic autonomy of the European Union”.

As emphasized by Jernej Salecl, the Director General of the Internationalisation, Entrepreneurship and Technology Directorate at the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology, this is precisely why they decided to implement the Slovenian Digital Center project during said presidency. “At the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology, we want to use the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU to promote and increase the visibility of the most innovative aspects of the Slovenian economy, which personify our priorities with respect to the green transition and digital transformation. Together with our three partners, we have devised a six-month hybrid exhibition centre called Technology for the People. I warmly invite all innovative businesses who would like to present themselves to the Slovenian and especially to the international public to seize this opportunity and apply on the DIH Slovenia website.” Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises are invited to respond to a public call for applications to gain access to the exhibition space at no additional cost under a de minimis aid scheme.

Additional project goals include educating and raising public awareness of the importance of digitalisation, strengthening and developing digital competencies, connecting different actors and, as emphasized by Tomaž Kostanjevec, PhD, Director of SPIRIT Slovenia, promoting Slovenian enterprises and institutions. “The Slovenian Digital Center will provide Slovenian enterprises and institutions with a space where they will be able to present to the Slovenian and international public the most advanced technologies, products, services and prototypes developed as a result of Slovenian know-how and collaboration. As one of the project partners, SPIRIT Slovenia will organise different economic delegations and events, where Slovenian enterprises will be able to initiate business contacts with international enterprises, exchange know-how, share their experiences and take advantage of new business opportunities. In addition, they will be able to present themselves to international economic political delegations, participate in matchmaking events and other activities taking place in the Slovenian Digital Center. We kindly invite all technologically progressive Slovenian companies working in digitalisation, robotics, artificial intelligence, information security, industry 4.0 and smart cities to showcase their work in the physical and virtual dimensions of the Slovenian Digital Center.“

Digital Innovation Hub Slovenia, one of the central support organisations in the field of digitalisation, puts a special emphasis on the Slovenian Digital Center’s dual dimension. Katja Mohar Bastar, MA, Director of Digital Innovation Hub Slovenia, pointed to its themed content sets: “Partners of the Slovenian Digital Center project kindly invite you to join us in BTC City Ljubljana’s Shopping Arena 1, as well as in the Center’s virtual hub, where we will showcase Slovenian achievements in smart cities and communities, a sustainable society and economy, artificial intelligence, 5G, public and cyber security, digital transformation, industry 4.0 and robotics during the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the EU. The Slovenian Digital Center will host company presentations and over 80 themed events aimed at different target groups and participants. As such, it can enable individuals as well as companies to strengthen their digital competencies, and it provides companies with additional exposure to present their innovative products to domestic and international audiences.“

The incredible importance of presenting Slovenian innovative solutions to the general domestic and international public has also been underscored by the BTC company. “We’re proud that the Slovenian Digital Center is situated in the innovative ecosystem of BTC City Ljubljana, which has been the testing ground for advanced solutions for a number of years now. At the BTC Company, we believe that modern technology brings answers to many social, economic and environmental challenges. In collaboration with our project partners, we want to contribute to the broader recognition and acceptance of advanced technologies and solutions as levers to improve our lives. We’re looking forward to this new opportunity to connect and collaborate with different stakeholders. In the second half of 2021, we would like for BTC City Ljubljana to become a lively, inspirational hub, connecting people and forming a community of all those who support new technologies and innovations,” said Damjan Kralj, MSc, CEO of the BTC Company.

The Slovenian Digital Center will have two dimensions, a physical as well as a virtual one. The physical premises of the Slovenian Digital Center will be located in BTC City Ljubljana, on an exhibition area of 1090 m², where in addition to company and institution presentations many other activities will also be taking place, such as lectures, trainings, conferences, workshops, hackathons, business meetings and networking events. During the Dubai 2021 World Expo, the Slovenian Digital Center’s virtual dimension will furthermore allow companies and institutions to present themselves at the Slovenian pavilion in Dubai.

Networking, cooperation and looking to the future are the building blocks of the Slovenian Digital Center, which will be a one-stop shop for bringing together the Slovenian and international development-oriented public and opening a new window to the world for Slovenian know-how and development.

The Slovenian Digital Center will start operations on 5 July 2021, with the official opening by partner representatives taking place on 9 July 2021. You will receive an invitation to the official opening event shortly. A comprehensive presentation of the Slovenian Digital Center is available HERE, and information on the public call for applications for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises to gain access to the exhibition space at no additional cost under a de minimis aid scheme is available HERE.

You are welcome to join us!