CURRENT EVENTS
Suzana Lep Šimenko appointed the new Minister for Slovenians Abroad
Slovenia has a new government – the 16th overall and the fourth headed by Janez Janša. After the elections, ministers from Robert Golob’s administration formally handed over their duties to their successors. The fifteen new minister – including Suzana Lep Šimenko, who now heads the Government Office for Slovenians Abroad, and Helena Jaklitsch, who has been appointed State Secretary at the Office – attended the first meeting of the government, where they were largely briefed on the current state of affairs in their sectors and the departments they will oversee.
As Janša opted for a leaner cabinet with fewer ministries than his predecessor Golob, several ministers will assume responsibilities previously divided among multiple members of the executive branch.
CULTURE
Books by Janez Rogelj putting Slovenian emigrations on the map of global migrations
After spending years working with Slovenians living abroad as Secretary General of Slovenian Emigrant Association, Janez Rogelj felt the need prevent this important part of his life’s work from fading away. “For over 23 years, my work has brought me both sadness and joy. The departures of many people I knew personally were first considered temporary, but they mostly turned out to be permanent. Their lives, trials, tribulations, successes and disappointments have become part of my life – it was a source of both burden and joy,” Rogelj explained in the interview for Rodna gruda during his springtime visit to the Slovenian Emigrant Association that had just published the second part of his precious book titled Zgodbe slovenskih izseljencev v sliki in besedi (Stories of Slovenian Emigrants in image and text in English).
GENERATIONS
Two decades of bridging the gap between Zadar and Slovenia with culture
Darja Jusup, the long-serving President of the Lipa Zadar Slovenian Cultural Society, is one of the key figures responsible for the cohesion of the Slovenian community in the northern part of Dalmatia. What began as a small initiative by five eager people has grown into an association with a diverse program that includes everything from artist colonies and book publications to Slovenian language courses. And to think they achieved all this without their own facilities and on a voluntary basis. In 2024, they celebrated the 20th anniversary of the establishment.
SLOVENIANS IN BUSINESS
Patrik Bratuša connecting students worldwide with online Slovenian lessons
In December 2025, Patrik Bratuša started teaching the Slovenian language on two leading online platforms on the market. “I have given 250 lessons so far and I currently teach foreign students from all over the world – most of them being Americans. But I always find time for new students as well,” Bratuša explains for the readers of Rodna gruda. In the past ten years, the 33-year-old has lived in the U.S.A., Canada, Australia and on New Zealand, and he is currently stationed in Peru. In all of these countries, he has spent plenty of time with local Slovenian and visited many Slovenian clubs. “We all know that decades ago, many Slovenians (most of them are now grandparents) moved across the pond. Unfortunately, their grandchildren now hardly speak any Slovenian at all.”
Mag. Kristijan Radikovič
