Young BSF to raise curtain on Bled Strategic Forum
Some 30 participants will discuss Generation of Global Citizens and try to find strategic solutions for Ljubljana as a smart city.
Young BSF programme director Klemen Ponikvar has explained in a recent interview with the STA that the decision on the main topics was made last autumn, when Slovenia was in the midst of a refugee crisis.
However, the organisers did not want to limit themselves to the crisis alone, as wars are "only one reason why people migrate". The topic was expanded to include smart cities, mobility and youth participation in politics, and intergenerational cooperation, which will be discussed at panel debates at the forum.
Among the speakers at the panels will be chief officer of the smart community department at the Japanese New Energy and Industrial technology Development Organisation (NEDO) Mai Araki, Samo Novak of the office of the Slovenian parliamentary speaker, and former Education, Science and Sport Minister Jernej Pikalo.
Apart from that, six teams of young leaders from Switzerland, Austria, the US, Japan, Iraq, Vietnam, Germany, Poland, Serbia, Croatia, Slovakia, Canada and Slovenia will take part in a competition to find strategic solutions to a sustainable intersection in Ljubljana - a zero-waste shop, cafe, and bed and breakfast.
They will present their projects on Sunday, before Young BSF closes its doors on Monday, when the Bled Strategic Forum begins. The winning project will be presented at the Business BSF on Tuesday.
Ponikvar believes that Young BSF is a rare opportunity for young people in Slovenia to meet and discuss global trends that concern the youth in an international formats. Despite its international focus, the voice of Young BSF should be heard in Slovenia as well.