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Ljubljana, 22 December 2010

Press release

2011 will bring celebrations marking the 20th anniversary of

Slovenia’s independence
The slogan of the upcoming year of celebrations is “From the Plebiscite to the Constitution”. 23
December 2010 marks 20 years since a plebiscite was held at which an overwhelming majority
of the population voted for an independent Slovenia. A year later, on 23 December 2011, it will
be 20 years since the country’s Constitution was adopted.

The year-long activities will seek to include the widest public possible to commemorate the
historic events that led to the country’s independence and the progress it has made in the past
20 years.

From a statehood point of view, Slovenia has achieved its key goals in a short time period. It
has achieved international recognition and regard, become a member of the UN, the European
Union, the Council of Europe, the OSCE, the OECD and NATO and was the first EU member
state that joined the EU in 2004 to adopt the euro as its currency.

It is these achievements, in addition to raising awareness of how the country’s independence

was the joint achievement of the entire population, will be the focus of next year’s activities.

The first big events of the “From the Plebiscite to the Constitution” year of celebrations will be
tomorrow’s ceremonial session of the National Assembly along with a formal celebration on the
occasion of the Day of Independence and Unity (23 December), when an exhibition on the
plebiscite prepared by the Archives of the Republic of Slovenia in collaboration with the
Ministry of Culture and other institutions will be opened in Cankarjev dom.

Another important part of the activities is the special website www.twenty.si dedicated to the
anniversary which will provide an overview of chronological and historical information about
Slovenia and a broad selection of interactive contents. The purpose of the website is to present
Slovenia’s 20th anniversary to our friends around the world.

www.twenty.si will also feature a comprehensive calendar of events organised in Slovenia and
elsewhere, which will be promptly updated. New contents will also be regularly added to the
section called ‘My Slovenia’, which will present the thoughts and opinions on the past 20 years
of certain intellectuals, business representatives, artists, athletes, Slovenes living abroad and
others.

The 20th anniversary of the country’s independence is also an opportunity to upgrade

www.slovenia.si, which is an Internet entry point for everyone wishing to become familiar with
Slovenia and Slovenian culture.

Government Communication Office