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JUNE/JULY The Linguist 7 @Linguist_CIOL FEATURES Embassy insights Q How does the Embassy promote Slovenian language and culture in the UK? A We run a Slovenian lectureship and 40 cultural events per year across the UK. There is financial support for additional projects and events, including weekly language lessons for children and evening courses at the UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES). Our Artist-in-Residency programme enables 12 Slovenian artists to live and work in London every year. We also focus on joint projects with the Slovak Embassy, such as 'I say Slovenia, You say Slovakia', which works with translators, writers and publishers to promote literature from both countries translated into English. The Slovenian Book Agency (JAK) was established by the government in 2008 to engage people with literature. Its primary concerns are to facilitate better availability of books, promote Slovene authors internationally and support literary events, especially through international cooperation in the translation and promotion of Slovenian books. Collaborating with Slovene embassies around the globe and foreign embassies in Slovenia, JAK supports Slovenian lectureships abroad by providing books and co-financing visits by Slovenian authors. Q Tell me about your work with Slovakia… A People often confuse our countries; to address this issue, I launched the 'Distinguish Slovenia and Slovakia' project with the Slovak Ambassador in 2017. We invited influential politicians, business people, journalists and diplomats, mainly from the UK, to travel with us to Slovenia and Slovakia to experience the The Slovenian Ambassador to the UK, HE Tadej Rupel, talks to Romana Sustar about working to promote Slovenian language and culture differences and learn about our history and attributes. Both countries were part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and after WWII, Slovenia was part of Yugoslavia and Slovakia was part of Czechoslovakia. Q Where in the UK can people learn about the Slovenian language and culture? A Aside from the excellent courses at SSEES, there are several twinning connections, for example between Maribor and Greenwich, and Bled and Henley-on-Thames. Endorsed by each local authority, these initiatives enable the towns to share cultural and sports events. For details of Slovene Embassy events, see www.london.embassy.si or Twitter @SLOinUK. Tadej Rupel has been Ambassador since 2014. Follow him on Twitter @tadejrupel. Council member Romana Sustar MCIL CL is a multilingual Digital Marketing Manager. Bordered by Austria, Croatia, Hungary and Italy, Slovenia has a strong Mediterranean influence. The small multilingual nation gained independence from Yugoslavia on 25 June 1991. Spoken by 2 million people, its official language, Slovene, has 48 local dialects. The UK and Slovenia have excellent bilateral relations, and both are members of NATO and the UN. The Queen visited Slovenia in 2008, with President Pahor returning the visit this year. FACT FILE: SLOVENIA SHARING CULTURE Tadej Rupel with Romana Sustar (centre) and British students of Slovene; and (inset) Terra Vera art project, supported by the embassy