Institute for Slovenian Studies of Victoria Inc.

http://www.thezaurus.com/

Annual Report 2009

Four major projects were undertaken by ISSV in 2009

:*The Archives of Slovenian Emigrant Handicrafts*Slovenian Heritage Trail kit, “An exploration of the cultural life of Slovenes in greater Melbourne”*Australian Reading Tour of Five Slovenian Children’s Literature writers*Sloveniana Webzine articles series on Contemporary Slovenian architecture by Mateja Medvedič

Associated activities were:

*Promotion and sale of the bilingual children’s book series ForgetMeNots / Spominčice*Sloveniana Gallery, 2 albums on Prof. Miha Toman gardens, an album of handicrafts field trip of Aleksandra Ceferinand Meta Lenarčič to Sydney and Brisbane, and an album of Reading Tour *ISSV collaborated on a Slovenian publication “Mi vsi smo Slovenija” published by Žiga Zois Foundation (2009) bysupplying samples of students work in ISSV Archives*Contact was established with JAK / Javna Agencija za knjigo Republike Slovenije, and the first steps taken to gift amajor Australian library with the peerless collection of documents Iconotheca Valvasoriana.

I Projects in Australia and Slovenia1. Project: Archive of Slovenian Emigrant Handicrafts

http://www.rocnadela.orgFrom June to August, ISSV members Aleksandra Ceferin and Meta Lenarčič went on field trips to Sydney, Brisbaneand Albury. They were warmly received and given all assistance by HASA members in NSW, and the club Planinkain Brisbane, particularly Mrs. Milena Langeršek, who gifted a collection of her Easter eggs to SEM. In Albury therewas just one producer of handicrafts Marija Jaksetič with a veritable collection. The field trip was extremelysuccessful, recording and measuring handicraft items of 46 producers and 517 photos taken.We published articles in Misli, Glas Slovenijehttp://www.glasslovenije.com.au/and on Thezaurus.com to inform theAustralian and wider public of the project and to raise awareness in the Slovenian community.http://www.thezaurus.com/community/article_slovenian_handicrafts_sydney_brisbane_2009It is downloadable from the Scribd website:http://www.scribd.com/doc/22349595/Slovenian-Handicrafts-Sydney-and-Brisbane-2009More recently an article was published, by journalist Lucija Kavčič in Demokracija: “Ročna dela med izseljenci” on 24December 2009, also published on the web.http://www.demokracija.si/index.php?sekcija=clanki&clanek=12399

An online photo album -

a visual record of the field trip, may be viewed in Galeria Sloveniana, “SlovenianHandicrafts - Sydney and Brisbane”; on link:http://www.thezaurus.com/gallery/160.Over 180,000 viewers have seen the Victorian handicrafts onhttp://www.rocnadela.org since the website was launched at the biennale Slovenian Festival at Jadran Club in Melbourne, March 2008.

2. Project: Slovenian Australian Reading Tour - September 2009

The Reading Tour was the first children’s literature tour from Slovenia, and organized by ISSV.

A Tour

Report

was prepared 27 October 2009 and is downloadable:http://www.scribd.com/doc/22178598/Slovenian-Australian-Readin g-Tour-2009

Photo Gallery

Slovenian Children’s Literature Linkhttp://www.thezaurus.com/gallery/165

Purpose:

Promotion of the new first bilingual (Slovenian/English) Forget-Me-Nots (Spominčice) children’s bookseries with five writers from Slovenia, ten books published from 2006 to 2009. The authors are successful andpopular writers of contemporary children’s literature. Four books of the series have been introduced into schoolprograms in ten primary schools in Slovenia in 2008, free workbooks with student activities were published.

Four Student Activity Workbooks

translated from Slovenian into English by A. Ceferin (ISSV), were publishedonline 25 September 2009 by ISSV and are downloadable on the Web on:http://www.thezaurus.com/language/forget_me_nots_books_-_students_activities_e-workbooks

Five Writers:

Slavko Pregl (President of the Slovene Writers’ Association and Director of the Slovenian BookAgency RS), Evald Flisar (Editor in Chief of Sodobnost, leading literary and cultural journal in Slovenia), Jana Bauer,Cvetka Bevc, and Tatjana Kokalj.

Partner Organizations:Slovenia:

Two publishers of the series: Sodobnost International, Vodnikova Publishing House, Ljubljana.

Australia:

State Library of Victoria, Slovenian Catholic Mission - Ss. Cyril and Methodius.The Tour was supported by the Slovenian Embassy of Canberra, Honorary Consul General of Republic of Slovenia,

in NSW and Society of Children’s Books Writers and Illustrators Australia.Three programs were organized and promoted by ISSV: two programs at the State Library of Victoria and oneprogram at the Slovenian Religious and Cultural Centre in Melbourne.The Reading Tour of five writers was envisaged by ISSV as ideal for both an educational and culturalprogram. Tours and cultural events provide the opportunity to promote reading Slovenian literature, learning moreabout Slovenia and Europe, and generate more networking between Slovenia and Australia. The State Library of Victoria offered a half-day program to the authors to include activities for children, readings and puppet performance.See the SLV website http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/.

3. Project: Slovenian Heritage Trail Kit

This Heritage Trail is an online education language kit on the theme "An exploration of the cultural life of Slovenes ingreater Melbourne". The trail is a resource for interdisciplinary culture studies programs. Study units contain:background notes, primary source documents, and references. Modern Languages and Teachers' Association of Victoria (http://www.mltav.asn.au) provided the seeding grant for their programs of learning modern languages. Thecompany Zavod Neuropolis (Ljubljana) designed and produced the booklet, and the Education Department of Victoria (http://www.education.vic.gov.au), gave a grant for book publication. In Victoria Trails have been publishedfor French, Italian and Slovenian.ZOOM Printing in Carlton, offered to print orders of the Trail. A limited edition for libraries was printed. Bookdescription: 44 pp, format A4 landscape, front and back acetate cover, content includes 63 colour photos. ISBN 978-0-9750453-1-2 Price of kit: Colour $30.00 Black/White $20.00. (incl. post in Australia)The kit was launched online as an E-book on 28 June 2009 and is downloadable at:http://www.thezaurus.com/webclassroom/heritage_trail.Six units

focus on topics: Unit 1: Slovenian Presence, Unit 2: Community, Unit 3: Slovenian Language, Unit 4:Migrant Experience, Unit 5: Cultural Heritage, Unit 6: Community Media. It has been viewed on Scribd website 8,000times.

4. Project: Book “Mi vsi smo Slovenija” by Žiga Zois Foundation (2009)

ISBN 978-961-92657-0-3http://www.otrokomslovenije.si/Zavod Žiga Zois is a foundation for the promotion of quality in education, schooling and health care in Slovenia. Itpublished a large book on contributions of children’s art and school on the theme of Slovenia in 2009. ISSV receiveda request to contribute to this publication for primary school students work, and sent students work from ISSVArchives. Initially we didn’t have the intention to send our secondary level material, as the focus was on primarylevel. However the Foundation welcomed our contributions; all were included in the book. Two copies of the bookreceived in December are in the ISSV Library.New texts and photo albums were published in 2009 in following projects:

5. Sloveniana webzine http://www.thezaurus.com/webzineArticles; Contemporary Architecture of Slovenia in “Slovenian Landmarks”,

A series of 13 articles was writtenby architect and reviewer of architecture in Slovenia, Mateja Medvedič. These are accompanied by photos and arebeing prepared for web publication in January.

6. ISSV Archives

: The documentation of ISSV from 1976 has been digitalized and is being published in stages onthe web in http://www.thezaurus.com/archives .

7. Sloveniana Gallery - Photologs:

Three albums have been published by Aleksandra Ceferin in:“Slovenian Travelog” Magic Hillside Garden of Miha Toman, Link http://www.thezaurus.com/gallery/152Prof. Toman’s Field Garden, Link http://www.thezaurus.com/gallery/159“Community Photolog” Slovenian Children’s Literature, Linkhttp://www.thezaurus.com/gallery/165

8. Community:

Articles are about community in multicultural Victoria. This section is regarded as integral in apresentation of Slovenian cultural identity activities and traditions maintained by Slovenes and descendants inAustralia, and those who support multiculturalism. 9. Slovenian

9. Language resources on Scribd.com

are published in Scribd reading community since early 2009, named;Thezaurus, Slovenian Study References, and Slovenian Webclassroom - Resources. Documents are downloadable,and statistics show the views for each document. It has been a success shown by the high number of total views of the accounts (ranging from 26,000 to 43,000 views in a year).

II ISSV Sponsors

The Office of Slovenes Abroad, of the Republic of Slovenia (Urad za Slovence po svetu) is the main sponsor since