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Challenges for Clusters in Slovenia

A Summary of the 1st international conference of Slovenian clusters held in Bled.

On the 18th of June, 250 participants gathered at the first international conference on clusters held in the Main Conference Hall of Hotel Golf in Bled, Slovenia. Following opening addresses by two Slovenian ministers, a large number of speakers took turns to highlight aspects of international experiences with clusters and compare it to domestic experiences and challenges. In four afternoon workshops, participants had a deeper look at different themes (How to Develop Clusters, International Networking, Selection of Technology for the Future and the Role of Trust and Personality in Cluster Management), while the evening gatherings were used to collate the workshop findings into joint findings and conclusions.
The evening meeting opened with a speech by the Head of the European Commission Delegation, Mr Erwan Fouéré, followed by a ceremony in which the former Minister of the Economy Dr. Tea Petrin received a special award for the development of Slovenian clusters in recognition of her work in launching cluster development in Slovenia during her time as minister. The conference was organised under the patronage of the Ministry of the Economy while the Podjetnik magazine was the event organiser.

The main conclusions of the conference were that Slovenia must become a knowledge-based society and economy, and business clusters should play a key role in that development.