Ljubljana, 14 May 2025 – The closing event of the project At the School of Open Cohesion was held yesterday in the Ljubljana Puppet Theatre. The event marked the culmination of the year-long work of students from different secondary schools from across Slovenia. The aim of the project is to encourage young people to look into EU-funded cohesion projects. Once again, the project proved to be an excellent platform for promoting creativity, critical thinking, and awareness of what it means to be ‘European’ among young people.
The event featured remarks from State Secretary at the Ministry of Cohesion and Regional Development, Mag Marko Koprivc, and Dr Jerneja Jug Jerše, Head of Commission Representation in Slovenia. Both guests underscored the importance of youth engagement and understanding how cohesion policy works. They encouraged students to keep their work as active citizens and ambassadors of positive social change.
The project worked as a platform allowing students to explore EU-funded projects in their local environment. They developed research plans, wrote news stories or articles and shot 3-minute video clips to present their findings, which allowed them to develop digital, communication, and media skills.
🏆 1st place went to the team the Knights of Šalek from the Gimnazija Velenje at the School Centre Velenje
Thanks to their outstanding presentation, the team won a visit to the adventure park Karawanken-Karavanke Unesco Global Geopark, where they will enjoy discovering the fascinating underground world of Mount Petzen-Peca riding bikes.
🥈 2nd place (tie) went to the teams:
🥉 3rd place went to the team thePearls of the Drava River from the Gimnazija Ormož
The team won a visit to the fairytale Snežnik Castle.
🏅 Special award MOST DIGITAL SCHOOL went to the team the World on skateboard from the Education Centre Piramida Maribor, Secondary School for Food and Nutrition
The team stood out for its digital innovation and won a visit to the national public broadcaster RTV Slovenija where they will be able to learn more about the work in media industries.
The atmosphere at the closing event was filled with youthful excitement, pride, enthusiasm and, most of all, the almost tangible feeling that knowledge, curiosity and cooperation can move mountains. A special thanks goes to all students, mentors, and project partners who worked tirelessly and showed that our future is in good hands.
The project will continue next school year when a new generation of researchers enters the world of cohesion and European cooperation. Until then – goodbye and thank you for all your excellent contributions.
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