Dear readers,

May has been a busy month, even though New York is still at the center of the COVID-19 pandemic. This month we celebrated World Bee Day and the first International Tea Day, and we launched The State of the World’s Forests on the International Day for Biological Diversity. Social distancing measures have only brought us closer, as we now use virtual platforms to celebrate these events with colleagues across the world.

On the occasion of the 2020 World Bee day, our featured contributor for this month is Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Republic of Slovenia to the United Nations, Darja Bavdaž Kuret. We are pleased to share with you an interview with the Ambassador and a statement by the Green Group on the importance of protecting pollinators.

Wishing you all a summer that is off to a good start!

Carla Mucavi

Beekeeping in Slovenia is part of a living tradition, among every thousand citizens of Slovenia four people are beekeepers (around 10.000 altogether), which is unique in the world. Slovenia has an over 140-year-old national beekeepers’ association and beekeeping for Slovenians is so much more than just honey farming. We could even say that Slovenians are emotionally attached to bees. The bee can be spotted as a symbol of industriousness above the doorways of banks and museums, and even on a special two-euro coin issued by the country's central bank to mark the first World Bee Day in 2018.

After the World Bee Day proclamation, Slovenia took one step further and founded the Beekeeping Academy of Slovenia as the organizational unit of the Agricultural Institute of Slovenia. The Beekeeping Academy of Slovenia organizes informal education courses in the field of beekeeping. In this way, we want to become the leading country in the field of beekeeping knowledge and innovation development and thus a net exporter of new beekeeping skills, practices and technological solutions. The Academy presents an opportunity for Slovene and foreign experts from different branches to work together in a joint mission to spread professional expertise on bees and beekeeping in Slovenia, and to make practical use of this broader network of knowledge. The major goal is to help develop beekeepers with broad practical knowledge, adhering to the fundamental value of living in harmony with nature, and with a global overview of apiculture, who will proudly demonstrate the knowledge they have gained at the Beekeeping Academy of Slovenia.

Slovenian beekeepers have enhanced the beekeeping tradition with api-tourism. With slogan “Feel Green, Active and Healthy Slovenia!” we were the world’s first green country by Green Destinations’ international standards and a proud recipient of the National Geographic World Legacy (Destination Leadership) Award.

We are also one of the first in the world to offer innovative and certified forms of api-tourism. Apitourism (from the Latin apis which means bee) gives a fresh approach to eco conscious travel. It gives insight into the fascinating world of bees, while at the same time presenting the country’s cultural heritage and natural beauty. It is about authentic travel which enriches one’s life and strengthens one’s connection with nature, culture and society.

Read the rest of the interview here.