The Sustainability Festival in Celje Technopark, which took place as part of the European Sustainable Development Week 2024, attracted more than 3,000 visitors to interactive workshops, lectures, exhibitions and other events over three weeks. Among them, 2,000 students and pupils from all over Slovenia and neighboring Croatia.

This year, Celje Technopark also joined the European Sustainable Development Week (ESDW), which encourages the organization of events and activities to promote sustainable development in Europe. Over the three weeks, we organized 12 different activities. "We are pleased that with workshops, lectures, exhibitions and other events, we attracted more than 3,000 visitors to Celje Technopark, of which 2,000 students and pupils from 22 Slovenian towns and neighboring Croatia. Even more than the numbers, we are pleased with the fact that everyone, through active participation, learned about concrete practices for reducing their carbon footprint, gained new knowledge and encountered practical examples of innovative solutions for the future, such as upcycling, sustainable fashion and eco-design," said Andreja Erjavec, director of Celje Technopark, at the end of the Sustainability Festival. The largest number of participants was in the Green Jobs workshop, which we prepared in cooperation with Umanotera, the Slovenian Foundation for Sustainable Development, the innovative clothing auction Kurja omara, and in testing their knowledge in the Food and Sustainability quiz. Considerable interest was also aroused by: the international multimedia exhibition Atmosfere, the exhibition of products by sustainable kREativs of Celje Technopark, and the Pilot's Living Room exhibition. The latter is still on display (note: Until 13. 10. 2024), and includes exceptional and unique furniture pieces made from recycled aircraft parts, which combine innovation, art and sustainability under the Papa Juliett Aviaton Art brand. In addition to the above, we also held numerous sustainability workshops as part of the festival, where participants learned how to create new, useful objects from waste materials. We also prepared a workshop on making safe toys from used textiles for puppies and kittens and organized sustainable shopping in the Techno Stall.

In Celje Technopark, we will continue to promote sustainable development and environmental protection even after the Sustainability Festival is over. Ahead of the upcoming European Week for Waste Reduction 2024 (EWWR), which will take place from 16 to 24 November 2024, we have announced the My Day with Less Food prize competition together with the public company Simbio. As part of the challenge, individuals, school groups, families and everyone else are invited to apply by November 11th with a presentation of a one-day diet with as little food waste as possible. An expert committee will select the best solutions and award them at a special ceremony. We encourage sustainable practices in the community and reflection on the human relationship with food and the environmental, economic and social impact of discarded food waste.

This event post is (co)financed as part of the science popularization activities within the TPC–SCIENCE PLATFORM - financially supported by the Public Agency for Scientific Research and Innovation of the Republic of Slovenia (ARIS).