U(P)erspective

For inclusive naming Istra/Istria

The inclusion of Slovenian Istria's own name at the beginning of 2022 has triggered a host of questions and debates both among experts and the general public. They also responded to it at the Faculty of Humanities (UP FHŠ), where they present their position on the naming of the region in which the work of the University of Primorska lives, with professional arguments and in a spirit of respect. The position (with the signatories) is given without interference below.

NAMING OF ISTRIA 

At the end of January 2022, the media reported that the Koper Municipal Council had given its consent to the decision to coordinate the mayors of the four coastal or Slovene-Istrian municipalities for the inclusion of the proper name Slovenska Istra in the Slovene orthography. Despite the relatively rapid official confirmation of the new designation at the political level, the latter has sparked intense discussion among experts and the general public. Employees of the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Primorska, who have signed the present statement, express their opposition to the proposed designation Slovenian Istria, with the arguments that will be given below.

Any public designation is always a political-ideological act, so a reference to the profession can never be a sufficient justification. There are several costs and opinions differ even within one. Historians, anthropologists, geographers and researchers of other disciplines have repeatedly shown that in addition to interventions in space through heritage, its destruction, new architecture, etc. it is the toponymy that the new owners of space change as a reflection of the symbolic marking of new political power and the appropriation of space. 

Decades of discussions on naming the Slovenian part of Istria are unique in Slovenia. They are a clear reflection of the unprocessed history of this border region and the problems of searching for the collective identity of several generations, especially after mass emigration and immigration after World War II, which fundamentally changed the social, cultural and ethnic image of Istria, especially its cities. It is known that before the Second World War, the cities were predominantly Italian-speaking, 90% of whom left Istria after the Second World War. Research repeatedly points out that it is difficult to divide Istrians, who were mostly bilingual or multilingual, on ethnic grounds. According to official statistics, about 70% of the emigrated Istrians after the war were Italian and 30% Slovene- and Croatian-speaking. The fact is that in Istria, with mass emigration and immigration, there has been an almost complete transformation of the population, especially in cities. The gap behind the emigrated inhabitants of three Istrian coastal towns in Slovenia was filled by new inhabitants who immigrated from the southern part of Istria, the wider Primorska region and other Slovenian provinces and the republics of the former Yugoslavia. Historically, multicultural territories have thus become ethnically homogenous: there has been "Yugoslavization" or "Slovenization" in the Slovene part of Istria, and at the same time on the Italian side until the Italianization of the predominantly Slovene territory around Trieste. After the annexation of this part of Istria to Yugoslavia (1954), the strengthening of Slovene character in this multicultural area continued not only through mass immigration, but also through various accompanying actions: toponyms and streets were renamed (albeit with the Italian version of the new name). Istrian names were traded (similar to those in Italian during fascism), architecture redefined territory as an ideological medium of power, literary Slovene overcame Slovene Istrian dialects, and so on. If the first immigrants to the cities came to the Italian-speaking environment until 1954, the immigrants in mass immigration after the annexation of Istria to Yugoslavia came to the Slovenian environment.

In such a key act as naming a region, an inclusive dialogue should be conducted with the people of the region, "from the bottom up", perhaps through a referendum, or at least through a clear and professionally designed public survey. Residents are the ones who are supposed to identify with the new name. The introduction of the top-down name leads back the same way it was taken after World War II, when political authorities reintroduced the term Coast. Today, the vast majority of the population of Istrian towns in Slovenia, ie immigrants, especially the second and / or third generation, and also the younger generation in general, identify with the latter.

The main argument of the work of the profession, which promotes the naming of Istria with the adjective Slovenski, written with a capital letter, ie as an integral part of the name, points out that it is only a neutral definition of that part of the territory lying in Slovenia. But an ethnic adjective written with a capital letter as part of one's own name can be read very unambiguously in a multiethnic space - it is mono-ethnic. The adjective Slovene with the geographical proper name Istra can at most be written with a small initial as a descriptive adjective (similarly to Austrian Carinthia, northern Primorska, southern Slovenia), and not with a capital letter, which would make it part of the proper name. With such a neutral name, ie Slovenian Istria (similarly descriptive are the adjectives in the associations northern Istria, white Istria, gray Istria, etc.), we really avoid any political connotation and indicate only the geographical affiliation of the region to Slovenia.
In territories inhabited by different ethnic and national minorities, the name must be all the more thoughtful, inclusive and chosen with sensitivity to all the inhabitants of the territory. It should identify as many people as possible: not only the majority Slovenes, but also the recognized Italian ethnic community, as well as strongly present (especially in urban environments) various ethnic communities from other republics of former Yugoslavia who never received their national minority rights . Can an Italian Istrian really identify with the name Slovenian Istran? Let's think from another perspective, let's get used to the position of Slovenes in Italy: would Slovenes from the Trieste Karst be able to identify with the region if they renamed it the "Italian Karst"? The Karst is divided between two countries, similarly to Istria between three, but the distinction of regions is not made on the basis of ethnic adjectives, but on the basis of adjectives derived from geographical names, e.g. Trieste Karst, Comenius Karst, Sežana Karst, etc. Croatia and Italy do not use Istria as a national adjective. One of the comparisons may be Brittany, which is on the French and English sides, but no one names it from an ethnic perspective. Across Europe (with the exception of one or two), there are no regional names with thousands of names. Where there is a division of territory between two countries, one territory is marked at most by a neutral attribute of the direction of the sky (Northern Ireland, Northern Macedonia).

At a time when we are defending equality and respect on behalf of a developed society, and in this spirit the multiculturalism of Europe and the breaking down of borders, naming a region should reflect respect for all today's ethnically diverse populations. Historical name Istria has no ethnic connotations. If there is no longer a possibility for the population of Istria to express their identity with the name of the place, the latter should be at least as inclusive as possible to all, both those who remained and those brought by the stormy flow of border histories. Let us name Istria in its most indisputable form: Istria.

Assoc. Prof. Katja Hrobat Virloget
Assist. Prof. Neža Čebron Lipovec
Assist. Prof. Petra Kavrečič
Prof. Sandra Bašič-Hrvatin
Assist. Prof. Helena Bažec
Assoc. Prof. Martina Blečič Kavur
Assoc. Prof. Jadranka Cergol Gabrovec
Dr. Mojca Cerkvenik
Assist. Prof. Neva Čebron
Assoc. Prof. Alenka Janko Spreizer
Assoc. Prof. Boris Kavur
Assoc. Prof. Miha Koderman
Prof. Vlado Kotnik
Assoc. Prof. Gregor Kovačič
Prof. Irena Lazar
Mag. Metka Malčič
Assoc. Prof. Karmen Medica
Assoc. Prof. Gregor Pobežin
Assist. Prof. Marcello Potocco
Assist. Prof. Katarina Šmid
Assist. Prof. Mojca Marija Terčelj
Assoc. Prof. Alenka Tomaž
Assist. Prof. Vladka Tucovič Sturman
Assist. Prof. Jana Volk
Assist. Prof. Nives Zudič Antonič
Assist. Prof. Igor Ž. Žagar
Assist. Prof. Ernest Ženko

Koper/Capodistria, 12. 4. 2022

The SCRS calls for responsible responses to suicides

The Slovenian Center for Suicide Research has been operating at the Andrej Marušič UP Institute since 2011, with a vision to provide high-quality research to better understand and explain suicidal behavior, which will contribute to suicide prevention and support for loved ones in the event of suicide loss. To that end, they are also publishing a statement at the time of the latest worrying reports and comments about the suicide event.

"Recently, we have been able to find quite a few news on social networks and in the media about suicides among children or adolescents. Adolescents, especially children (primary school children), are very prone to imitating suicidal behavior. Any addressing of this topic - even if it seems like a well-intentioned journalistic article, posting a famous star on Instagram or discussing a group of parents on Facebook - increases the effect of imitation. Unfortunately, we cannot rule out that the cluster of suicides among primary school students that we have witnessed in the last year is not unrelated to the media coverage of these cases. Adults are also subject to imitation, especially those who identify with the stories being reported. Therefore, responsible media coverage of suicide is a key building block of prevention. However, we address each individual to find time together, to instead of discussing cases, with your loved ones, especially children and young people, to connect and give them them the feeling that their plight is not a burden to you"

The Slovenian Center for Suicide Research 

Key information on responsible suicide reporting is available to the media online (HERE), and SCRS researchers are also available to journalists for lectures, information and interviews at individual events and for general interviews. "

More on the topic of adolescent suicidal behavior is available at this > LINK. 

Water shortages - clear changes to which we will have to adapt 

The drought that the University of Primorska is experiencing this year, the water shortages and related fires in the area where it operates, are no surprise to climate change scientists. Their expert response to the current situation comes from Prof. Gregor Kovačič, Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Geography at the UP Faculty of Humanities. The response is published below.

Scientific publications confirm the widespread assumption that water volumes in the Slovenian region of Istria are decreasing. The climate crisis has had a significant impact on the significantly reduced water runoff in the area of Slovenian Istria due to changes in the distribution of precipitation over the year (changes in the precipitation regime) and the simultaneous reduction of the total annual precipitation, and on the other hand, due to the increased evapotranspiration as a result of rising average air temperatures.

This is reflected in a statistically significant decrease in the discharge of the Rižana, the main source of water in the region. The greatest decrease in runoff is observed in the warm half of the year between April and September. Climate projections show that if there is no additional water from other sources, Slovenian Istria will have to get used to more and more frequent periods of water restrictions if there is no additional water from other sources, as is currently the case. However, the current situation comes as no surprise to scientists who have long warned of these consequences of the climate crisis. Welcome to a future that is clearly predicted.

We will have to get used to more frequent and longer droughts and heat waves on the one hand, and more severe floods on the other, and adapt our lives and activities to the new reality. The increasing frequency of forest fires as a result of increasing drought is also part of the package of consequences of the climate crisis. In 2015-2017, the Department of Geography of the UP Faculty of Humanities organized three round tables on the consequences of the climate crisis on the hydrosphere, namely on the floods in the Adriatic basin, on the water supply of Slovenian Istria and, in particular, on desalination as an option for the drinking water supply of the region, with the active participation of experts from various disciplines. By the way, desalination is not an environmentally sound solution for obtaining drinking water in the area of Slovenian Istria. All the above mentioned topics are covered in the course Sustainable Water Resources Management in the 2nd cycle of the Master's Degree in Geography.

Solutions to the shortage of drinking (and other!) water in Slovenian Istria should be sought in two directions - reduction of consumption (raising users' awareness of rational use) and provision of additional water. In reducing the consumption of drinking water for purposes other than drinking, more attention should also be paid to the possibility of reusing already treated municipal water, and building systems for retention and use of rainwater for sanitary purposes, irrigation, etc. Solutions for more efficient water use also exist in agriculture and other human activities. There is no doubt that Slovenian Istria needs to find an additional source of drinking water. The best solution is to connect the regional water supply systems in the hinterland, including the Sava River basin (Malni near Postojna). This would ensure a sustainable supply of sufficient quantities of good quality drinking water for a larger circle of users for several decades. In any case, the state must ensure a fast, economically viable and sustainable solution for the drinking water supply in Slovenian Istria.

Assoc. Prof. Gregor Kovačič
Head of the Department of Geography
University of Primorska
Faculty of Humanities

The EU, Slovenia and the Sustainable Development Goals: success story or confronting reality?

The European Sustainable Development Week (ESDW) 2022 is taking place from 20 September to 26 September 2022, on which occasion Prof. Roberto Biloslavo, Programme Director of the Management of Sustainable Development programme at the UP Faculty of Management, has written a perspective on the situation in the European Union and Slovenia, which is published below.

The European Sustainable Development Week is being held to promote the organisation of events and other activities to raise awareness of sustainable development. The initiative is associated with the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, with 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are defined under the three dimensions of sustainable development: economic, social, and environmental.

To understand where the EU stands on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) after the Covid-19 two-year period and amid the energy crisis, let's take a look at the results of Eurostat's sixth progress report on the Goals, prepared in cooperation with the Wirtschaftsuniversität, Vienna. As this year's report shows, significant progress has been made on the goal to reduce poverty and social exclusion (SDG 1), the economy and labor market (SDG 8), clean and affordable energy (SDG 7), and innovation and infrastructure (SDG 9). However, the report's authors pointed out that in the area of poverty (SDG 1), the available data partly covers the period up to 2019 and does not fully capture the impact of the pandemic. On the other hand, the favorable assessment of SDG 7 is strongly correlated with the remarkable reduction in energy consumption in 2020 due to the reduction in public life and lower economic activity during the containment of the COVID-19 virus. The EU has also made good progress on the goals of health and well-being (SDG 3), conservation and sustainable use of oceans, seas, and marine resources (SDG 14), and gender equality (SDG 5). Progress on the remaining nine goals has been markedly slower, with some even showing a slight downward trend over the last five years. Overall, we can conclude that Covid-19 has contributed indirectly to progress in some areas, but this is in many ways related to the reduced economic activity in the first year of the pandemic. Although the report is dated 2022, the data included do not fully capture the last period of the pandemic, when economic growth picked up, and in particular tourism and related travel, which in a large number of European countries recovered to pre-pandemic figures.

Where is Slovenia? We can say that the picture of what is happening in the EU reflects very well what is happening in the field of sustainable development in Slovenia. Working from home, reduced economic activity during the first period of the pandemic, a halted tourism sector along with hospitality services, and at the same time fresh money from Brussels for investment have all contributed to the fact that the trend has turned positive for many of the objectives in Slovenia too. However, this may only be a temporary situation, which could change quickly with the following review. After an initial cooling of the economy, there has been a turnaround and the economic trajectory has turned upwards, at least in Slovenia, even though companies have faced problems in their supply chains and rising commodities prices. The latter impacted selling prices and consequently inflation but did not stop the demand for products. This trend was also reflected in the labor market, where companies were intensively looking for much-needed staff. With energy prices, this rather idyllic picture has changed in the last few months.

 European policy measures on Russian oil and gas have exposed some key structural weaknesses in European energy policy, which have been well exploited by markets and various speculators, pushing energy prices sky-high. The desired transformation of the energy sector towards sustainable sources in the (too) short term and the shift towards gas, where Europe has no gas resources of its own and is mainly dependent on Russian gas, proved to be more often than not the wrong decision. As energy inputs enter the production chain directly or indirectly, their higher price has pushed up the price of final products, and above all, the expected gas shortages have raised several questions about how to ensure the normal functioning of the economy and the supply of households in the coming winter. As a result, many countries are taking steps that take us back to the era of coal or the more 'friendly' nuclear energy, rather than to the development of alternative and environmentally friendly sources. While much-needed measures are being taken to maintain a minimum standard of living for the poorer part of the population, there are also problems for the "middle class". With higher interest rates being adopted by the European Central Bank to curb inflation, higher monthly bills and the cost of living in general, and an uncertain future with the war in Ukraine and relations with Russia, the sustainability goals of 1) ending poverty, 2) ending hunger, 3) ensuring inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full employment and decent work, and 4) affordable and clean energy may be well off track this year and next. The extent to which this shift will take place depends largely on whether the EU Member States can agree and move beyond their narrow national, and sometimes purely private, elite interests to find solutions that benefit the individual, the community, and the environment. There is plenty of knowledge on how to do this, including in Slovenia. This is demonstrated by projects ranging from the Deep Demonstration model of a systemic transition to a circular, regenerative and low-carbon economy in Slovenia to projects at the level of individual cities, e.g. Ljubljana, Maribor, and others. But unfortunately, without the right political will to get the necessary projects off the ground, knowledge alone cannot guarantee success. But if we try to look at all this from a positive point of view, then we have to believe that as a society we will be able to show enough empathy and common sense to persevere on a path that allows a dignified way of life for all, without depleting natural resources and exceeding nature's capacity to absorb the waste generated by our activities. Our posterity will be very grateful to us for this.

Prof. Roberto Biloslavo, Programme Director of the Management of Sustainable Development programme at the UP Faculty of Management