City of Ljubljana was the first municipality in Slovenia that started with a systematic computer-aided training of residents over 65 years of age. Therefore we have been organising free computer courses since 2007. These take place at the premises used by District Authority. The average age of participants is 68. The youngest participant was 42 and the oldest one 94. The interest and the satisfaction are extraordinary, as already 20,000 students have successfully completed the beginner’s course. Intermediate courses are also available.

Free Professional Lectures for Citizens

By providing lectures on dementia and identifying the first signs of dementia as well as how it can be prevented, we de-stigmatise the dementia as a disease and raise awareness of the citizens on early signs of the condition together with the Slovenian Association for Help with Dementia “Spominčica”. Within the program, we organise a popular workshop on how to train your memory, attentiveness, focus, and relaxation – “Brain Fitness”. Since 2016, we have also provided free professional lectures on the efficient use of energy in the household.

District Authorities as the Ambassadors of European Green Capital 2016

All district authorities were actively participating in the Green Capital programme, each of them being the Green Ambassador for three weeks. Every one provided something special and all of them focused on the intergenerational cooperation with the emphasis on sustainable mobility and circular economy. During their service as ambassadors, district communities collaborated with 281 various stakeholders and together, they organised more than 220 events, significantly enriching the entire project European Green Capital 2016.

During their terms as ambassadors, the executives of the DAs strengthened their bonds with the residents of their respective district authorities and at the same time also with other district authorities and the officials of the City of Ljubljana.

Best Apartment Building in Ljubljana Campaign

In 2016, based on the citizen’s initiative, we organised the Best Apartment Building in Ljubljana campaign for the first time. We wanted to encourage all residents who live in apartment buildings to contribute to a clean and tidy appearance of our living environment best they can. We will continue the campaign also in the future. 

We Encourage an Active Dialogue Between the City Administration and the District Authorities 

Our cooperation with the district authorities is very well organised, transparent, and always in the best interest of the citizens. A special aspect of local democracy in terms of participation of local community residents in the decisionmaking is the relationship between the local self-government and the public. Communication between the elected local authorities and local officials on one side and the residents of local communities (local public) on the other side is crucial for achieving a higher legitimacy in the realisation of the public interest. One of the purposes of the establishing district authorities was to provide for a greater involvement of local community residents in decision-making processes. The competent Deputy Mayor meets the presidents of district authorities every month at the coordination meeting, where different topics for a better functioning of district authorities are discussed. Furthermore, Mayor Zoran Janković joins them at the meetings every three months.