en English

Partnership for Change is a partnership for the true future, for trust, cooperation and surpassing the limits of our mentality.


The honorary guest at the closing event of the third round of the Partnership for Change, Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia, Mr. Miro Cerar, PhD, who had an important mentoring role in this round of the Partnership for Change, expressed his acknowledgment to all participants of the program – those from the business sector as well as those from public administration.


In the introduction of his keynote speech, the PM first expressed his warm regards for the event and his belief that the Partnership for Change is the right path to move forward. “The business sector and public administration should know how to work together, how to connect, and work as a team. I wish for more SLOoperation – i.e. cooperation for the benefit of Slovenia,” he said adding that respect between public administration and the business sector created by the Partnership for Change was extremely important for fostering trust. “Every person counts and respect for their work should be shown to anyone. My vision is in a high quality of life in our beautiful country,” he also added and explained that in his opinion, the quality of life was a product of self-realization through work. “The meaning of life is reflected in the good we do for others. The participants in the Partnership for Change represent the essence of this vision. Don’t quit but cooperate and SLOoperate as you did so-far!” he concluded.


Mr. Boris Koprivnikar, honorable sponsor of the project, Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Public Administration said in his introduction that the Partnership for Change program was an excellent platform for achieving change and was recognized as such not only is Slovenia but also by the international environment. He explained that each time he was presented with a decision, he asked himself if it promoted the program and if it was innovative. Three mottoes of the program became guidelines in his work. These were working together in partnership, playful innovativeness, and bold responsibility. He said that change is the only constant we experience every day and that changes might be hard but were undoubtedly also fun, if we chose to accept them.



Mrs. Ajša Vodnik, MSc, Executive Director of AmCham Slovenia, said that cooperation promoted by the Partnership for Change was a step in the right direction that facilitates positive change. She believed that the Partnership for Change was related to change, trust, creativity, optimism, and represented a driving force for moving forward. “This is something exceptional in our environment because we don't only act rationally but also emotionally,” she said and added that an extremely strong connection could be felt between partners for change that not only broke stereotypes but also paved new paths. “I am happy to be living in a country where we can create new opportunities for young people in such a playful and innovative way,” added the Executive Director of AmCham Slovenia.

Successful Conclusion of the Third Round

The closing event at the Ljubljana City Theatre ended the third round of the Partnership for Change launched by AmCham Slovenia and the Ministry of Public Administration. We have shown how employees in both the public and private sectors can move boundaries, break stereotypes, and create positive stories together. We are convinced that the future lies in working together and that to every problem practical solutions can be found solely with will and preparedness to work for the benefit of the common good. Partnerships and trust provide perfect solutions for all of us – cooperation between public administration and the business sector is a new, different, and innovative way of working together that yields good results.


In this year's third round, the teams on both sides (public administration and the business sector) grew even larger. In all, 6 ministries, 75 employees, 36 companies, and 30 mentor-mentee pairs participated in the program. The program scope was expanded, trust was even stronger and there was even more cooperation, we exchanged good experience and ideas, and by doing so, we have proven once again that we have a desire to and also can break stereotypes and achieve changes for the better.



Those involved as well as observers were enthusiastic about the Partnership for Change program and that is why the successful pilot project that was upgraded last season will continue in the fourth round that has an even richer program. As the Prime Minister Miro Cerar, PhD emphasized, that this program, whose goal is to break stereotypes, should have been given a chance to surpass the limits of a single term and should have been transformed and continued in the expanded 4th round.


Round 4 to Focus on Talents

Mr. Boris Koprivnikar and Ajša Vodnik, as well as Nina Langerholc Čebokli, Head of Minister’s Office, Ministry of Public Administration, all agree that the program should continue. Mrs. Langerholc Čebokli explained her vision of the Partnership for Change program – she wished for the program to outgrow the national cooperation platform and to become an initiative that teaches how to work together, and connects differently educated people from different sectors and organizations into an environment that enables them to work together. The Partnership for Change program strengthens mutual trust, breaks stereotypes and promotes optimism. They all agreed that the 4th round would focus on talents. How to provide them with a proper work environment in Slovenia and how to keep them home? How to encourage them to return to Slovenia? Can we use the findings from the first three rounds to find new solutions that would benefit our talents? All this will be discovered in the 4th round of the Partnership for Change program.



Partnership for change would not happen without the goodwill of the ministries and private companies who have entered into this project with all their hearts and who truly believe in it.


6 ministries: Ministry of Public Administration, Ministry of Education, Science and Sport, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government Office for Development and European Cohesion Policy, Ministry of Economic Development and Technology, Ministry of Infrastructure. 


36 slovenian and international companies: AmCham Slovenija, KPMG, Knauf Insulation, Danfoss Trata, Gorenjski tisk, Microsoft, Halcom, Adecco, Špica International, SAP, Competo, Cisco, LanguageSitter, HalMBills, NLB, Generali, IBM Slovenija, Deloitte, A1, Zavarovalnica Triglav, Telekom, NIL, Steklarna Hrastnik, Bisnode, Simbioza Genesis, S&T, MSD, Coca Cola, Roche, Droga Kolinska, Kliping, Petrol, GSK.


75 employees in the private and public sector.