SLOVENIA'S 5 CORE VALUES

I am so grateful because life proves to me over and over again that this is true and that Slovenia is home to people who care about their fellow human beings. 

I was on luštnem event in Ljubljana and I parked my car in a car park in Šiška. When I came back, I didn't have the change to pay the parking fee. I am standing in front of the ticket office and I stop a gentleman who is rushing past me. I ask him if he can change my banknote into coins so that I can pay the parking fee. He asks me: "How much do you need?" I tell him 10 euros. And the gentleman gives it to me, saying only: "That's fine, I'll give it to you."

I was overwhelmed. We were complete strangers and he just gave me money to pay for it. In my mind I asked myself: Is this possible? Are we really so kind and so solidarity-minded that we just give our money? Everyone works for what they earn, and that moment in the middle of Ljubljana touched me. How beautiful, really beautiful. And it's not even so much about the money as about the gesture itself. 

The man doesn't know me, he sees me for the first time and shares his money with me. I barely had time to ask him his name before he rushed on, because I wanted to know who the person was who had enriched and brightened my day immensely. It is each individual who builds society, because society is made up of us; you and me. We are doing so well in Slovenia. It is very warm and touching to me when something so unexpected happens.

Through such examples, we show that there are good people in Slovenia who help without expecting to be repaid, and because they have a big heart, they share selflessly. No matter how much they are in a hurry and no matter what is going on around them. Such gestures are very valuable and deserve to be highlighted. This event did not happen in a year ago, but in 2024.

Thank you, Mr Domen Gorenšek, for being an example to us by encouraging mutual support through your actions.

When I asked him why he did it, he said it was because he simply likes to help people if he sees someone in need or in some kind of trouble. He was very insistent that the record be published anonymously. That says something about him, that he is modest, that he does not want to expose himself publicly and brag about himself. It is precisely because I know what kind of person he is that I have been all the more insistent on putting his name to it. Domen is an individual who, by his actions, has added a small stone to the mosaic. I wish there were more of him in the world Domain and other stories that speak of solidarity and prove that when we share, we multiply.

                                                                                     Tamara Andrašič, 20 May 2025