1. Ministries and
Governmental Organisations
- The National Assembly of the
Republic of Slovenia is the highest representative and
legislative body in the country. Amongst other functions,
it passes laws, the national budget and the final account
of the national budget, ratifies international
agreements, and adopts national programmes, declarations,
resolutions, recommendations, positions and decisions. In
recent years, it has adopted some important national
programmes concerning the promotion of Information
Society in the field of education, infrastructure, and
research and development.Contact: Mr Janez Podobnik,
President.
- The Government of the Republic of
Slovenia is the
executive and the supreme body of the state
administration. In recent years, it has proposed a few
sectorial national programmes related to the Information
Society (education, infrastructure, research and
development). Contact: Dr Janez Drnovsek, Prime Minister.
The Government of the RS
Council for the use of information technology in state bodies
and public institutions, as well as in other organisations
performing public functions is a governmental advisory body
on IT. Contact: Mr Mirko Bandelj, President.
- The Government Centre for
Informatics was
established in January 1993 as a governmental agency,
responsible for the implementation of information
technology in state institutions. The centre performs the
following functions:
- design and set-up of IT
in state institutions; supply, distribution and
maintenance of IT equipment;
- operation of state
institutions' computing centre and their
communications networks;
- providing common
telecommunication services and e-mail;
- application software
development, advising state institutions concerning
IT planning and implementation, professional control
during application software development and
implementation, installation of telecommunication
equipment, providing required quality of IT services
and products, methodological and technological
co-ordination during project development;
- methodological and
technological solutions regarding connecting to and
using public data bases and enabling information
services to state institutions and other users;
- professional education
and training for effective use of IT.
The Centre drafted the Strategy for
Providing the State Bodies with an Information Infrastructure
by the Year 2000
adopted by the Government on 1 February 1996 and the Law on
Electronic Commerce and Digital Signature.Contact: Mr Marin
Silic, Director
- The Ministry of Science and
Technology is the
Ministry, responsible for the Information Society issues
related to research, technology and development. The
Ministry has been involved in various IS related
activities at the international level and played an
important role within the CEEC/EU Forum on Information
Society. In addition, it organised the International
ministerial Conference on Information Infrastructure and
Technology Diffusion in Central European Countries (6-7 September 1994, Bled,
Slovenia), CEEC/EU Panel
on Co-operation in R&D (7-8 March 1996, Bled, Slovenia), European
Information Society Awareness Week - Information Society
as a Challenge - How Business is Preparing to Respond (17 September 1996, Ljubljana,
Slovenia).
The Ministry of Science and
Technology finances the Academic and
Research Network of Slovenia and the Institute of
Information Science,
the institutions that have played a significant role in
shaping the Information Society in Slovenia. The Ministry has
also financed various research and development (R&D)
programmes as well as conferences, workshops and seminars and
publications related to the Information Society.Contacts: Dr
Lojze Marincek, Minister, Dr Cene Bavec, State Secretary for
Technology
Within the Ministry of Science
and Technology, there are two offices playing an important
role in shaping the IS policy concerning standards and
intellectual property rights:
- The Ministry of Transport and
Communications is
in charge of telecommunications. It is responsible for
enactment of subsidiary legislation of the Law on
Telecommunications. The Ministry had a central role in
drafting the National Programme for the Development of
Telecommunications and is now drafting a new
telecommunications law. Contacts: Mr Anton Bergauer,
Minister
Dr Miro Rozman, State Secretary for Telecommunications,
Ms Majda Markocic Trtnik, Counsellor to the Government
Within the Ministry of
Transport and Communications, there are two bodies that have
important roles in the implementation and supervision of
telecommunications legislation:
- The Ministry of Education and Sport
launched the
six-year Computer Literacy Development Programme (Ro) in 1994 aiming at fostering the computer
literacy development and usage of information technology
in education, particularly in primary and secondary
schools, and increasing the efficiency in schools.
Contact: Dr Slavko Gaber, Minister (he resigned at the
and of June 1999)
- The Ministry of Culture is the ministry responsible for
implementing the legislation on mass media. Amongst
others, the Ministry also fosters and finances the
development of on-line libraries. Contact: Mr Jozef
Skolc, Minister
- The Ministry of Economic Relations
and Development
has an important role in forming the macroeconomic
framework for the development of the Information Society.
Amongst others, the Ministry is responsible for affairs
relating to the concept, strategy and guidance of
national and regional development, activities in the area
of privatisation of state property, trade policy, foreign
investments and other trade deals, co-operation with
other countries and international economic organisations,
modernisation of trading methods and computerisation,
assuring of consumer rights and consumer protection,
price control and competition policy. Contact: Dr Marjan
Senjur, Minister, Ms Vojka Ravbar, State Secretary for
Economic Relations, Mr Anton Grabeljsek, State Secretary
for Internal Market.
Within the Ministry of Economic Relations and
Development, there are five bodies. Amongst them, the
following should be mentioned as important actors in
shaping the favourable economic environment:
2. Reasearch Institutes
and Organisations
- The University of Ljubljana and University of Maribor are organising various events,
workshops and seminars relating to information technology
and Information Society, especially through its
electrical engineering, computer science and informatics
faculties. Both universities have also carried out
numerous IS related R&D projects. Contacts: Dr Joze
Mencinger, Rector of the University of Ljubljana, Dr
Ludvik Toplak, Rector of the University of Maribor.
- The Jozef Stefan Institute is the leading Slovene institute
for natural sciences. It plays an important role in
shaping national information and communications
technology environment. It organises various events,
workshops and seminars related to information technology
and Information Society and carries out numerous IS
related R&D projects. Contact: Dr Vito Turk,
Director.
- The Slovene Science Foundation is a private foundation with a
public function. Its founders - the most important
Slovenian organisations for research, education, economy,
finance, the media and the Slovenian government - have
determined that the purpose of establishing this
institution is to provide moral and financial support for
the development of science in Slovenia.
Amongst other functions, the Slovene Science Foundation
leads the activities of the Co-operative Research in
Information Infrastructure (CRII) project. The CRII is an umbrella project in
Slovenia consisting of several subprojects under the
unifying theme of "Information Society". The
idea behind the project is to contribute to the
development of Information Society in Slovenia by several
well-targeted technology demonstration subprojects in
areas inspired by "Europe and the Global Information
Society" and by one subproject devoted to social
issues of Information Society. An important subsidiary
goal is to contribute toward the convergence of methods,
standards, and procedures in the area of Information
Society activities in Slovenia and the EU.Contact: Dr
Edvard Kobal, Director Dr Bostjan Vilfan, CRII Project
Co-ordinator
- The Open Society Institute –
Slovenia aims at
supporting and funding institutions of open society. In
the field of Information Society, the Institute
financially supports various educational and cultural
projects. Contact: Ms Lilijana Stepancic, Executive
Director
- The Institute of Information Science (IZUM) is an information
infrastructure service for Slovenian science, culture and
education. Along with other agents of information
activities in the country, it ensures Slovenia an
entrance to the streams of the modern world's information
society. As a public institution, IZUM functions as:
- the bibliographic utility
and the developer of the common bases of the computer
supported library information system in the Republic
of Slovenia;
- the information service
for the research sphere of Slovenia and the
co-ordinator of the development of the common bases
of scientific informing;
- the centre for the
development and maintenance of the computer and
communications infrastructure of the scientific,
educational and cultural sphere in Slovenia.
Contact: Mr Branko Zebec,
Director
- The Academic and Research Network of
Slovenia (ARNES)
was established as a public institution in May 1992 to
provide communication and information services to
educational and research community. It is financed by the
Ministry of Science and Technology. The main activities
of the ARNES are:
- planning, organising and
managing the connections between the organisations
from academic and research area, and connection with
other countries
- developing, organising
and supervising computer network services and
managing and performing the necessary central
activities together with the purchase of necessary
hardware, software and communication equipment,
- organising and carrying
out the appropriate supporting, educational and
counselling activities,
- managing the address
space in computer networks (under the country code
SI).
Contact: Mr Marko Bonac,
Director
3. Private companies
3.1 Telecommunications
operators:
3.2 Potential alternative
infrastructure providers:
3.2. Largest IT companies:
- Hermes Softlab d.d.
The company was a winner of the Slovene Business
Excellence Prize in 1998 and one of the finalists of the
European Quality Awards 1998.
Contact: Mr Rudi Bric, Chief Executive Officer
- Iskratel d.d.
Contact: Mr Andrej Polenec, Chief Executive Officer
4. Business Associations (within the Chamber of Commerce and
Industry of Slovenia):
- Slovene Information
Technology Association
Contact: Mr Franci Mugerle, President
Dr Dusan Caf, Secretary
- Slovene Internet Service
Providers Association
Contact: Mr Andrej Kositer, President
Mr Darko Bulat, Vice President
- Slovene Electronic and
Electrical Engineering Association
Contact: Mr Rafael Mavri, President
Mr Joze Pukl, Secretary
- Slovene Article Numbering
Association
Contact: Mr Franc Kogovsek, Secretary
There are also many professional
societies representing important promoters of Information Society
in Slovenia.
