Extraordinary Slovenian women

We have chosen to highlight a few special women whose actions are an example to others. They are courageous, fearless and push boundaries. But above all, they are women who, with their actions, are superb role models to others.

Ninna Kozorog is a doctor and humanitarian. She says that what she loves most is being a doctor working in the field. She dedicates a large part of her free time to working in the Humanitarček society, which encourages people to do small things that can change the world for the better. Lately, she has devoted most of her efforts to help elderly people who are socially-disadvantaged. Readers of Jana magazine voted her as Slovenian Woman of the Year 2019.

Alenka Artnik is a freediver and a real-life mermaid. She is a woman who literally pushes boundaries. Her ability to equalise pressure during diving, which is one of the key skills of top divers, is extraordinary. At last year's Freediving World Championships she reached the incredible depth of 113 metres. "Focus is essential in diving. There is simply no time to make decisions. You have to be present every single second," this outstanding diver is convinced.

Janja Garnbret is a sport climber who seems to have achieved everything there is to achieve in her sport, despite her young age. At the most recent world championships, a dress rehearsal for the Olympic Games in Tokyo, she won gold in three disciplines – bouldering, lead and combined. She made history as the first female sport climber to achieve this feat. She is also the first female climber to defend a world championship title in bouldering.

Tanja Glušič is a deaf and blind climber with Asperger syndrome, a type of autism spectrum disorder. Due to the Usher syndrome, she was born deaf, while her sight is gradually deteriorating. This means that she currently sees as if she is looking through a straw. Despite this, she is an enthusiastic and very successful sport paraclimber, who became Slovenian Disabled Athlete of the Year 2018. At the time she said that the award gave her motivation to put even more effort in training and to try achieving even better results.

Matea Benedetti is a fashion designer whose mission is to raise environmental awareness in the fashion industry. She is constantly searching for new, innovative eco-sustainable materials and has attracted the attention of the global media and all those who recognise high-quality products and industry innovations. At the Ljubljana Fashion Week last autumn she presented the sustainable collection she created together with Jan Oblak, and in February she impressed Hollywood with her sustainable luxury fashion.

Nika Zupanc is an internationally renowned industrial designer who lives by the rule that the designer must understand the client. She says her visual language comes from deep within and is about "communicating the things that cannot be told". Lolita Lamp, Black Cherry Lamp and Ribbon Chair are only a few of her most well-known products. It is no surprise that Elle USA characterised her work as “punk elegance”.

Katarina Čas played in her first film at the tender age of 13, she continued with a television career as a presenter and appeared in several Slovenian television serials and advertisements. Her international career took off with roles in the Irish dark comedy The Guard, the Scorsese film The Wolf of Wall Street, the British television series A Touch of Cloth, the popular BBC series New Tricks, and the film Imagine starring Al Pacino.

Zala Slabe is a young Slovenian scientist who made a significant discovery in the field of biopsychology. She was the first to prove the link between the presence of neuropeptide PACAP in the brain and mood disorders, in particular depression and bipolar disorders. "By knowing the biopsychological background of a person and adjusting their biological functions we could significantly improve our contribution to public mental health," is convinced Zala Slabe.

Aida Kamišalić Latifić, the Woman Engineer of the Year 2019 in Slovenia, is a researcher and lecturer at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science of the University of Maribor. She came to Slovenia in the 1990s, fleeing from the war in her native Bosnia and Herzegovina. Her motto became: Everything may be taken from you except your knowledge. She has been conducting research in blockchain technology and holds, as a co-inventor, a patent in Slovenia and has also filed a co-inventorship application for an international patent in this field.

Ana Roš is one of the most prominent female chefs in the world and pushes the boundaries in cuisine. UNWTO awarded her the title of Ambassador for Gastronomy Tourism, mainly because she promotes the use of local ingredients and uses such ingredients in her cooking. She swears by the concept "from garden to plate", so that her dishes reflect all seasons, as well as the taste and character of the local environment. They truly represent the original local landscape.