Slovenian women who are an inspiration to us

Živa Ploj Peršuh is a musicologist, a renowned and versatile conductor, and the first female Slovenian conductor of the Ljubljana Slovene National Theatre Opera and Ballet Orchestra. She is the artistic director of the Slovenian National Youth Orchestra and of her own symphony and chamber orchestra, Festine, which brings together professional musicians and music students. Many of her projects are aimed at promoting Slovenia abroad and vice versa – projects in which young people from all over the world participate in Slovenia. She also helped young Ukrainian musicians escape the war in their country.

Rosana Kolar was named Engineer of the Year 2022. She graduated in aviation from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Ljubljana. In 2016, after graduation, she was employed by Adria Tehnika as a passenger aircraft mechanic. She began her career as an aircraft mechanic assistant, performing the basic aircraft maintenance tasks. In 2022, she obtained the B1 Aircraft Maintenance Engineer Licence for the Airbus A320 family, which allows her to work as an independent aircraft mechanic, primarily responsible for her own work.

Damijana Gustinčič is a professor of pedagogy and sociology and a specialist in educational management. On World Teachers’ Day 2022, she received the Award of the Republic of Slovenia for her lifetime achievement in primary education. She views the school environment as one of the key institutions for teaching and implementing values. She always pays attention to pupils with special needs, those from less privileged backgrounds and immigrant children.

Milena Zupančič deserves a special place in Slovenian culture. She was announced as Slovenian Woman of the Year 2022. She is an eminent actress and the first actress to have recently won the Badjura Award for lifetime achievement in film. She is the recipient of a number of theatre and film awards, including the Borštnik Ring Award (1999) and the Prešeren Award for lasting contribution to Slovenian culture (1993). She is the prima donna of the ensemble of the SNT Drama theatre in Ljubljana and a goodwill ambassador of UNICEF. In her autobiography, she reveals her fragility and joie de vivre and also her resilience. Despite her honourable age, we can still follow her in her lively and dynamic artistic creativity.