Africa Day 2025: Rethinking Africa’s Natural Resources through Creativity

After an opening speech by Mag. Marko Štucin, State Secretary for European and political affairs, international law and the protection of interests, the reflections on Africa's natural resources in the light of creativity at the roundtable will be shared by:
- Tighisti Amare, Deputy Director of the Africa Programme, Chatham House
- H.E. Ksenija Škrilec, Ambassador at Large for Climate Diplomacy (Ministry for Foreign and European Affairs)
- Tjaša Rener, Visual Artist

The round table in English will be moderated by Maja Ratej, journalist at RTV Slovenia.

You are cordially invited to the Jakopič Gallery at 5 pm to see Aïda's exhibition for free before the discussion. The panel discussion will end at 7 pm.

TIGHISTI AMARE is the Deputy Director of the Africa Programme at Chatham House, a globally renowned centre for independent policy research and analysis. With over fifteen years of progressive leadership at the Institute, she has been instrumental in shaping the Programme’s strategy and positioning it as a leading platform for research and dialogue on African affairs. Tighisti Amare is specialized in African political systems, governance, accountability, and international engagement, with a strong track record of designing and managing complex, multi-stakeholder initiatives. also serves on the advisory board of Acre Impact Capital and the Ubuntu Circle of the ONE Campaign, reflecting her broader commitment to sustainable development and inclusive growth. She regularly contributes to major conferences and policy forums and is passionate about amplifying African perspectives in global policymaking.

Ambassador KSENIJA ŠKRILEC with over three decades of diplomatic work in bilateral and multilateral affairs is currently serving as Ambassador at Large for Climate Diplomacy at the Slovenian Ministry for Foreign and European Affairs and co-chairing the Permanent Joint Slovenian-Bavarian Commission with activities celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Ambassador Škrilec served as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Slovenia to Austria, Bulgaria and Hungary. In the Ministry she was heading the Directorate General for European Affairs, earlier Global Challenges Department in the period of national coordination of SDG´s. She prepared business delegations of the president and primer minister at their official visits. She coordinated the Slovenian-Austrian historians and lawyers group. Master of Science of Internatinal Relations, graduate in German and Hungarina studies is coming from the Hungarian minority in Slovenia. With a background in international relations, diplomacy, literature and music, she brings a polyglot, culturally attuned, socially and environmentally sensitive approach to her work.

TJAŠA RENER is a visual artist whose work explores migration, identity and historical links between Slovenia and West Africa. Her artistic practice combines painting, printmaking, textile techniques, video and installation, reflecting the cultural influences of her life between Slovenia and Ghana. In recent years, her work has focused primarily on themes of nostalgia and memory, delving into personal and collective histories intertwined with emotional landscapes of displacement, home and belonging. A central aspect of her artistic practice is research-based storytelling. She is currently working on a multidisciplinary project in Ghana, Connecting Worlds: Migration, memory and echoes of community. Her work has been exhibited in Slovenia and internationally, and she is also making interdisciplinary connections to explore postcolonial histories, transnational identity and the impact of movement on artistic expression.

At the Jakopič Gallery, alongside our photography exhibitions, we strive to open up a wide field of discussion on current global issues, which we believe are deeply connected to creativity and art. Therefore, we will invite experts working in the fields of diplomacy, business and art to an interdisciplinary round table to reflect on Africa's natural resources in the light of creativity, to confront their views on the role and connection of human creativity to natural resources.

Human creativity can be a natural resource in its own right, perhaps especially in the case of Africa, whose art and creative conditions are largely unknown. But on the other hand creativity can also make a significant contribution to, or play an important role in, communication, awareness-raising and the promotion of the conservation and protection of natural resources.

Both aspects of creativity are also present in the work of Aïda Muluneh, who after living abroad has returned to her original source of inspiration, Ethiopia, or Africa in general, and whose photographs raise global awareness of natural resource issues and offer a glimpse into the richness of lesser-known African cultures in a thoughtful and symbolically rich way. A selection of her work is also presented in the exhibition On the Edge of Past Future, produced by Fotografie Forum Frankfurt (FFF).

The Africa Day 2025 conference and cultural programme is organised by the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia in cooperation with a number of partners. Within the framework of a rich professional and cultural content, the Ministry aims to make the Slovenian public aware of the importance of pressing issues on the African continent, the diversity of African cultures and creativity, and to promote integration and cooperation between Slovenia and African countries.