During the EU accession process, an intensive process of economic restructuring was taking place in Slovenia that was intended to secure Slovenia's incorporation into the common European market. At the time of adapting the legal and economic order to European standards, everyone was aware of the fact that successful EU spatial integration depends on the achieved economic power that is comparable to the average EU-27 economic growth. Slovenia's economic structure, determined by the GDP structure, is slowly approaching the structure of developed economies with the importance of agriculture and manufacture decreasing, and the importance of services increasing. However, financial and busines services, and technologically demanding sectors are growing too slowly. Structural changes of the Slovene economy have an affect on transformation of geographical space and create a new social-economic gravitational region. Functional and structural economic changes that resulted from social and political changes following Slovenia's newly-gained independence and its transition to market economy have changed the role of Slovenia in the common European economic market. Slovenia is to be found on a key development crossing, moving from an industrial to post industrial society. Slovenia's basic development goal is to exceed the average economic development of the enlarged EU by 2015 to be able to secure and improve social security, faster development in all its regions, and improve the environment. In other words strive for a better quality of life and overall human development.
University of Maribor has in the last few years been an active partner in establishing and encouraging regional cooperation within Danube Rector's network and Alpe-Adria network. Geographers have helped form the policy and concepts of regional partnership and connecting of spatial projects and initiatives, particularly in the regions of Central Europe and Western Balkans. An example of good practice is the Central European network GEOREGNET, which enables mobility of professors and students and contributes to the understanding among people and cooperation in higher education. The new challenges of Geography in the establishment of Euroregions and formation of a European cultural area represent a new understanding of the importance of creating a network of institutional cooperation and education of geographers. Research and pedagogical work in the field of Geography enable development and implementation of internationally comparable post-graduate study programmes and research programmes. With the establishment of University Centre for Euro-Mediterranean Studies, Slovenia has assumed the responsibility and an active role in encouraging the cooperation of higher education institutions in order to accomplish the goals of the European higher education area and strengthen intercultural understanding, not only between the countries of Euro-Mediterranean region, but also in the sense of global regional associations. ; Univerza v Mariboru je bila v zadnjih letih aktivni partner pri vzpostavljanju in spodbujanju regionalnega sodelovanja v Podonavski rektorski mreži in mreži Alpe-Adria. Geografi smo sooblikovali politiko in koncepte regionalnega partnerstva in povezovanja prostorskih projektov in iniciativ, zlasti v prostoru Srednje Evrope in Zahodnega Balkana. Primer dobre prakse predstavlja srednjeevropska geografska mreža GEOREGNET, ki omogoča mobilnost profesorjev in študentov in prispeva k medsebojnemu razumevanju med ljudmi ter krepi sodelovanje v visokem šolstvu. Novi izzivi geografije pri vzpostavljanju evroregij in oblikovanju evropskega kulturnega prostora pomenijo novo razumevanje pomena vzpostavljanja medsebojne mreže institucionalnega sodelovanja in izobraževanja geografov. Znanstvenoraziskovalno in pedagoško delo na področju geografske znanosti omogoča razvoj in izvajanje mednarodno primerljivih podiplomskih študijskih in raziskovalnih programov. Z ustanovitvijo University Centre for Euro - Mediterranean Studies pa je Slovenija prevzela tudi odgovornost in aktivno vlogo pri spodbujanju sodelovanja visokošolskih institucij za uresničevanje ciljev evropskega Visokošolskega prostora, krepitev medkulturnega razumevanja ne samo med državami evro-sredozemskega prostora, temveč tudi pri globalnem regionalnem povezovanju.
Traditional industrial regions in the South-East Europe (SEE) represent an underexplored economic value. Revitalisation is delayed and hindered because of legal, financial, environmental and image problems. This weakens competitive investment position for cities and for SEE as a European region. This paper aims at presenting interdisciplinary methodological approach used in a brownfield revitalisation research project. The research work methodology applies the endogenous approach ("bottom up") on a basis of newly defined land use category of brownfields by the local community. Geography science enjoys an advantage of complexity of understanding spatial issues. This enables geographers to coordinate and harmonize interests between the owners, stakeholders, legislation and human resources. In addition to geographical areas (economic, traffic, demographic, environmental and regional geography) directly involved in the project applicative research, this also includes collaboration of architects, lawyers and economists. The form of applicative research work presented is being developed within the international Revitalisation of Traditional Industrial Areas in South-East Europe (ReTInA) project. The project is funded in the context of the SEE European Transnational Cooperation Programme 2009/12, involving ten partners from seven countries. The main result of the project will be the new methodology and tools to boost brownfield revitalisation in the municipalities and in old industrial areas of SEE region.
The restructuring of the economy and transition to a market economy have had different impacts on the economic position of regions. The level of impact that changed economic and socio-political circumstances caused in the individual regions depended on various factors: the economic structure of the regions, their ability to reroute onto foreign markets, development potentials, development strategies, and their strategic decisions. Development problems are distinctive predominantly in areas suffering from structural backwardness and economic weakness with predominantly rural orientation, areas facing demographic problems, low income per inhabitant and high unemployment rate. The peripheral nature of the underdeveloped areas caused the emptying of the countryside and concentrating of the population in urban centers. Unfavorable demographic picture, emigration of the young, poor educational structure and shortage of adequate staff, and absence of strategic decisions had led to an increasing setback of the underdeveloped regions compared to the developed ones. The results of empirical analyses of division NUTS 3 regions in Slovenia into groups, taking into account the selected development indicators, lead to the conclusion that economic development has not been conducted in the context of modern understanding of balanced regional development and in accordance with the principle of integrity of implementing regional policy in the entire state territory. The existing regional developmental differences confirm the thesis that market mechanism on its own will not reduce economic inequality and substantiate the need for efficient conduct of regional policy. ; Prestrukturiranje gospodarstva i prijelaz na tržišno gospodarstvo imali su različit utjecaj na gospodarski položaj regija. Utjecaj promijenjenih gospodarskih i društveno-političkih okolnosti u pojedinim regijama ovisio je o brojnim čimbenicima: gospodarskoj strukturi regija, njihovoj sposobnosti da se preorijentiraju na strana tržišta, razvojnim potencijalima, razvojnim strategijama te strateškim odlukama. Razvojni problemi su posebice izraženi u područjima koja obilježavaju strukturno nazadovanje i gospodarske slabosti vezane uz ruralnu orijentaciju, u demografski ugroženim područjima, te u područjima s niskim prihodima po stanovniku i visokim stopama nezaposlenosti. Periferan položaj slabije razvijenih područja uzrokovao je demografsko pražnjenje ruralnih područja i koncentraciju stanovništva u urbanim centrima. Nepovoljna demografska slika, iseljavanje mladog stanovništva, nepovoljan obrazovni sastav stanovništva, nedostatak stručnih kadrova, te nedostatak strateških odluka rezultirali su sve većim zaostajanjem slabije razvijenih regija za razvijenim regijama. Rezultati empirijskih analiza podjele NUTS 3 regija u Sloveniji u grupe, uzimajući u obzir odabrane razvojne pokazatelje, pokazali su da gospodarski razvoj nije bio u skladu sa suvremenim poimanjem ujednačenoga regionalnog razvoja ni u skladu s principom integriteta primjene regionalne politike na čitavom državnom teritoriju. Postojeće regionalne razvojne nejednakosti potvrđuju tezu da tržišni mehanizam sam po sebi ne može smanjiti gospodarske nejednakosti i nadomjestiti potrebu za učinkovitim provođenjem regionalne politike.
Staranje prebivalstva v Sloveniji, Evropski uniji (EU) in v drugih državah po svetu zahteva določene prilagoditve in spremembe v družbi, ki bodo omogočale kakovostno življenje vseh generacij. Namen članka je predstaviti koncept srebrne ekonomije in aktivnega staranja, ki vplivata na javno in individualno porabo treh skupin starejših; tistih, ki so dejavni, tistih, ki so krhkega zdravja in tistih, ki so v stanju odvisnosti. K spremembam demografske slike prispevajo tudi novi vzorci, kot je večje število enočlanskih gospodinjstev, selitve v mesta, ki vodijo v depopulacijo podeželskih območij, beg možganov in tudi v migracijske tokove. Z raziskavo smo ugotavljali stanje aktivnosti starostnikov v pretežno podeželskih občinah Pesnica in Kungota, ki sodita v ruralno območje Podravske regije. Anketirali smo starejše občane in zbrane podatke primerjali s prosto dostopnimi podatki statističnih baz in z rezultati indeksa aktivnega staranja v državah EU. Po indeksu aktivnega staranja se slovenski starostniki, v primerjavi s starostniki v EU, starajo precej neaktivno. Na slovenskih podeželskih območjih, kjer je delež starejših oseb višji kot v mestih, so starostniki sicer aktivni, vendar ne na vseh obravnavanih področjih. Ena izmed vzpodbud za aktivno staranje je srebrna ekonomija, ki hkrati predstavlja tudi odlično priložnost za gospodarski in družbeni razvoj. Z vključevanjem in upoštevanjem starejših generacij, z vzpodbujanjem aktivnega staranja in s pričakovanim razvojem dejavnosti srebrne ekonomije se bo povečal delež aktivnega prebivalstva na podeželju, ki bo vplival na izboljšanje gospodarskih razmer in dvig kakovosti življenja. ; The age structure of a population is changing, in Slovenia as well as in many countries of the EU and other regions of the world. The process of population ageing requires adjustments and social and economic changes that will enable the quality of life for all generations. The article is based on an economic and social analysis of existing resources and on our own research. A critical review of the literature, secondary sources, and websites dedicated to demographic problems, the silver economy, and the quality of life of the elderly was conducted. We conducted a survey of the elderly population of the municipalities of Pesnica and Kungota, which lie in the Podravska statistical region in the Republic of Slovenia. The silver economy enables the social and economic development of individual geographical areas with potential for new markets and economic activities. In this context, it is necessary to ensure access to sustainable long-term care systems for active and healthy ageing. The concept covers lifelong learning, intergenerational cooperation, research and innovation, and institutional change. In 2017, Slovenia with Strategija dolge družbe (Active Ageing Strategy) accepted the conceptual framework of the proposed changes in the areas of: the labor market and education of the elderly; independent, healthy and safe living; involvement and participation in society and the creation of capacities and environments for activity in all stages of life. All these areas coincide with the scheme of an internationally comparable system of active ageing index indicators. The research was used to determine the activity status of 81 older people in the Podravje region, in the predominantly rural municipalities of Kungota and Pesnica. There were no employees among the respondents. The survey involved active pensioners who were mainly engaged in gardening, hobbies and farming. We note that the respondents are quite independent, physically active and in good health. While independence or autonomy of the elderly is not called into question, financial security is a matter of concern, as most respondents receive low monthly incomes. The analysis of the state of activities of the elderly shows the potential for the development of the silver economy, which would help increase the income of the elderly through active policies and projects of all participants at the local and regional level (Quadruple Helix). An important area is capacity and the environment, which enable active ageing. The research showed that some respondents use ICT for educational purposes or they learn to use a computer, while others use ICT to communicate. We did not perceive social exclusion, isolation or loneliness among the respondents. The most common forms of communication are getting together with relatives and friends. The identified characteristics of the rural area in question provide insight into the situation and opportunities in the field of active ageing and at the same time indicate areas where there is potential for the development of the silver economy.
The Pomurje region is the most agricultural and the least developed region in Slovenia. Since 1991, the year when Slovenia gained its independence, the country transformed from the socialist system to the free market capitalism and was forced to restructure the agricultural policy. The decrease and the aging of the population, the abandon of the agriculture production and the decay of cultural landscape turned out to be serious problems. In Pomurje, agriculture was faced with unfavourable age structure of farmers in family farms. The Slovene agricultural policy was aware of this problem and took a number of measures to encourage the aging farmers to retire and the young generation to take over. Alongside this process began the process of merging land in the Pomurje rural areas. In the last 10 years, the agriculture in Pomurje underwent the improvement of agricultural technology, the specialization of productions and the enlargement of farms.
