The municipalities of Selnica ob Drava and the Hungarian Zalakaros jointly prepared the cross-border project DIHAJMO! / LÉLEGEZZÜNK!, which was financially supported by the European Union within the framework of the Interreg programme Slovenia – Hungary.

The goal of the project DIHAJMO! / LÉLEGEZZÜNK! is to establish the foundations and strengthen connection and trust for long-term cooperation between municipal leaders as driving forces of development in municipalities. For this purpose, they thought of organizing two meetings with the cute title DIHAJMO Z ZALAKAROŠEM on May 24 in Selnica ob Dravi and DIHAJMO S SELNICO OB DRAVI! On June 14 2024 in Zalakaros.

 

The official delegations of the political leadership of the municipalities, led by the two mayors, visited the premises of the municipalities and attended the official work with the presentation of the two cities and sustainable development projects. While the mayor of Selnica ob Dravi dr. Vlasta Krmelj introduced her municipality through various sustainable projects and especially their new almost zero-energy kindergarten made of Slovenian wood, The mayor of Zalakaros Ferenc Novak guided his guests through Zalakaroš with videos of the 2nd largest spa town with 14 hotels and 8000 beds, which is considered the greenest and the cleanest Hungarian city.

The two mayors signed an agreement on mutual cooperation, which represents the basis for further cooperation in the field of knowledge exchange, new joint projects in the field of tourism, sustainable development and ecology. The local train took the guests around Zalakaros so that they could see the artificial lake and the clean greens that abound in Zalakaros.

To establish better ties between representatives of societies and other non-governmental organizations, bilateral meetings followed. Thus, representatives of the tourist association, pensioners, sports associations, young people with the help of Talking met translator (both German and English) got to know each other and the activities in which they are involved. In the debate they jointly looked for opportunities to cooperate. At both events, they took care of public relations with a press conference.

Elementary school students from local schools and their teachers also started to build good relations. Thus, in both cities, student representatives participated in English language, computer science classes and learned the practical use of digital technologies for translation. In Selnica, they baked strudel together from the famous Selnica apples and competed in the apple Olympics, while in Zalakaros the children enjoyed the healing water of the local thermal park.

In order to get to know each other as much as possible, a varied cultural program was prepared alongside the official meeting, where both locals and guests presented themselves with folklore, singing and dancing.

As part of the public events, the visitors enjoyed a taste of local dishes and feasted on a variety of culinary highlights, among which Slovenian products were dominated by snacks prepared by rural women from Selnica ob Dravi, “apple snickers” made by primary school children from Selnica, strudels and apples from the Tourist Association Selnica and cheeses Kmetija Lep. Hungarian stalls teemed with Orsolya Steinbeck’s premium cheeses, traditional sausages and home-made bread, as well as premium Kranitz and Cezar wines.

At the stalls also handmade mugs and other clay products of the Hungarian entrepreneur Gabor Kordély were found, products of the Marjetica handicraft circle and woolen products of the Soven company. Elementary school students from both countries emphasized the importance of sustainability and proudly prepared an exhibition of products made from waste materials.

More than 1,000 people gathered at both events.

Photos by DIHAJMO! / LÉLEGEZZÜNK!