Open call results
A selection of projects for the online catalog of occasional gifts from the Republic of Slovenia | MADE IN SLOVENIA brand

In April 2024, the Center for Creativity/MAO published a public invitation to submit proposals for the online catalog of the line of occasional gifts of the Republic of Slovenia under the MADE IN SLOVENIA brand in the selection of the Center for Creativity (hereafter also the public call for Made in Slovenia). According to the public call, 298 applications were received by the application deadline of May 9, 2024. The expert commission, appointed to evaluate applications and select products for the online catalog, evaluated the products in two rounds. In the first round, which took place between May 10 and 15, 2024, the members of the expert commission individually scored the completed applications and selected a set of products included in the second narrower round of live group evaluation. The second round of scoring took place on May 29, 2024 at MAO.
Expert commission composed of Maja Bahar, National Museum of Slovenia; Barbara Hiršman, Protocol of the Republic of Slovenia; Barbara Jaki, National Gallery; Emil Kozole, Studio People; Barbara Predan, Academy of Fine Arts and Design; Maja Vardjan, Museum of Architecture and Design and Yasmin Martin Vodopivec, International Graphic Arts Center unanimously selected 57 products in accordance with the criteria of the call. They scored 60 points or more in the final joint evaluation of the expert committee and, in accordance with the public call, will be included in the online catalog of the line of occasional gifts of the Republic of Slovenia under the umbrella of the MADE IN SLOVENIA brand in the selection of the Center for Creativity. In its decisions, the expert commission followed the goals and criteria of the public call and was unanimous.
The quality of the applications received was very high, and the competition really strong. The commission was unanimous that the selected products of Slovenian creators, designers, organizations and companies comply with the criteria of the public call and reflect visual and design excellence, the rich cultural, economic, environmental, technological or social identity and heritage of the Republic of Slovenia and the national brand I Feel Slovenia and Made in Slovenia. The products stand out for the quality of their design and manufacturing excellence, the use of sustainable materials, innovation, and to a large extent they were manufactured in Slovenia. They present the country as an example of good design and reflect the vision of modern Slovenia. The functionality of the selected products goes beyond mere decoration and represent clearly tangible stories.
The Commission estimates that the organizers can raise the quality of production and integrated design of products, which represent the vision of modern Slovenia and contribute to its diplomatic, cultural and business visibility in the international arena, with continuous public appeals and selections for occasional Made in Slovenia gifts. Creators are therefore encouraged to continue their work and to monitor invitations to CzK tenders in the future as well.
Due to the exceptional response of partners and applicants, we at the Center for Creativity will upgrade the CzK selection and continue the public call in the coming years. An important goal of the CzK public appeal is the planned promotion of quality selection and the development of this type of production. The next public call is expected to be published in 2024.
The catalog of selected works from this call will be presented in the fall of 2024.