73 Les/Wood, Vol. 71, No. 2, December 2022 Les/Wood Novice/News Častni naziv Kongresni ambasador Slovenije za leto 2022 je prejel prof. dr. Miha Humar Honorary title of Congress Ambassador of Slovenia for 2022 awarded to Prof. Dr. Miha Humar Tina Drolc V torek, 22. novembra 2022, je Kongresni urad Slovenije ob podpori Slovenske turistične organi- zacije in Kongresnega urada Turizma Ljubljana že četrtič podelil častne nazive Kongresni ambasador oziroma ambasadorka Slovenije. Časten naziv je prejelo 14 kongresnih ambasadork in ambasador- jev, med njimi je tudi prof. dr. Miha Humar s Kate- dre za lesne škodljivce, zaščito in modifikacijo lesa Oddelka za lesarstvo Biotehniške fakultete Univerze v Ljubljani. Mag. Petra Stušek, direktorica Turizma Ljubljana, je na podelitvi povedala: »Izjemni posa- mezniki, ki so danes prejeli naziv Kongresni amba- sador, s svojim aktivnim in dolgoletnim delovanjem krepijo pozicijo Slovenije kot enega od središč inte- lektualnega kapitala, inovativnosti ter trajnostnega in regenerativnega razvoja v širši regiji. Ponosna sem, da večina letošnjih prejemnikov tega častnega naziva deluje v okviru članic Univerze v Ljubljani ali nacionalno pomembnih znanstvenoraziskovalnih, gospodarskih in kulturnih ustanovah s sedežem v našem mestu, kar podpira nadaljnji razvoj Ljubljane kot vodilne slovenske kongresne destinacije.« Zbra- ne sta nagovorila tudi mag. Maja Pak, direktorica Slovenske turistične organizacije in Fredi Fontanot, v. d. direktorja Kongresnega urada Slovenije. Sve- čana prireditev je potekala v Stanovski dvorani Lju- bljanskega gradu. V letu 2022 je sedemčlanska komisija, ki so jo sestavljali predstavniki destinacijskih klubov in Kon- gresnega urada Slovenije, konec oktobra potrdila 14 dobitnikov častnega naziva. Med njimi je bilo največ nominirancev s področja znanstveno-stro- 74 Les/Wood, Vol. 71, No. 2, December 2022 Les/Wood Novice/News kovnih kongresov, eden s področja športa in nagra- jenka s področja gospodarstva. Med 1štirinajstimi dobitniki častnega naziva Kongresnega ambasador- ja Slovenije v letu 2022 je tudi prof. dr . Miha Humar, ki deluje na področju lesarstva, lesnih škodljivcev ter zaščite in modifikacije lesa. Ob prejemu naziva je povedal: »V zadnjem obdobju, posebej pa v letu 2021 in 2022, smo ob številnih mednarodnih projek- tih, ki potekajo na fakulteti, organizirali tudi različ- na mednarodna srečanja, delavnice, izobraževanja in kongrese. Izbirali smo različne lokacije v Sloveniji, v juniju je na Bledu potekalo 53. srečanje Svetov- nega združenja za zaščito lesa, ki se ga je udeleži- lo okoli 200 udeleženk in udeležencev iz 32 držav. Uspel nam je izreden dogodek, tudi v sodelovanju s predstavniki turistične destinacije, ki je navdušila naše udeleženke in udeležence.« Slovenski ambasadorski program je podpor- ni steber pri organizaciji znanstveno-strokovnih in drugih poslovnih ter športnih dogodkov. Namen podeljevanja častnih nazivov Kongresni ambasador oziroma ambasadorka Slovenije je privabiti v Slo- venijo večje število mednarodnih znanstveno-stro- kovnih in poslovnih dogodkov, saj z njihovo organi- zacijo ustvarjamo odlične priložnosti za mreženje, pretok znanja, inovacij in izmenjavo izkušenj ter vzpostavitev dolgoročnih mednarodnih povezav. On Tuesday, December 22, 2022, the Slovenian Congress Bureau, with the support of the Slovenian Tourist Board and the Ljubljana Convention Bureau of Tourism, awarded the honorary title of Congress Ambassador of Slovenia for the fourth time. Four- teen Congress Ambassadors were awarded the honorary title, including Prof. Dr. Miha Humar from the Department of Wood Pests, Wood Protection and Wood Modification, Department of Wood Sci- ence, Faculty of Biotechnology, University of Lju- bljana. As Petra Stušek, director of Ljubljana Tourism, said at the ceremony: “The outstanding personali- ties who have been awarded the title of Congress Ambassador today strengthen Slovenia’s position as one of the centres of intellectual capital, inno- vation and sustainable and regenerative develop- ment in the wider region through their active and long-standing work. I am proud that most of this year’s recipients of this honorary title work at the University of Ljubljana, or at nationally significant scientific, research, economic and cultural institu- tions in our city, which supports the further devel- opment of Ljubljana as a leading Slovenian congress destination.” The audience was also welcomed by Maja Pak, director of the Slovenian Tourist Board, and Fredi Fontanot, acting director of the Sloveni- an Convention Bureau. The gala event took place in the Estates Hall of Ljubljana Castle. A seven-member jury composed of represent- atives of destination clubs and the Slovenian Con- vention Bureau confirmed the 14 winners of the honorary title at the end of October. Among them, most of the nominees were from the field of scien- tific and professional congresses, one from the field of sports and the winner from the field of business. Among the 14 winners of the honorary title of a Congress Ambassador of Slovenia in 2022 is Prof. Dr. Miha Humar, who works in the field of wood sci- ence, wood pests and wood protection and mod- ification. He said at the event: “Recently, and es- pecially in 2021 and 2022, in addition to the many international projects taking place at the Faculty, we have organised various international meetings, workshops, trainings and congresses. We have cho- sen various locations in Slovenia, and in June the 53rd meeting of the World Association for the Pro- tection of Wood was held in Bled, with about 200 participants from 32 countries. We managed to organise an exceptional event, also in cooperation with the representatives of the tourist destination, which impressed the participants.” The Slovenian Ambassador Programme is a mainstay in the organisation of scientific, profes- sional and other business and sports events. The goal of the Slovenian Congress Ambassador or Slo- venian Ambassador Honour is to attract a greater number of international scientific, professional and business events to Slovenia, as the organisation of these events creates excellent opportunities for networking, knowledge flow, innovation and the exchange of experience, as well as building long- term international relationships.