Day 8
We went to Ajdovscina early in the morning. The mayor of Ajdovscina, Tadej Beocanin, who visited Darkhan in July, warmly welcomed us at the municipal building and gave us detailed information about the city’s achievements.
The city has a population of 20,000, has 300 days of sunshine a year, is famous for its wine production, food industry, ice cream, and small-sized aircraft production. In the last 8 years, the number of jobs has increased by 44%. Smart farming and sustainable tourism are booming in the city.
Here are some good practices of Ajdovscina:
- Cooperation between government, private sector and university is very good
- The level of trust between the government and citizens is high
- Policies and programs are determined by the principle of direct democracy, so a favorable business environment has been formed. In other words, as long as it complies with local policies and is supported by the majority of citizens, investors have the opportunity to carry out their activities
- The active citizen program is implemented in the city. Citizens write projects and discuss them, and the city implements the project that receives the most votes
- 1-2% of the city’s budget or 500,000 euros is spent on projects implemented by citizens’ suggestions.
- Several programs are implemented to attract highly skilled young people. He shared many things, such as implementing a mentor program, 50% tax exemption for building and buying a house, and providing full opportunities for internships in public management organizations.
