Today, together with representatives of ADRA Slovenia and Gmajna Cultural Association, we organized a press conference on the occasion of the handover of the petition signatures to the Ministry of Education.

We spoke to the press about our initiative for the availability of meals for all children in Slovenian schools. We emphasised the importance of children’s access to food. We pointed out that the current situation, in which there is a lack of alternative choice of meals, constitutes a form of discrimination. We highlighted the problems of hunger, emotional distress and the feeling of exclusion of children who face this type of discrimination.

The submission of the petition and the press conference were reported on various news portals:

• Skupina nevladnih organizacij s peticijo glede prehrane v šolah at 24ur.com

• Vložena uradna peticija, ker otroci v šolah ostajajo brez hrane at ljubljanainfo.com

• Po pritoževanju o lakoti v šolah vložena uradna peticija at sobotainfo.com

• Skupina nevladnih organizacij s peticijo glede prehrane v šolah at sta.si

• Otroci so v šolah pogosto lačni in izključeni – nevladniki zahtevajo spremembe at pomurec.com

• Nevladniki vložili peticijo za raznovrstno hrano v šolah video segment on daily national news Dnevnik.

An excerpt from the public initiative:
The main document regulating the right to religious freedom in the Republic of Slovenia is the Religious Freedom Act (Zakon o verski svobodi, 2007), which, among other things, directs that religious freedom must also be guaranteed and inviolable in public life, which includes, among other things, various forms of expression of religion. A form of expression of religion is also the choice of food that is in accordance with religious teachings. Religious freedom must therefore also be guaranteed in the context of school meals, which the Nutritional Guidelines for Educational Institutions (Zavod Republike Slovenije za šolstvo, 2023) do not pay enough attention to. READ MORE HERE.

The public initiative was prepared by migrants within the BODE+ project in cooperation with ADRA Slovenia, the MKD association and the Gmajna Cultural Association, and with the support of the EMV-LII project.

Signatories of the initiative:

Intercultural Dialogue Society, Humanitarian Society ADRA Slovenia, Cultural Society Gmajna,
Infokolpa Initiative, Slovenian Philanthropy, Peace Institute, Danilo Kiš Cultural Centre, Humanitas,
The Krog Institute, the SLOGA Platform, the Seventh-day Adventist Church, the Legal Centre for the Protection of Human Rights and the Environment (PIC), the APIS Institute, Amnesty International Slovenia, the Islamic Community in the Republic of Slovenia, the Diversity Association, the ČKZ Institute and the Slovenian Vegan Society.

The views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor the EACEA can be held responsible for this.

Sources:

Bajt, V., Frank, A., Jalušič, V., & Ladić, M. (2023). Odgovorno delovanje za vključujoče lokalne skupnosti (CIFER): Nacionalno poročilo – Slovenija. Mirovni inštitut.

Giorda, M. C., Bossi, L., Messina, E., & Risteco, C. (2014). Food and religion (in public food service). Consorzio Risteco. Hajdinjak, M. (2024). Kaprice in »pravice« v šolski prehrani. Vestnik. https://vestnik.svet24.si/clanek/aktualno/v-premislek-kaprice-in-pravice-v-solski-prehrani-1375386 

Ministrstvo za kulturo. (2019). Gradivo k posameznim točkam dnevnega reda 4. Seje sveta vlade RS za dialog o verski svobodi. Vlada Republike Slovenije. https://www.gov.si/assets/ministrstva/MK/Verska-svoboda/Svet-Vlade-RS-za-dialog/Gradivo-4.-seja-Sveta.pdf 

Porić, E. (2024). Pregled izkušenj in praks zagotavljanja obrokov brez svinjine v slovenskih vzgojno-izobraževalnih ustanovah: Poglobljena analiza anketnega vprašalnika in šolskih jedilnikov. Islamska skupnost v Republiki Sloveniji. https://www.islamska-skupnost.si/wp-content/uploads/Analiza-prehrana-19.-9.-2024.pdf 

Zagovornik načela enakosti. (2024). Starši z vrtcem dosegli dogovor o razumni prilagoditvi prehrane za otroke na podlagi vere. https://zagovornik.si/izdelki/starsi-z-vrtcem-dosegli-dogovor-o-razumni-prilagoditvi-prehrane-za-otroke-na-podlagi-vere/ 

Zakon o verski svobodi (ZVS). (2007). Uradni list RS, št. 14/07.

Zavod Republike Slovenije za šolstvo. (2024). Smernice za prehranjevanje v vzgojno-izobraževalnih zavodih. https://gov.si/assets/ministrstva/MVI/Dokumenti/Osnovna-sola/Smernice-za-prehranjevanje-v-vzgojno-izobrazevalnih-zavodih.pdf

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