letopis sazu 2010

The Work of the Academy in the Past Year
Past and future work is the main theme of this report. It is impossible to
properly and equitably present all the activities, but I shall at least in passing mention
some of the tasks we set ourselves, or undertook at the request of others.
We have focused a great deal of attention on issues of school education. The
Academy participates in the core group of European academies developing a new
strategy for teaching science. We are committed to the same issue at home. Judging
by the responses, last year’s conference on high school teaching of natural sciences
organized by Section III of SASA was very successful. We are currently planning
a project to strengthen values in school education. We are opening a long-term
project of offering support for the inclusion of ethical contents in school education
from preschools to postgraduate university studies.
SASA has participated in public discussions on the new national research
and development strategy. We also commented on its weak and strong points in
an international journal. We are committed to maintaining basic research and
adequate freedom and autonomy of science. Among other things, SASA emphasizes
the importance of the inclusion of necessary research ethics, the moral integrity
of scientists and good research practice in new research policies. SASA
has joined the core group of the Standing Committee on Ethics in Science with
ALLEA. The appointment of SASA’s President to the 36-member IBC, the reputed
International Bioethics Committee of UNESCO, may be a result of recognition of
our past activities.
The Academy organised or actively participated in several symposia and
conferences over the past year. Let me list just a few: the Symposium on the 100 th
Anniversary of the Birth of Milan Vidmar, a Scientific Conference on the 35 th Anniversary
of the signing of the Osimo Treaty, the already- mentioned Conference on
Teaching Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry in Secondary Schools, a Symposium
Commemorating the 10 th Anniversary of the Death of Academician Aleksander Bajt,
a Memorial Symposium for Fran Bezlaj, the 4 th Lev Milčinski Memorial Meeting, a
Symposium on the 90 th Anniversary of the Birth of Academician Emilijan Cevc, the
International Conference of Biological Science and Society - Organisms as Living
Systems, and Ethics in Science (Vienna).
In 2010, the Academy published or financially supported the publication of
20 valuable books. This adds to the many books written by SASA members and
published by other Slovenian and foreign publishers. Presentations of seven new
publications were organized at the Academy.
The SASA Presidency visited the Slovenes living in Veneto, at Špeter Slovenov,
Rezija, Ukve and in the Kanalska Valley. Our new friends have returned the visit.
As a result, the Academy is planning to participate in some joint ethno-linguistic
projects. At the invitation of the Slovenes in Canada I attended the meeting of the
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