 | On the second day of their state visit, Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh, accompanied by the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Dr Danilo Türk, and his wife paid a visit to Lipica, where they watched eight riders and their horses from the classical riding school perform the Grande Quadrille. The Queen was then given a tour of stalls of local artisans and women from the Karst, and watched a demonstration of traditional grape harvesting. She was symbolically presented with a 16-year-old white Lipizzaner stallion, a former Slovenian dressage champion named 085 Favory Canissa XXII, which will remain at the Lipica Stud Farm in Slovenia. The Queen also attended a reception at the conference entitled "Sustainable Development for Attaining National Competitiveness", held in Lipica.
The royal couple, accompanied by the presidential couple, then attended a lunch at Ljubljana Castle in honour of The Queen and her husband, The Duke of Edinburgh, hosted by the Ambassador of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Mr Tim Simmons. The lunch was followed by a walkabout on the Triple Bridge and in Pre¹eren Square, where The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh were enthusiastically greeted by a crowd of several thousand people.
In the afternoon, President Türk and the royal guests attended the presentation of the MEPI (International Award for Young People) Gold Awards, which originate from the International Award for Young People programme established by The Duke of Edinburgh. In his address, the Slovenian President stressed that growing up can be very difficult for children with various difficulties in expressing themselves and therefore need help and encouragement. He emphasised that the International Award for Young People programme enables everyone, no matter what their basic capabilities, to actively participate in various activities, such as sports, culture, research and humanitarian activities, and activities involving manual dexterity, which, altogether, mean "learning for life". The programme has been attracting an increasing number of young people every year and is gaining in popularity in Slovenia as well, said the President, adding that all Gold Award recipients could indeed be proud of their achievements. He further stressed that the skills they had acquired by participating in the programme mattered even more than the achievements themselves. In closing, President Türk congratulated all the Gold Award recipients, as well as the teachers, parents and supporters of the project who work to help young people become responsible and fulfilled adults. |