It’s a Technological World

Photo: Ivo Boscarol, www.slovenia.info, Nea Culpa
Photo: Ivo Boscarol, www.slovenia.info, Nea Culpa

New technologies are merging the physical, digital, and biological worlds in ways that will fundamentally transform humankind. First internationally relevant research achievements of the Slovenian people are nearly five hundred years old, and Slovenian researchers started joining distinguished scientific associations as early as in the 17th century. The development of science, medicine and technology was particularly stimulated by the discovery of mercury in Idrija, in 1490.

We stand on the brink of a technological revolution that will fundamentally alter the way we live, work, and relate to one another. In its scale, scope, and complexity, the transformation will be unlike anything humankind has experienced before.

The Jožef Stefan Institute is the leading Slovenian research organization, responsible for a broad spectrum of basic and applied research in the fields of natural sciences and technology.

Still going strong at 97 years of age, Peter Florjančič is a professional inventor with over 400 patents to his name. His most successful inventions have included the perfume atomiser, the plastic zipper and the plastic photographic slide frame. In 1957 he even had the first idea for a car airbag, though the invention was later perfected by others. During the years he lived in Monte Carlo he rubbed shoulders with Marlene Dietrich, Coco Chanel, Salvador Dali and Frank Sinatra. He summarizes his life succinctly in his 2007 autobiography, Skok v Smetano: “I’ve had five citizenships and 43 cars … because of my work I have spent 25 years in hotels, 4 years in cars, 3 years on trains, a year and a half on planes and a year on a ship.”

The work of such pioneers continues today in modern Slovenia. In a few research areas, such as computer science or nano technology, Slovenia ranks as one of the top countries in the world. Knowledge is one of the main pillars of national development, indeed.

Have you ever heard of Talking Tom? Despite its non-Slovenian name, Talking Tom was actually created by Slovenian co-founders Iza and Samo Login. Their world-wide dominance in the app market has led to Talking Tom (and friends) being downloaded over 1 billion times in over 230 countries, currently making the co-founders the richest Slovenians in the world.

Slovenia is also a home of numerous start-ups with great innovators, you’ve probably heard of rock-star companies such as Lyst, Bellabeat, Celtra, Uniplaces, Zemanta etc.

Technology has swept like a tsunami across the meetings and events industry. All the old paradigms have been washed away and new, exciting horizons have opened. Keeping up with changing technology is vital, it will transform life, global economy, and business. Technology is definitely revolutionizing also meetings industry, however, the power of face-to-face meetings and personal touch will remain esseantial elements of communication.

Stay tuned for more I Feel 25 stories!

 

[Partial sources: weforum.org, ijs.si, slovenia.si, kulturnik.si, slovenia.info, UKOM, Photo: www.slovenia.info, Nea Culpa]