Morning Plenary Session (moderated by Bernarda Žarn)

Introductory speeches by hosts and co-organizers :

• Franc Bogovič, Member of the European Parliament (SLS/EPP) 
• mag. Miran Stanko, Mayor of the Municipality of Krško 
• dr. Jože Podgoršek, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Food, Government of the Republic of Slovenia
• Igor Zorčič, President of the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia 

Keynote Speech

• Dubravka Šuica, Vice-President of the European Commission and European Commissioner for Democracy and Demography: A long-term vision for EU rural development

“Political” panel: Smart villages in the EU and Slovenia: A policy perspective on development European rural areas in the age of digitalization (moderated by Tjaša Božič)

• dr. Jože Podgoršek, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Food, Government of the Republic of Slovenia: Common Agricultural Policy actions for the Development of Smart Villages 
• Franc Bogovič, Member of the European Parliament (SLS/EPP): Development of the Smart Villages concept in the EU and in Slovenia 
• Qu Dongyu, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
• ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Apostolos Tzitzikostas, President of the European Committee of the Regions

Roundtable discussion with ministers of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia, Members of the European Parliament:

• Janez Cigler Kralj, Minister of Labor, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, Government of the Republic of Slovenia
• Zvone Černač, Minister for Development and Cohesion Policy, Government of the Republic of Slovenia
• dr. Jože Podgoršek, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Food, Government of the Republic of Slovenia
• Franc Bogovič, Member of the European Parliament (SLS/EPP)
• Elsi Katainen, Member of the European Parliament, RE (Finland)
• Goran Šoster, Director of the Prlekija Development Agency
• Mark Boris Andrijanič, Minister without portfolio responsible for digital transformation, Government of the Republic of Slovenia 
• Marijana Petir, Member of the Croatian Parliament, Chair of the Committee of the Croatian Parliament for agriculture

First reflections on the debate:

• Violeta Bulc, Former EU Commissioner for transport
• Lambert van Nistelrooij, Former Member of the European Parliament (from 2004 till 2019), Netherlands
• Tibor Szanyi, Former Member of the European Parliament (from 2014 to 2019), Hungary

Q&A with the audience

Moderator’s conclusions

Announcement of the launch of the Smart Villages Forum

LUNCH BREAK

PROGRAM DURING LUNCH BREAK IN THE ATRIUM OF THE CASTLE:

• Lunch: Tastes of Posavje
• Possibility to visit the exhibition of Local Action Groups – LAGs
• Practical presentation of examples of good practices of Smart Villages
• Accompanying cultural program

PROGRAM DURING LUNCH BREAK FOR ONLINE VIEWERS:

• Interviews with speakers on the topic of examples of good practices in the field of Smart Villages
• Videos on the topic of Smart Villages

“Professional” panel – Smart Villages in the EU and Slovenia

Examples of good practices in the field of digitalization in various economic and social sectors

1. SMART FARMING: Silvia Cifre-Wibrow, Managing Director, Bosch BASF Smart Farming: How precision agriculture supports the Farm to Fork Strategy
2. ENERGY: Gregor Novak, co-founder of SONCE Group and director of SunContract: SunContract Energy Marketplace – a technology solution for supporting self-sufficient and climate-neutral communities
3. DRONES IN AGRICULTURE: Sergej Krajnc, CEO Termodron: Precision farming in practice
   
4. LONG-TERM CARE: Melita Čopar, Director of the Municipal Administration of the Municipality of Krško: Smart Silver Village Senovo in the Municipality of Krško
5. CONNECTIVITY: Ralf Capito, Director External Affairs, Vantage Towers AG
6. MOBILITY: Marko Zevnik, Founder and director of Sopotniki and Gregor Mauko, Director at Toyota Adria: Toyota GO, innovative mobility service for rural areas
7. CONNECTIVITY: Tony Jin, Huawei Chief Representative to the European Institutions: Connecting Europe’s Rural Areas Through Innovation
8. E-HEALTH: Peter Pustatičnik, Head of eHealth and eCare in Telekom Slovenia: E-care for safety and quality of life for elderly people and patients
9. TOURISM: Kristina Račič Ogorevc, Director of Center for Entrepreneurship and Tourism Krško: Tastes of Posavje and Posavje castles
10. Presentation of good practices in the field of Smart Villages:  Janja Jordan, President of the LAG Posavje and Senior Adviser for EU Funds at Municipality Krško, SmartRural21
    

Audience questions

Closing remarks by the Host

• Franc Bogovič, Member of the European Parliament (SLS / EPP)