Slovenia is land of forests. Sixty percent of the country is covered with them, making it one of the most forested in Europe, just after Finland, Estonia and Latvia. Nature has endowed us with this natural renewable material, wood, and it would be a shame if we were not aware of it.

Environmentally friendly, mitigating climate change, enabling sustainable development, creating innovative and artistic products – and we could be still listing.

The Charm of Wood exhibition is undoubtedly a place where we can find all of this. This year is the 11th edition. Each year, the main exhibition is organized in Cankarjev dom in Ljubljana, after that they traditionally move it to different locations across Slovenia – Pivka, Velike Lašče, Volčji Potok, Bled, Postojna, Celje, Ribnica, Nova Gorica, Maribor and Koper. In Koper, the InnoRenew CoE and the University of Primorska are hosting it for the third consecutive year.

Dr Franc Pohleven, initiator of the Charm of Wood and chair of the organizational board, confirmed that wooden products are fascinating: “Wood is the most environmentally and human friendly material. With the transition to natural materials such as wood, well-being and quality of life are significantly improved. Although wood is not medicine, it enables well-being that has long-term positive impacts on human health.”

You can read more about the main exhibition, designed by the InnoRenew CoE architects Eva Prelovšek Niemelä and Aarne Niemelä, and its accompanying events from Cankarjev dom in the article Izdelki iz lesa, ki očarajo, published in the magazine Vzajemnost.

This exhibition is organized by the InnoRenew CoE; Association for the Protection of Wood of Slovenia; the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food; Ministry of Economic Development and Technology – Wood Industry; SPIRIT Slovenia – Public Agency of the Republic of Slovenia; University of Ljubljana Biotechnical Faculty – Wood Science and Technology.