After visiting 10 countries in 60 days again in the Kingdom of goldenhorn Capricorn
The bottle of glacial water, into which Toli melted before the eyes of the global Olympic community, is becoming part of a permanent glacial exhibition at the Slovenian Alpine Museum.
With the return of a sample of the Triglav Glacier – Toli to Slovenia, the last milestone of the Mission project: the Triglav Glacier to Beijing, which is part of a larger environmental initiative of the Laško brand 'White peaks', took place. The project partners of the Olympic Committee of Slovenia and Pivovarna Laško Union handed over Toli in the form of molten glacial water in a crystal bottle of Steklarna Rogaška to the Slovenian Alpine Museum, where it will become part of the exhibited collection of objects. It will first be presented as part of the exhibition 'Triglav Glacier Then and Now', which will open on February 21st, and visitors can see it in front of the museum until February 28th. The glacial water will then be included in the museum's permanent exhibition with the motto 'I walk around the mountain world and get to know it'.
At a media meeting in Mojstrana, the Olympic Committee of Slovenia and Pivovarna Laško Union prepared an overview of the Mission's main milestones: the Triglav Glacier to Beijing, where the sample of the glacier – Toli set off with its team on December 17th and has traveled to 10 countries to date. The finish was followed by the symbolic melting of Toli in the Chinese city of Chongli during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games, which in an original way alerted the world sports public to the problem of global warming and the consequences of climate change for life and winter sports. In a refrigerated display case with a temperature just slightly above freezing, the legendary Olympic ice melted into glacial water in a matter of days. Including his visit to China, Toli returned to Slovenia after a 60-day trip and numerous adventures in 10 countries and a total of 10 Olympic capitals on his way in the form of glacial water.
"Our piece of glacier, which has traveled to ten countries and stopped in ten Olympic cities, has paved a long path of awareness, which will not end with melted glacial water in the Slovenian Alpine Museum in Mojstrana. This artifact will remind us of the warmer winters, the disappearance of ski resorts and winter Olympic destinations. But it is up to us to continue to carry its story across the borders of Slovenia in the Olympic spirit, to connect with like-minded people and to learn from each other in sustainable practices. Where there is a will there is a way. And I can say with certainty that our mission has proven this," said Bogdan Gabrovec, president of the Olympic Committee of Slovenia – Association of Sports Federations.
The Mission: The Triglav Glacier to Beijing has resonated in the Slovenian and foreign media environment in the last month. The care for white peaks in Slovenia is actively continued under the eponymous initiative of the Laško brand, which is intended to raise awareness of the importance of glaciers for the Slovenian highlands, our lives and, last but not least, winter sports. In November last year, Pivovarna Laško Union supported the work of the Anton Melik Geographical Institute at the Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts with a donation as part of its own initiative 'White Peaks' of the Laško brand for the protection and preservation of mountain habitats, where intensive preparations are underway glacier and glacier below the mountain Skuta.
Zooullis Mina, General Manager of the Pivovarna Laško Union brewery, points out: “As a socially responsible and sustainable company, Pivovarna Laško Union wants to contribute to a better quality of life for the wider society and the local environment in which we operate. That is why we are proud of the exceptional project we created under the auspices of the Laško brand together with the Olympic Committee of Slovenia and our project partners. As part of the mission, we took a piece of the glacier from the Kingdom of the Goldenhorn Capricorn on an epic journey through Europe and Russia to China. We reminded the Slovenian and foreign public of the importance of climate change during the Olympic events. Our efforts continue with the planting of 13,000 trees, which will eliminate the carbon footprint for many times the amount of emissions generated during the project. In this way, we will plant the seeds of a more sustainable future for all of us."
As part of today's meeting, the Olympic Committee of Slovenia and Pivovarna Laško Union solemnly handed over a bottle of glacial water to the Slovenian Alpine Museum. A piece of the Triglav Glacier returned to its home - the Kingdom of the Golden Horn Capricorn - three months after its capture on Triglav.
The director of the Slovenian Alpine Museum, Irena Lačen Benedičič, said: "Toli arrived in Mojstrana, in the Upper Sava valley, from where 35 athletes have already competed in the Olympic Games. In the form of glacial water, it will first be presented as part of the solo exhibition 'The Triglav Glacier Then and Now'. It will then enrich the permanent exhibition 'I walk around the mountain world and get to know it', in which we paid attention to the Triglav Glacier last year. The museum is visited by tens of thousands of visitors a year. I am convinced that Toli will help raise awareness of the consequences of climate change and encourage visitors to behave more responsibly towards the environment. At the same time, it will remind the younger generations of the ephemerality of natural resources resulting from human actions. The Mission: Triglav Glacier to Beijing project with a bottle of molten glacier is thus becoming part of the national cultural heritage, which we keep in the museum."
The Slovenian Alpine Museum is a unit of the Upper Sava Museum in Jesenice, where they collect, preserve and study cultural heritage in the field of the history of hill climbing, mountaineering, mountain rescue and alpinism. As part of the permanent exhibition, Toli will help raise awareness of the importance of protecting natural values, cultural heritage and the sustainable development of the Alpine region.
You can follow the Mission: Triglav Glacier to Beijing project on the YouTube channel and social networks of the Olympic Committe of Slovenia and Laško brands. Do you want to be part of the mission? Take your Olympic step!