In Your Pocket Slovenia recently had the pleasure of a quick chat with Štefan Čelan, mayor of Ptuj and two-time Innovator of the Year, about Ptuj's standing in Slovene tourism and the importance of chemical engineering in poltiics.

We’re sorry to start with such a question, but to people outside of Slovenia Ptuj may look impossible to pronounce. To put an end to any questions, can you tell our readers the correct pronunciation?
Our city is famous for its exceptional peculiarities, such is its name. Perhaps it is easier to pronounce its ancient Roman name, Poetoviona or medieval title, when it was called Pettau. Anyone who wishes to remember the pronunciation of our city has to come and visit it. And whilst at it, a trip to our oldest wine cellar will surely help.

Do you think Ptuj deserves a more prominent position on the Slovene tourist map?
Unfortunately, the significance of this remarkable national cultural jewel is not recognized by many decision makers in our country. In Italy, despite the might of Rome and other cities there is great pride in Florence. I believe the time is coming when our city will be enshrined into the consciousness of Europeans at least as deep as Florence.

What are some of your favourite sights in Ptuj?
Along with material cultural heritage which is particularly rich from the Bronze Age on, we Ptuj residents are proud of our intangible cultural heritage. The famous kurentovanje with its central ethnographic characters - the kurenti - represent the largest public cultural event. Kurent rituals hide at their most fundamental level a positive inner power, which affects a change in individual and collective consciousness. The communicative value of Kurent rituals is connected with a holistic understanding of the role of man in the micro and macro cosmos, where at the most fundamental level, everything is interconnected. The meaning of life is not unscrupulous accumulation of material wealth, but rather in coexistence with flora, fauna, fellow human beings and the Universe.

You yourself have a background in chemical engineering. Was there anything from this area of education, as well as your working experience, that you feel has helped you make the transition into politics?
My studies in chemical engineering help me a lot in life, you know, virtually everything around us is related to chemistry. When you look at the structure of the atom you quickly see that the material world is only a concentrated form of energy and that everything is permeated with consciousness. These findings lead you to the awareness that the spiritual and mental worlds are more important than the material. If you transfer this to politics then you understand why it is necessary to serve the people and not to rule.

You also hold a number of patents, as well as the ‘Innovator of the Year’ award on two occasions. Do you still have the time to invent and innovate?
Anyone who has ever committed himself or herself to science never gives up on it. Therefore, every free minute I spend on creative thinking. I am glad that I, along with co-workers at the Central School Ptuj, managed to develop a study program in Bionics and last year to enrol the first generation of students. This is the first of its kind higher learning studies program in Slovenia. Of the many definitions of what bionics is, for me the one that comes closest is the saying that bionics can help us when it comes to more comprehensive consideration about how God thought as he created. I teach about balanced development, which must be based on ethics, social and environmental sustainability as well as modified postulates of economics.

When (or maybe that should be ‘if’) you do get some time off, what is it that you like to do?
For my third age years I already have work planned out for at least fifteen years. I have to write about twenty books. My hidden talent is artistic creativity. I plan on painting seven opuses. Even now I set aside a lot of time to study philosophy, metaphysics, epigenetics and spirituality. As a mystical creature, I believe that I will be very devout in studying consciousness as this offers the greatest development opportunities for humanity and all of creation.