Little plastic shot glasses of a plum brandy, known as Slivovka, are lined up on a table in the lobby of the Slovenian National Home on Cleveland's east side. This 84-year-old building is a cultural center for the region's 80,000 people of Slovenian descent. Demographers will tell you that number makes Greater Cleveland the largest Slovenian enclave in the world, outside of Slovenia itself. Tonight, this hall is hosting members Cleveland's Consular Corps --- diplomats representing a dozen nations from around the world. One of these visiting consuls steps up to a microphone to deliver a statement from his country… in the form of a poem.
PERUVIAN CONSUL: Recites "Mas Alla de la Nada" UP & UNDER
And then a different person comes forward, with a different poem, rendered in a different accent.
DUTCH CONSUL: Recites "Herinnering aan Holland" UP & UNDER
This unusual cultural gathering was assembled by Slovenian Consul-General Zvone Zigon as a way to symbolize international cooperation and to celebrate his country's appointment to the Presidency of the European Union --- a growing coalition of 27 countries, representing some 500 million people.
ZIGON: We are the first of the new ten states which entered the European Union in 2004 to hold the presidency.
Back in 2004, the EU extended membership privileges to ten former Eastern Bloc countries, working toward the goal of bringing Eastern and Western Europe back together. Many of the members share a common currency, called the Euro, and most have freed up travel restrictions to promote trade and tourism.
SANTO: Bigger is better, right?
Mark Santo heads the Cleveland Council on World Affairs.
SANTO: The European Union now, in terms of GDP, is either equal to or surpassed the Americas. That brings a lot of trade strength when you're negotiating economic deals, treaties and so forth.
Santo says there's been long been an ambivalent relationship between Western and Eastern Europe --- especially during the years of Soviet domination of the east. He recalls a conversation he had with a former U.S. Ambassador to that speaks to a long-standing cultural divide.
SANTO: This was during the Balkan Wars. If you remember, Europe never really got off the dime in terms of trying to stop that war, in terms of troop intervention. He said, it was basically Europe telling the Eastern Europeans, "You're not European."
But, in a world where countries like China and India are starting to flex considerable economic muscle, the West is quickly embracing their prodigal eastern brothers. And Zvone Zigon thinks his country has a crucial role to play in the changing European political and economic landscape.
ZIGON: One of the top issues that Slovenia will have to deal with is Kosovo. This part of the world is a barrel of powder which can explode at any time.
This weekend, the territory of Kosovo is due to announce its plans to leave its motherland of Serbia. This is a highly contentious issue for Serbs --- who have a powerful historic attachment to this region --- and for the ethnic Albanians who currently live in the province. As a Balkan neighbor, Zvone Zigon says Slovenia understands these differences like no one else in the European Union.
Zigon: And this is important for America, too. You know American soldiers go all around the world, and they might also end up in Kosovo. Fighting, maybe. Hopefully not. We have soldiers from Cleveland there. So, Kosovo and the European Union is not another world. We are very connected.
SOUND: party room ambience after the poetry performance
After the international poetry performance, the diplomats move to a party room where they munch on kielbasa and sip red wine. August Pust says his fellow Slovenians have a different perspective to offer the rest of the world.
PUST: Our national heroes are actually artists and poets --- not the military generals. The Slovenian national anthem is based on a poem by our best Slovenian poet. It's not a marching song, it's a toast.
Tonight, a toast to a new Europe finding its footing in a new world.
Photo Gallery
Janez Srsen directs the Koroton choir
Slovenian Consul-General Zvone Zigon greets British representative Bruce Lowe
Zvone Zigon introduces Johny Srsen & Friends
Members of Cleveland’s Consular Corps read a group poem