History

Professor Ms. Božena Orožen, at time a retired head of Local Studies Department, suggested to establish a U3A in Celje.
The official beginning of Celje's U3A was on April 11 in 1994, when a first group of pensioners gathered in library to start regular twice-a-month local studies classes.

Ms. Marija Kumer, a senior librarian, joined U3A activities. U3A had 57 members who attended local studies, health care, English and German classes. The library presented U3A programs at Senior Fair, at Golovec showground.

At the beginning of the year Ms. Slavica Hrastnik, a librarian at the Department of Adults and Youth, took over the management of U3A. Six classes were attended by one hundred U3A members. U3A got its corporate identity (logo, membership cards, website, posters, etc.). Written notifications about programs were also introduced as well as a membership fee. In June the program was once again introduced at the Fair for Seniors.

Enrolment was increased significantly – 169 members attended 11 classes/workshops, half of which were language trainings. U3A participated at two roundtables in Narodni dom Hall, as well as it held its own press conference as a part of World Book Days on April 21. Many seniors were interested in joining the U3A. The program also received a public commendation by City Council of Celje. The head and two mentors attended training at Slovenian Institute for Adult Education which enabled the program to participate at Cultural Ministry public tenders.

Computer training for seniors program started this year which also marks the beginning of history of art classes. Literature club presented itself with public reading on the occasion of Slovenian Day of Culture. The selected works were also published in a magazine »Ko spregovori srce« (When heart speaks).

French language was a new language class that joined the existing three (English, German and Italian). Also, herbal and bobbin lace workshops were added to the curriculum. Literature club issued a magazine »Ko spomini ožive« (When memories come to life) which was presented to the public on May 7 in Narodni dom Hall. Some members attended the national literary meeting, organized by U3A of Slovenia.

On May 14 an exhibition of handicrafts class opened in the lobby of the library. The exhibition was titled »Za oči in srce« (For eyes and heart) and was later set up again in the Celje National Museum of Contemporary History. Few hundred people attended the opening. Many of them were excited about the exhibition which led to a significant increase of handicrafts class members.

Members of art class prepared their first exhibition in the lobby of the library. The presented works received significant acknowledgement. In addition, the handicrafts exhibition was opened on September 2. This time it was titled »V spomin naših babic« (Remembering our grandmothers). It was set in the Celje National Museum of Contemporary History and was visited by many excited visitors.

This was a jubilee year, marking the first decade of U3A in Celje. At this point the University had 467 members and 26 active classes. On April 11 City Municipality of Celje honored U3A with an esteemed award – The Celje Bronze Coat of Arms. On May 11 a solemn academy was held in Celje, to mark the jubilee. In addition a miscellany “Človek živi, dokler se uči” was issued.

This year was marked by Slovenian author Anton Aškerc and the 150th anniversary of his birth. The opening lecture »Anton Aškerc in Celje« was held in Narodni dom by professor Ms. Božena Orožen. Most of the performers at the opening academy were members of U3O. In the following 12 months university organized 35 meetings dedicated to Aškerc that were visited by approximately 1.800 people. In May, a notable art exhibition was opened. Works from three different art groups, led by Ms. Manja Vadla, were exhibited. The gala opening was on May 12.

An exhibition of U3A's handicrafts classes »Srečne smo, da lahko ustvarjamo« (Happy to create) was hosted by the Celje Museum of Contemporary History. 460 embroidered, bobbin lace, crocheted and knitted objects were exhibited and some 650 visitors were excited by them. Local media praised the exhibition, as well. Velenje TV prepared a longer reportage on U3A titled »Jesen življenja« (The Fall of Life).

Due to building a new library, U3O temporarily functioned in a building on 7 Mariborska. 40 classes were active, 3 workshops and 37 events were organized and attended by some 2.000 visitors.

U3A moved to a new library building on 1 Muzejski trg. Since then it has performed its programs in Levstik Hall which can be divided into three smaller classrooms when necessary. In December Ms. dr. Ana Kranjc, the national president of U3A network, performed an evaluation of university's past work. In spite of some minor remarks on organizational status she was exceptionally pleased with its activities.

611 active members attended 46 classes. The U3A organized 42 events and 4 exhibitions. It was also a year with a record number of 12.344 visitors to different exhibitions and classes.

In the International Year of Active Aging U3A organized a lecture “Kako doseči sožitje generacij” (How to Achieve a co-existence of Generations?), which was visited by the representatives of other organizations, working with seniors. This year was also marked by intergenerational Nordic walking project in cooperation with Celje College of Nursing. This year also brought some new classes: Photography for Beginners, Japanese Calligraphy, Gardening, and Russian language.

On April 11, an exhibition »A Second Decade of U3A« was opened.