Press Days: The Lecture and the Call for the Support of the Cinema Udarnik

In November, the Slovene Association of Journalists (SAJ) organized a traditional event called Press Days in Maribor. It held place in the Vetrinjski dvor palace as well as in the Kino Udarnik cinema.
There was an interesting lecture by Mark Johnson, the "community editor" or the editor of the online community of the British weekly newspaper The Economist, who last year experienced a remarkable success on the internet, especially in social media. He is one of the few individuals who even managed to increase his subscriber base and gain more customers. Today we publish the first part of the lectures (the second follows tomorrow), while also adding a public call of the SAJ to improve the situation and help the Udarnik Institute. 

Slovene Association of Journalists calls to help the Udarnik Institute

Ljubljana / Maribor, 1 December (STA) – The Slovene Association of Journalists urge the public of Maribor as well as businesses and institutions to provide the Udarnik Institute and his team – whose work facilitates the functioning of an important centre of urban culture – more resources for the operation and development of the Institute. They were able to fully understand the Institute’s difficult situation at this year’s Press Days.

For the traditional Press Days, which were held in Maribor on the 18th and 19th of November, the Slovene Association of Journalists had chosen the venues of the renovated Vetrinjski dvor palace and the premises of the Kino Udarnik cinema. The latter had been restored and is now run by the team of the Udarnik Institute. As the journalists wrote, "they were unpleasantly surprised by the conditions under which a very enthusiastic, flexible and professional team is forced to operate."

The Udarnik Institute is an independent cultural centre dedicated to creating and developing many kinds of contemporary creative and performing arts. Udarnik, placed in the Grajski trg square, was once one of the most popular Maribor cinemas, but it was closed after the expansion of modern cinemas such as Kolosej and Planet Tuš.

The cinema was closed down for five years, suffering from deterioration because of poor maintenance, and then at the end of 2009 a group of young creative people, led by Srdjan Trifunović, Rene Puhar, Žan Lebe and Žiga Brdnik, decided to revive the place. In April 2010 they founded the Udarnik Institute, signed a lease contract and in September 2010 they reopened the doors of the cinema. They used their own funds to renovate the building.

More on the Press Days:
The flourishing of the journalist neighbourhood in Maribor
Interview with Matija Stepišnik, President of the Slovene Association of Journalists