The Association for the Development of Youth Culture ‘Cultural Front’ recently celebrated its 13th birthday in Villa Antonio, marking the founding of one of the most active youth associations in Opatija today, on 12 January 2002.
– Since its establishment, the Cultural Front has recorded significant growth, both in membership and in the number of activities carried out by the association. We welcomed this year with about fifty members and twice as many sympathizers and volunteers who are involved in our activities, and our goal is to continue to grow and attract young people from Opatija and its surroundings and encourage them to actively and creatively engage within the local community. Since the the past and development of the association has already written a lot, in 2015 we are going to turn to the future and the demanding work that awaits us. In addition to the traditional Liburnicon Fantasy and Science Fiction Festival, which we have been organizing since 2006, this year the Cultural Front is launching four larger and a series of smaller projects, intended primarily for children and young people, said Ivan Cerovac, president of the association.
Festival Liburnicon is the central project of the association in which almost two thousand hours of volunteer work are invested during the year.
– Considering that the festival has over a thousand visitors, a very rich and varied program (which last year consisted of over a hundred different points), and that our guests are some of the world's leading writers, scientists and researchers, it should not be surprising that behind it stands the dedicated work of about twenty organizers and numerous volunteers. Aware that audience preferences vary and that innovations in the world of fantasy and science fiction are all but a rarity, we ourselves strive to consider different organizational concepts, and more importantly, we insist on rejuvenating the organizational team to achieve an ideal blend of thoughtfulness and experience and energy and enthusiasm. This year, from 21st to 23rd of August, we are expecting 10. Liburnicon, so we have already started with organizational preparations to mark ten years of fantasy in Opatija in the best and most memorable way possible, said Niccol Heraković, secretary of the association and general coordinator of Liburnicon.
– Creativity and desire to act are very pronounced in the association, so we wanted to organize other activities with Liburnicon very quickly. Since there was a huge interest in children's programs conducted as part of Liburnicon, and we were welcomed every year by the praises of children and parents, we last year decided to launch the celebration of the International Fairy Day in Angiolina Park, with which we took about 300 little ones on a journey to a magical world that is long remembered. This year, in addition to marking International Fairy Day (24 June), we are organizing several additional events for children: Disney Day in February, Harry Potter School in May and Halloween for children in late October. This year we continue with the organization of table games day, better known as Liburnian TableTop Day, which last year inHostel Link in Lovran attracted over 200 fans of table games. On April 11, gamers will again occupy the Lovran hostel, and they will be offered, along with quizzes and tournaments accompanied by valuable prizes, over 50 different board games. Of course, Liburnian TableTop Day is also intended for those who have not yet tried their hand at the many hours of fun and challenges offered by these interesting table games, so ‘professional guidance’ will be provided for beginners.
The cultural front, of course, did not stop only at the organization of entertainment programs and games for children; Since October last year, in cooperation with Milenij Hotels and the Department of Philosophy of the University of Rijeka,Opatija Coffeehouse Debates, with the aim of stimulating reasoned debates on current social, political and scientific topics. Panel discussions are held every month in the café of the Hotel Continental, and so far they have hosted several domestic and foreign experts as panelists. The project is equally intended for the elderly and young people, and great interest in the proposed topics is confirmed by quality and challenging two-hour discussions and about seventy visitors, as many of them participate in one panel discussion on average. By organizing this project, we want to encourage fellow citizens to inform themselves and critically reflect on current topics of our society, and to nurture a culture of reasoned discussions in a pleasant academic atmosphere - said Cerovac.
It would be wrong to think that with this we have exhausted the activities of the Cultural Front Association. The organisation of a number of smaller events should also be mentioned. like the Archery Day that is organized at the end of May at Učka, where in mid-August a meteor shower (Perzeidi) is organized. We have also extended our work to the river. where in River Pub we regularly organize social and table games, and we also cooperate and help in the realization of the program of the Festival of Myths and Legends Malik on Trsat. Above all, we are embarking on new projects in cooperation with the Toshin Local Committee for older children and young people, and we have recently come up with the idea of starting a reading and discussion group dedicated to relevant and influential books (the first is the book ‘Capital in the 21st Century’ by the French economist Thomas Piketty). In the ‘Cultural Front’, as can be seen from the appendix, it is never boring. We have made significant progress in 13 years, and given the positive trends and growth in the association’s membership and activities, I believe that the best is still ahead of us – concluded President Ivan Cerovac.
