The Faculty of Philology of the University of Banja Luka has been enriched with a newly equipped classroom for the Slovenian language. We officially opened it on Thursday, March 13, 2025.
The arrangement of the Slovenian Classroom was financed by the Office of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia for Slovenians Worldwide, and the opening was attended by numerous distinguished guests, including the Vice-Dean of the University of Banja Luka, Dalibor Kesić, PhD. We were addressed by the Ambassador of the Republic of Slovenia to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mr. Damijan Sedar.
In her introductory speech, the Dean of the Faculty of Philology, Biljana Babić, PhD, presented the initiatives for the establishment of the lectorate, which has been operating since 2018. Mojca Nidorfer, PhD and Damjan Huber, PhD from the Center for Slovenian as a Second and Foreign Language, on behalf of the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Ljubljana, presented a letter of appreciation to the Faculty of Philology for the excellent academic cooperation shown in the field of Slovenian and Slavic studies.
The Slovenian Classroom project could not be realized without the cooperation of the Association of Slovenians of the Republic of Slovenia "Triglav" in Banja Luka. The president of the Association, Mladen Lunić, addressed us. A young member of the Association and a student of Slovenian language classes, Marija Mihajlović, sang the song Three Birds by Anica Černa, and members of the Association's choir sang one song at the beginning, and one song at the end of the program.
We were also greeted by the president of the Slovenian Emigrants' Association, Boris Jesih, PhD who came to Banja Luka with representatives of the Slovenian Educational Society from Klagenfurt. The beauty of the Slovenian word was drawn to our attention in a short recital by students of the Slovenian language at the Faculty of Philology. Sonja Marinković, Tamara Džatić, Dragana Dragičević Cvjetković, Mario Ćulum and Zoran Vrućinić read poems by Tone Pavček, Saša Pavček, Feri Lainšček and Ivan Minatti.
We continued the program with a tour of the Slovenian classroom and pleasant socializing. Thank you to everyone for your help with decorating the classroom and for a great evening.
Barbara Hanuš
