HISTORY

We started in 1994 as an informal group, which registered as an association in 1996. At that time our description looked like this:

We are a club, but we are young, we are addicted to rock'n'roll, we are free-thinking, we are tolerant of differences.... We are generally nice, we like to have fun, we organise concerts, other cultural events, exhibitions and other things. The basic principles of our work are innovation, openness and joy in what we do.

Youth Centre IndiJanez we call ourselves and we have been running our MC CLUB in Pekarnia since 1994.

INDIJANEZ???!???????? Who or what is it, you ask !?? A rebel, a revolutionary, an opponent of globalisation - in short, a characterful Indian from the days of the Wild West or a simple young man who has resisted the imposition of a mindset. (Indi)JANEZ because we know where we are from - Slovenia, the land of Janes.

Since then, our organisation has grown into one of the most active associations in Slovenia in the fields of youth, culture, health and social welfare. Over the years, we have created strong links with many professional institutions in our field of work, such as the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ), the Centre for Social Work (CSD), health centres, the University Clinical Centre (UKC) Maribor, the Crisis Centre and others. We also cooperate with educational and research institutions, including most of the primary and secondary schools in the region, as well as faculties. Our doors are always open for new collaborations.

We are no stranger to cooperation and negotiation with the government sector, nor to lobbying politicians and other similar approaches to achieve our goals. We can even say that we are well versed in this.

MISSION AND ACTIVITIES

Our organisation has been working with young people since its inception, and it is fair to say that we have got under their skin over the years, just as young people have got under ours. We offer a wide range of workshops, programmes and other activities that address their needs at home, at school and in their leisure time, and in our cultural activities we contribute to co-creating and sustaining an indispensable arts scene.

Especially in recent years, our association has strengthened its work in the fields of social and psychological support, which we address through various sustainable programmes. For example, we introduce young people after school to the different perspectives of their peers through the Listening programme, where people from minority or marginalised groups speak about their life experiences in front of the class. Meanwhile, the Youth Action Group (YAG) encourages young people to become active citizens in areas ranging from ecology to empathy. School children are also targeted by the Keep Your Bag Free programme, which aims to reduce the weight of school bags.

Our most comprehensive programme, Center Šteker, aims to help and support the overuse of digital technologies and is classified as a social development programme of the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities (MLSAE). The programme provides prevention activities, mostly in schools in the region, but also individual counselling at our locations in Maribor and Murska Sobota. We are the organisers of one of the largest professional conferences on the overuse and impact of digital technologies, which attracts more than 200 professionals, counsellors, teachers and others every year.
 

Our association is skilled in project design and management, event organisation and partner coordination. Our knowledge and ideas can be backed up by many years of experience, which, in addition to our own programmes, also includes numerous calls for proposals from the Ministry of Social Affairs, the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport (MESS), the Ministry of Health (MoH), the Municipality of Maribor (MOM) and others.

Exposed programmes, activities and projects:

• Let the Bag Be No Struggle
• Center Šteker
• Gondola of Confrontation
• Listen!
• Coexist!
• Eco Patrol
• Count on us: a festival of creativity and innovation for young people
• Scena Festival
• Steker Expert Conference
• Organisation of concerts in Slovenia and Croatia
• Pekarna TV
• Hieroglyphics
• MC Pekarna
• Pekoskop
• Atčasnik IndiJanez

ORGANIZATION

We currently employ 9 people on a full-time basis (May 2021), 5 of whom are professionals in various fields. For the areas that we cannot cover with regular staff, we turn to additional professionals who work for us on a fee-for-service or pro bono basis; this way of working allows us to implement our programmes in an interdisciplinary way. All the professionals and associates are signatories to the Code of Ethics of the Social Chamber and are also involved in external supervision by Suzana Padežanin Lavuger.

Our Association is a member of numerous networks and organisations in Slovenia and abroad. We regularly participate in professional conferences, trainings and workshops on various topics.

CAPACITIES

The main office of 70m2 can accommodate up to 9 employees and is located on the ground floor of the KC administration building Pekarna at Ob železnici 16 in Maribor, where we also share a number of other premises. We also manage the Youth Centre and MC Club Pekarnawhich measures over 500m2.

We have an office and counselling room at 44 Slovenska Street in Murska Sobota, which is currently (May 2021) open at least once a week.

For additional needs, such as workshops and lectures or special projects, we can also use the premises of the Maribor City Youth Council.