Hana:
Although only 28 km away from Zenica, Kakanj is not a place I could say I am familiar with, although from time to time I get news of interesting events in Kakanj. It made me come to this place and try to find some interesting things and interesting people for my project. As I was googling for information, I first came across a website and the Facebook page of the Public Institution Cultural and Sports Centre Kakanj. Usually, public institutions are not so well represented in our county and do not have much of an outreach, and that is why I became even more interested in this one. And when they replied during the holidays at 6.00 pm, thrilled that I would come to visit, I decided to go there first.
There I talked to Director Aldina Šljivo, a young director, for about two years. He gave me the tour of the facilities that are a part of the Culture and Sports Centre in Kakanj. The Centre is also in charge of Ponijeri, an outing spot only a bit further away from Kakanj. Although I did not go there, I did see photos and a list of interesting events that they organise there, especially in winter, so I am sure it is great.
I visited the Culture House which was practically made from scratch after it was almost completely destroyed a few years ago by heavy snow. I saw a sports hall, and a museum that was also opened two years ago and met a super team of people who are trying hard to do the best job possible. For a moment, they all seemed as if they were employed by a private owner, given their level of professionalism in doing all that work and that is really great. What is also interesting in this centre in Kakanj is that they always have some sort of events in place, some shows, movie screenings, sports competitions organised … Kakanj is also a place that currently has five teams in first league matches in BiH and perhaps one of the best examples where we can see how it does pay off for a city to invest in sports and culture.
We will hear more about this from Aldin Šljivo, so listen, and if you happen to be in Kakanj, I believe you will find it very interesting and you will be just as thrilled as I was.
Aldin Šljivo:
So, the Public Institution Sports and Cultural Centre Kakanj is the umbrella institution for culture and sports in our city. First of all, we are trying to bring together all sports and cultural activities that our fellow citizens are engaged in. Of course this does not only concern the local level, but it is much broader, especially when it comes to culture. Since our institution has several activities within its scope, I could highlight theatre, museum activities, cinema and sports activities. As for sports activities we have two sports halls, bowling alley and the ski centre Ponijeri, and we always organise various sporting events such as the League of Local Communities, the Business League, the New Year’s tournaments, various activities related to the Small Olympics and so on.
As far as cultural events are concerned, here I would single out the production of our theatre plays, the work of the acting and drama school, and also other activities, such as the project of Days in Kakanj, since as of last year we had become the umbrella organisation for organising this event, with 40 different sports and cultural events over a course of one week.
Hana:
This year, you will mark 50 years since establishment, so I use the opportunity to hear more about it from the director.
Aldin Šljivo:
This year, on April 30, to be precise, the 50th anniversary of the institution will be marked and on this occasion, throughout this year, we decided to dedicate all the contents to this programme. By the end of April and early May, we have prepared some 14 cultural and sports events with also different museum exhibitions, theatre performances and production included, sports activities and alike.
