On Thursday, April 6th, 2023, as part of our social studies ITS program, we went on an excursion to
Maribor. The purpose of the trip was to learn about different cultures and conditions around the
world. Our first stop was the Faculty of Arts, where we met a refugee named Navid from Iran, who
shared his story with us. He described all the hardships he faced on his journey to Slovenia and told
us about all the injustices he has experienced in life. He said that he is satisfied with his life in
Slovenia, as it provides him with everything he needs, and he has also made great progress in
learning Slovenian. As an artist, he currently has an exhibition on the topic of rights, especially
women’s rights, which is taking place throughout Slovenia. We asked him all the questions we were
curious about. This was followed by a conversation with professor Mojca Marič at the faculty, who
introduced us to the study of sociology, and told us stories of refugees and the current state of
migration in the world.
Afterward, we had some free time in the city center, followed by a visit to the Museum of National
Liberation Maribor, where we actively participated in a workshop with the curator Uroš Dokl,
discussing conflicts and events from the past. After the workshop, we also visited the current
exhibition on the topic of peace.
The excursion was very educational, as we learned that the world is not as beautiful and easy for
everyone as it is for us, even though we sometimes think that we have it the hardest. At the same
time, we realized that conflicts need to be resolved with creativity. We also learned a lot about what
happened in World War I and historical unrest on our land. We learned all of this through workshops,
which we are not accustomed to in every day school.
Naja Novak
