SiKult, Private institute
www.sikult.si
Facebook: SiKult
Mateja Cuznar Zadnik
Matjaž Podlipnik
Mateja Cuznar Zadnik
Professor of Slovene
I already felt the desire to share knowledge and experience among young people as a child and realized it when I graduated in Slovene at the Faculty of Arts in Ljubljana. During my studies I was a volunteer at the Youth Aid Centre in Ljubljana and together with Matjaž and other volunteers we founded the alpine camp of social skills “Svizec”. I have been passing on my Slovene knowledge to primary school students for almost two decades, and occasionally I share it with older students at the Peoples’ University of Jesenice, too. I acquired my organizational skills as the assistant principal in one of the larger primary schools in Gorenjska. I have been the president of the Podkoren Cultural and Educational Society for many years, where Matjaž and I also made the ethnological film “Podkoren – a hidden mountain pearl”. I am realizing my love for the Slovene language and everything Slovene through the Private Institute SiKult.
What is SiKult?
The idea for the establishment of the private institute SiKult matured in 2020, when we combined our knowledge and two decades of work experience in the field of education, tourism and culture and began to design the idea of a private institute that will operate in the field of education and cultural tourism, emphasizing the Slovenian language and culture at home and abroad. With the slogan, which embraces the entire philosophy of the institute “I love Slovene – culture unites us, nature inspires us”, we want to preserve and present the culture of the Slovenian nation and the natural environment of Slovenia.
SiKult started operating on the 30th birthday of Slovenia’s independence.
Matjaž Podlipnik
Bachelor's degree in hotel management and tourism operation
I have been drawn to books, natural and cultural heritage, history and tradition since childhood. Patriotism was laid into my cradle. After graduating from secondary school in Jesenice, I continued to study tourism in Bled, as this was the easiest way to satisfy my desire to upgrade and interpret the knowledge I have been acquiring throughout my life. I have obtained quite a few licenses in the field of tourism management, including a national license. I have dedicated a big part of my free time to the tourist development of the village below Triglav, where I served two terms as the president of the Dovje-Mojstrana Tourist Society (from 2015 zo 2023). As a head of Communication Department I try to leave a large part of myself in the contents and operations of the Gornjesavski muzej Jesenice. Thousands of satisfied guests have joined me on this trip. Mateja and I have often combined our knowledge for numerous projects and societies and turned it into a success story. The private institute SiKult is the best one yet.