The Slovenia Times

When Preseren Went Mobile

Nekategorizirano

0


The protest was aimed at society in general. Its purpose was to remind people that the Slovene language and culture have a long history and that they once stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the likes of Petrarca and Heine. But it was also a plea - a plea to the authorities not to forget or ignore Slovenia's cultural heritage during those critical times. As with any good story, the origins of this one are shrouded in mystery. No one is entirely sure when the first Marathon of Poems by France Preseren took place. Was it first held in 1986 or 1988? It doesn't matter really. What matters is that the event, held each year on February 8th to pay tribute to Slovenia's greatest poet, has survived the collapse of Yugoslavia, Slovenia's move to independence, entry into the EU and - above all - capitalism and pop culture. However, the event has gone from being a four-plus hour marathon to just an hour long event. This is mostly due to the fact that many young actors (the event is mostly attended by their older colleagues) use the Day of Culture (and other holidays) to get extra practice, which for professional or financial reasons they cannot afford during the rest of the year. Recently the event became much more accessible to the general public. Enter Radio KAOS - a team of dedicated radio professionals who are breaking new ground in the radio industry in Slovenia. For the past three years the small team has combined radio, television and internet to create what they call "multimedia radio." Having put a great emphasis on culture, the KAOS team quickly found they had much in common with theatre artists who in 2003 approached the station with a special request. The artists were seeking ideas about how to better promote the Preseren Poetry Marathon. KAOS's solution was simple: the Net. The clever radio station team provided the means to broadcast the event on the internet and also to make it available for viewing on the internet after it had finished. The results were stunning. People from all walks of life wanted to hear the artists' performances via the radio's webpage (www.radiokaos.info) - not because they were surprised to find it online (that seemed only natural these days) - but because they were unable to attend the performance in person. From then on, the future course seemed obvious. They would broadcast the event every year and make it available online with an occasional photo. Each year more people attended the Preseren Poetry Marathon in person and more people listened to it online or downloaded it later from the radio's website. In 2005 video clips of the performance were included, fulfilling KAOS's claim of being a "multimedia radio station." However, the real breakthrough was made this year. Coinciding with this year's Preseren Poetry Marathon, Radio KAOS launched its mobile website mobile.radiokaos.info and broadcasted this year's event to mobile phones - both the audio and the video - as well as to the internet. However, the radio was ill-prepared for the onslaught of requests to see the event live on mobile phones and computers. Their web team had a difficult time keeping the site up and running. In today's world where pop culture reigns, it is somewhat strange to find a successful combination of high culture and technology - at least in Slovenia. But, as this story demonstrates, it can be done. It only requires thinking outside the box.

Share:

More from Nekategorizirano