Marjetka Popovski of Izola

Proposer: Špela Pahor

A qualified physiotherapist, Marjetka Popovski is extremely busy - both in her private life and in her social environment. People of all generations, whether they are from Izola, in neighbouring countries or elsewhere in the world, can be grateful for her efforts.

Through her activities Marjetka is enriching her own knowledge as well as that of others as an active member of the study circle Beseda slovenske Istre [Language of Slovenian Istria]. She is an extraordinary organiser and animateur in the musical field, she has authored numerous compositions and poems published in literary magazines, she organises and conducts literary evenings, she heads the project to revive Tartini Street in Izola and so forth. She has the distinct abilities of an organiser and animateur. She works out of a love of music and singing, and also because she wants to help people in their third age. Her wish is primarily to maintain and stimulate the capacities of older people, such as memory and speech and musical skills, and thereby to raise their quality of life and to facilitate their connection with the society around them. To this end, more than a decade ago in a pensioners home she set up a singing and musical group, which is still performing today at the home and elsewhere, and has become the main factor for connection and inclusion in the local environment. In addition to this she heads two women's choral groups, in Izola and Škedenj, and she links their activities, thereby contributing to the creation of a unified Slovenian cultural space. Various media have reported on her contributions.

The creativity that marks her work is evident primarily in her cultural activities. Through the activities she prepares and conducts, she contributes to spreading knowledge of the cultural, ethnographic, social and other features of the environment in which she works. In this there is an especially strong desire to preserve a knowledge of the Slovenian language and to reawaken the motivation to recognise and preserve the cultural heritage of the Slovenians in the Trieste area and among emigrant communities.