PiNA WAS FOUNDED IN 1998 ON THE INITIATIVE OF THE OPEN SOCIETY INSTITUTE.
The mission written into the statute by the founding members is wide and far-reaching, and states the values of the association, among which: caring for the multitude; popularising cultural, educational, environmental, research and IT projects; promoting and developing personality-enriching values and virtues; promoting socially-responsible environmental practices and sustainable patterns of behaviour. The mission’s understanding and implementation have been changing organically in more than 15 years of operation, based on the perceived needs of the environment and actual social subjects.
OUR BEGINNINGS FOCUSED MOSTLY ON ENSURING ACCESS TO THE INTERNET, AS ONE OF THE PRECONDITIONS TO AN OPEN SOCIETY.
In 1998, PiNA has opened the first cybercafé in Slovenia. In 2004, its operation was moved to the new location in Kidričeva 43, also known as eKavarna. It features an event space which has been hosting events regularly ever since. The location became a point of reference for cultural activities in the city; people meeting in the café started forming various projects, and PiNA became the platform with the help of which individuals and organisations could carry them out.
PiNA OPERATED AS AN OPEN-HOUSE CONCEPT, WHERE THE ORGANISATION REPRESENTED ONLY A FRAMEWORK AND SUPPORT FOR USER-LED ACTIVITIES.
At the same time, PiNA cooperated with Kibla from Maribor and Ljudmila from Ljubljana to set the basis for a network of multimedia centres in Slovenia. It gained the status of youth centre, and hosting and performing regular activities in the youth field. In 2008, PiNA went through a complete reform; society had changed, and while big steps had been taken towards the development of an informational society, needs in other fields arose. The management was taken over by the current team with a plan of reform which two years. Our vision was that of an organisation working professionally and able to provide quality services for users.
PiNA AND THE NGO SECTOR IN GENERAL STARTED TO BE PERCEIVED AS A CATALIST FOR SOCIAL PROGRESS.
We believe that our fieldwork, the trust we earned over the years, our competences in interdisciplinary operations, our cooperation with other sectors and our flexibility all contribute towards solving social problems. Our work concept hails from the organisation’s legacy, made up of various intertwined and complementary projects. We develop activities and specific programmes, connect with other key actors, promote active participation of the civil society and try to answer to any current need.
PiNA started developing its own multimedia production and performing international projects, too. The growth of its activity was outstanding, and with it the growth of the number of co-workers. We came into contact and started cooperating with a large number of non-governmental organisations, public institutions from the region and the media. We became recognisable as one of the reference NGO’s in the region.
TODAY, PiNA HAS REACHED AND IN SOME ASPECTS EVEN SURPASSED THE VISION IT HAD SET FOR ITSELF AS AN ORGANISATION.
Informing, consultancy and mentoring programmes are complemented with the constant connection with key stakeholders through our official web page, social media and e-notifications. We perform quality and innovative projects in various programmes developed with local, regional, cross-border and foreign partners, in Europe and worldwide. We participate in various networks and initiatives at a national level, and have the status of “working in the public interest”. Our projects and programmes are created with the support of Erasmus+, Europe for Citizens, Creative Europe, European Social Fund, direct European Commission tenders, the Norwegian Financial Mechanism, the American Embassy and the Anne Lindh Foundation. We create an important part of our revenue on the market with educational services for other organisations and institutions, thus ensuring stability and lesser dependency on public tenders.
We believe that the NGO sector has still a lot of unexploited potential, and as one of the biggest and most successful NGO in the region we see the support of its development as part of our mission.