In Fužine the demographic statistics sound harsh. The primary schools have been closing due to the lack of pupils. The school in Vrata has closed, whilst the school in Lič has only three pupils in the first and second grade. It is because of these three pupils that we are moving again into First and Second Class.

First and Second Class is a programme which deals with the theme of the depopulation of Gorski Kotar. The programme’s activities include the spreading of set programmes of residencies of artists and artistic collectives and the direct work with the community and in the community. Considering the extremely alarming drop in the number of inhabitants based on demographic indicators, a collaborative platform has been formed with the Vienna University of Applied Arts, more accurately, the Art and Science Department, and together with professors, students and the local community a model is made of the development and support of alternative programmes of education for children and adults.

‘Culture of behaviour in the forest’ is a series of lectures about the coexistence of people and the forest communities. Mushroom hunts are events of mushroom picking and a competition to select the largest and most beautiful mushrooms. A music programme has been created in collaboration with the wind orchestra whose members make up 10% of the population of Fužine.

In the context of Fužine, the question of the European dimension of the problem of rural regions and the unsustainable economy is genuinely being raised, which is a segment in which a collaboration with the Portuguese 4iS platform for social innovation is being started.