The event “A Woman for One Day” in Lipa opens space for conversation about women’s experience, memory and equality
At the “Lipa Remembers” Memorial Centre in Lipa, from March 18 to 20, the second edition of the event “A Woman for One Day” is being held, a three-day programme that this year connects culture, social dialogue and questions of women’s experience even more strongly. The programme is organised by the Matulji Municipality Tourist Board and the “Lipa Remembers” Memorial Centre, and after the first edition held in 2025, this year’s event arrives with expanded content and more clearly shaped themes: ageing, menopause, changes after forty, the intergenerational transfer of experiences and the inclusion of men in the conversation about gender equality.
For the local community, but also for the wider audience seeking events with social weight in this part of Liburnia, this is a programme that consciously moves beyond the framework of the classic marking of International Women’s Day. Instead of a protocol gesture, the focus is placed on the meeting of different perspectives and the opening of space for topics that are still often pushed to the margins in public. Since the programme takes place in Lipa, a place of strong memorial and symbolic value, the organisers give it an additional dimension: equality is not viewed only as an abstract social slogan, but as a question of fundamental human rights, dignity and collective responsibility.
For visitors coming from other parts of Croatia or from abroad, especially those who want to stay for more than one day and get to know the Matulji area,
accommodation offers in Matulji may also be useful, because the programme lasts three days, and the event itself can easily be combined with a tour of the wider Liburnia area.
The programme begins on March 18 with the opening of the exhibition and the presentation of the project “Afterparty”
The first day of the event, on Wednesday, March 18 at 6 p.m., opens with the artistic project “Afterparty” by author Milijana Babić. It is an exhibition and book presentation dealing with menopause and ageing, topics that in public space are often treated either stereotypically or kept silent about. According to the announcement of the Maritime and History Museum of the Croatian Littoral Rijeka, the project arose from two years of research conducted with more than 200 women and is aimed at destigmatising menopause through authentic experiences, stories about the body, identity and emotional freedom in later life.
This very choice sets the fundamental tone of the entire event. Instead of reducing women’s experience to commonplaces about the “strength of women”, the organisers choose a topic that is at the same time intimate, socially important and often neglected in public debate. Menopause, age-related changes and changes in the perception of the body and the social role of women rarely receive a serious cultural framework. In Lipa, that topic is now being moved to the centre of public conversation, through an artistic format that can also reach those who do not otherwise turn to professional or activist content.
Such an approach says a great deal about the concept of the event itself. It is not built only on lectures or education in the narrower sense, but also on the idea that art can be a tool of social understanding. When a topic such as menopause is transferred into an exhibition and conversation space, it becomes less enclosed in the private sphere and more a part of legitimate public debate. This is precisely one of the most noticeable shifts compared with the usual local programmes on the occasion of Women’s Day.
The second day is dedicated to a safe space for conversation among older women
On Thursday, March 19 at 6 p.m., the “Afterparty” workshop for women of the Liburnian Karst follows. According to the organisers’ announcement, it is conceived as a safe space for the exchange of experiences and the mutual empowerment of older women on the topics of menopause and ageing, and it is also led by Milijana Babić. In this way, the event does not remain only at the presentation of artistic work, but opens direct participation by the community.
Such a format is important for at least two reasons. First, it shows that a cultural programme can also have a very concrete social function. Second, it opens the question of the visibility of women outside large urban centres. Life changes, health issues, the feeling of loneliness or social expectations do not affect only women in metropolises; they are just as real in smaller communities, but are often less publicly articulated there. The workshop can therefore have an effect that goes beyond the limits of the event itself: from personal relief and the exchange of experiences to strengthening awareness that these topics deserve a place in public space.
For Lipa and Matulji themselves, such content is also a sign that the local cultural calendar is opening ever more clearly to programmes that are not only entertaining or touristic, but also socially relevant. In that sense, “A Woman for One Day” is not merely an isolated event, but part of a broader attempt to enrich public space with content that connects the community, the memory of the place and contemporary social questions.
The final day brings the symbolic planting of a linden tree, a workshop on vitality and informal socialising
The broadest and most content-rich programme is planned for Friday, March 20. From 5 p.m., the planting of a young linden tree is planned, with the participation of three generations of women from Lipa. The organisers describe this act as a linking of the first day of spring, the culture of remembrance and a view towards the future. In a place such as Lipa, which because of wartime tragedy has a strong place in the collective memory of Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, such a gesture cannot be read only as appropriate symbolism. It is also a message of continuity, survival and the transmission of experience among generations of women.
From 5:30 p.m., the workshop “Healthy and Strong After 40: Practical Steps for Vitality” follows, led by Zorana Jagodić. According to the announcement, the workshop will offer concrete and applicable tools for preserving energy, physical strength and quality of life, together with an understanding of physical and emotional changes after the age of forty. That part of the programme logically continues the main thematic backbone of the event: women’s health, life changes and the need to talk about them without trivialisation and without social discomfort.
In the evening hours, the programme continues with a tasting of Kapić wines and a dessert workshop organised by Zvončarnica, followed by a raffle for which registration is mandatory. It is important to note that the organisers consciously combine serious topics with a more informal, more relaxed part of the programme. In this way, the event does not remain enclosed in a strictly educational framework, but is transformed into a meeting place. It is precisely such a combination that often gives the best result in smaller communities: conversation about important issues becomes more accessible when placed in an atmosphere of togetherness, socialising and local flavours.
For those who want to combine attending the event with visiting the surrounding area,
accommodation close to the event location can also be a practical choice, especially because Lipa, Matulji, Opatija and the Rijeka hinterland form an area that can be discovered gradually, without haste and not only through a single trip.
Men are not an audience on the sidelines, but part of the concept of the event
One of the special features of both the first and the second edition of “A Woman for One Day” is the fact that the programme is not addressed exclusively to women. In promotional materials, the organisers explicitly point out that they primarily wish to address men, starting from the view that a genuine understanding of women’s experience is crucial for building a more equal society. In the leaflet for the first edition from 2025, it is stated that through humour, emotion and personal stories, men can become aware of perspectives that often remain invisible, from everyday pressures to deeply rooted expectations and prejudices.
That idea has also been retained this year through the challenge “The Moment I Realised”. During all three days of the event, audio recordings of men who shared the moments in which they became aware of a certain female experience will be presented, and the audience will vote for the most striking contribution. According to the programme published on the museum’s website, the winner receives a paid weekend in Matulji.
This concept deserves to be singled out as perhaps the most original part of the entire event. In public debates on equality, men often appear either as an abstract problem or as passive observers. Here, they are being included as participants in dialogue, but without relativising the topic. It is not a matter of shifting the focus from women’s experience to men, but of testing whether men can recognise the moments in which they truly first faced something that women often live every day, without the surroundings noticing it.
In the context of today’s debates on gender equality, such an approach also carries broader social weight. The official websites of the United Nations and UN Women remind us that International Women’s Day is not only a day of marking achievements, but also a moment in which attention is directed to women’s rights and to the obstacles that still limit equality. The theme of International Women’s Day for 2026 at the UN system level is “Rights. Justice. Action. For All Women and Girls”, thereby further emphasising the need for concrete action and not only symbolic gestures. It is precisely within that framework that the Matulji programme can be read: as an attempt to translate the conversation about equality at the local level into experience, encounter and public space.
Why it is important that such an event is being held precisely at the “Lipa Remembers” Memorial Centre
The “Lipa Remembers” Memorial Centre is not a neutral location. According to data from the Municipality of Matulji and the centre itself, it is an institution dedicated to preserving the memory of civilian war victims, but also to promoting tolerance, non-violence and fundamental human rights. The programme orientation of the centre is therefore not directed only towards the past, but also towards questions that draw ethical and social lessons for the present from the past.
That is precisely why holding the event “A Woman for One Day” in that space carries more weight than an ordinary choice of hall or exhibition venue. It sends the message that conversation about women, their rights, experiences and social positions must not be treated as a secondary cultural topic. It is placed in a space that reminds us of the consequences of violence, dehumanisation and the trampling of human dignity. Such a framework gives the event seriousness and protects it from the danger of being reduced to a passing promotional event.
For Lipa, which has remained in collective memory as a symbol of the wartime suffering of civilians, especially women, children and the elderly, this event gains an additional layer of meaning. Conversation about women’s experience in such a space does not begin from zero; it builds on the historical fact that women were often also the bearers of the renewal of the community, the guardians of the home, memory and everyday life after tragedy. It is no coincidence that in the first edition in 2025, among the programme items there was also a lecture about women who “returned life to Lipa and preserved the home”. This year’s programme goes in a different thematic direction, but remains within the same value framework.
From a local event to a broader social signal
Although it is an event of a local character, “A Woman for One Day” opens questions that go beyond the Matulji area. This primarily refers to the way in which women’s health, menopause, ageing and emotional changes are spoken about in public, but also to the question of whether smaller communities can be a space for social innovation. It is often assumed that large cities will be the first to open topics that have long been neglected, but practice shows that sometimes it is precisely smaller places, with good organisation and a clear value orientation, that can offer a more serious and more authentic dialogue.
For the Matulji Municipality Tourist Board, such a programme is also important from an identity perspective. Tourism today can less and less be built only on the classic offer of a place for rest, and increasingly on events and content that give a destination a recognisable voice. When a tourist board supports an event that combines culture, a social topic, memorial space and the involvement of the local community, it is actually sending a message about the kind of image of the place it wants to build. In this case, Matulji is not presented only as the traffic and geographical hinterland of Opatija, but as a place that develops its own content and its own social signature.
This can also be interesting to visitors who otherwise know Liburnia primarily for its coastal destinations. For them, events like this can be a reason to extend their stay and explore the interior of the municipality, and even to check in advance
accommodation for visitors in Matulji so that they can combine the three-day programme with a tour of the cultural and natural heritage of the wider area.
All programmes are free of charge, and the event is financed with public funds
The organisers emphasise that all programmes are free of charge. According to the published information, the event is implemented with funds from the Matulji Municipality Tourist Board, Primorje-Gorski Kotar County and the Municipality of Matulji. This is a piece of information that is not only administrative, but also socially important. When public funds support a programme that opens questions of equality, health, social roles and intergenerational dialogue, a signal is sent that such topics belong to the public interest.
At a time when many cultural and social contents struggle for visibility or are reduced to short-term campaigns, continuity is especially important. The second edition of the event shows that “A Woman for One Day” did not remain a one-off initiative tied to a calendar date, but is developing into a programme with a clear profile. The first edition in 2025 was focused on raising awareness of women’s experiences through lectures, performance, a quiz and the involvement of men; the second edition in 2026 opens even deeper topics connected with age, health and the social visibility of women.
That is precisely where its greatest value lies. The event does not try to offer simple answers or ready-made slogans, but creates the conditions for conversation. In a society in which many important topics are still more easily silenced than spoken aloud, such a space is worth more than the symbolism of an appropriate date itself.
Sources:- Maritime and History Museum of the Croatian Littoral Rijeka – official announcement of the second edition of the event with dates, timetable and programme description (link)- Matulji Municipality Tourist Board – official announcement of this year’s event “A Woman for One Day by Matuljicious” and overview of the content (link)- Matulji Municipality Tourist Board – archive announcement of the first edition of the event in 2025 with an emphasis on the inclusion of men and the schedule of the programme at that time (link)- Promotional leaflet of the 2025 event – explanation of why the programme is primarily addressed to men and the basic programme units of the first edition (link)- Municipality of Matulji – description of the “Lipa Remembers” Memorial Centre and its programme orientations towards tolerance, non-violence and human rights (link)- UN Women – official announcement of the theme of International Women’s Day 2026 “Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL Women and Girls” (link)- United Nations – official background and historical framework of International Women’s Day (link)
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