Local TFI volunteers hosted three seminars in Rijeka—one evening session on clown therapy for an audience of approximately 200, followed by a three-week training course for new clowns; one three-day seminar for ten attendees on various aspects of volunteering; and we started an ongoing parenting seminar, mainly for parents of adolescents.
We decided to celebrate the three-year anniversary of the onset of clown therapy in Rijeka and the surrounding areas by hosting a seminar for the public, thus giving more publicity to the project, and a chance for new volunteers to expand their horizons. The seminar was featured in the local newspaper, La Voce del’ Popolo, April 2nd 2006. Six people signed up for a simple clown therapy course held over three consecutive weeks.
The parenting seminar created a forum for parents to be able to express their problems and concerns, what solutions and techniques they have found to work in their situations, and to share experiences and hear advice from one another. This forum seems to have been very needed; both times the parents got together, the seminar was planned to last no more than two hours, yet went on long after, as the parents had much they wanted to discuss and share with each other.
Originally Published in 2002.