1994
Prof. Božena Orožen, retired head of the local history department of the OKC, initiated the organization of a University for the 3rd Life Period in Celje. The date that is considered the official start of the University for the 3rd Life Period in Celje is April 11, 1994, when a group of retirees first gathered in the library premises and began regular local history meetings twice a month. In October of the same year, a detailed plan of the University's operations was drawn up. The management of the activities was taken over by Prof. Niko Veber. In addition to the local history circle, two other circles were organized.
1995
Senior librarian Marija Kumer occasionally participated in the activities. The university had 57 members who met in the local history, health, English and German clubs. The Celje Central Library promoted the university at the Senior Fair in the Golovec Hall.
1998
At the beginning of the year, Slavica Hrastnik, a librarian in the Department for Adults and Youth, took over the management of the activity. 100 students were educated in six circles. We took care of the overall image of U3O (membership cards, online presentation, posters), introduced written information and payment of membership fees. At the end of the school year, we presented ourselves again at the Senior Fair.
1999
Enrolment in the university increased significantly; 169 members attended 11 clubs, more than half of which were language clubs. We participated in two round tables in the National Hall and presented ourselves at the round table at the press conference on the Book Days, April 21, 1999. Many seniors showed great interest in the activity, and we also received our first public commendation at a session of the Celje City Council. The activity leader and two mentors completed training at the Adult Education Centre, which enabled us to participate in public tenders of the Ministry of Education for co-financing of the activity.
2000
We started with computer literacy for the elderly, and an art and history club was also launched for the first time. The literary club organized a literary evening at the National Hall on the occasion of the cultural holiday. A selection of the presented literary contributions was also published in written form under the title When the Heart Speaks.
2001
Three foreign languages, English, German and Italian, were joined by French, herbal and lace-making circles were launched, and together with literary creators, we printed a selection of contributions entitled When Memories Come Alive and presented it at a literary evening in the hall of the Celje Music School on May 7. Several members attended a meeting of literary creators within the framework of the Slovenian University for the Third Age.
On May 14, in the lobby of the library, the members of the handicrafts club presented their first exhibition of their products. They called the exhibition For the Eyes and the Heart and repeated it at the Museum of Contemporary History. The opening was attended by around 100 people, and the exhibition itself sparked a wave of enthusiasm among visitors and a significant increase in the number of club members.
2003
The art club prepared its first exhibition in the library lobby. The exhibited works were extremely well received by visitors. On September 2, the grand opening of the exhibition of handicrafts entitled In Memory of Grandmothers and, to our delight and that of the Museum of Contemporary History, attracted a large number of visitors.
2004
In the jubilee year, 467 members were enrolled, and 26 clubs were active. For successful education and the organization of friendly socializing of people in the third period of life, the University received a high municipal award – the bronze Celje coat of arms – on April 11, the holiday of the city municipality of Celje. On May 11, 2004, we celebrated the jubilee with a ceremonial academy in the National Hall. On this occasion, we published the collection Človek živi, dokkim se uči.
2006
As part of the local history club, in a series of 35 meetings attended by over 1,800 students, we also prepared a commemorative evening on the 150th anniversary of Aškerc's birth. The lecture entitled Anton Aškerc and Celje, by Prof. Božena Orožen, at the National Hall marked the introduction to the series of events of the Aškerc Year. A large part of the performers were members of U3O, which is proof that the university actively participates in the local community. The May exhibition of works by three art clubs under the mentorship of academic painter Manja Vadlo was also very popular. The ceremonial opening with a performance by the Korina girls' choir was on May 12, 2006.
2007
In May, we held an exhibition of handicrafts, which was entitled: We are happy to be able to create hosted at the Museum of Recent History in Celje. 460 embroidered, bobbin lace, crocheted and knitted products were exhibited, and over 650 visitors were impressed by their masterful craftsmanship. The exhibition was reported positively by many local media, and Velenje television recorded a longer report about the University for broadcast Autumn of life (June 8, 2007). Members of the hiking group completed the Posavje Transversal this year, and the study group Let's Get to Know Slovenia also went very well.
2008
In 2008, 37 clubs were active, 4 workshops were held and 36 events were prepared, most of them within the Local History-Cultural History club. During the Week of Lifelong Learning, we held two high-profile events: the lecture The Myth of the Counts of Celje and the Trubar Evening, with which we also joined the series of events celebrating the 500th anniversary of Trubar's birth. We organized the event in cooperation with the 3rd Primary School and the Amateur Theatre of Teharje at the end of the school year. On May 12, we opened an exhibition of paintings by members of our art workshops in the upper lobby of the library. 27 exhibitors presented 140 works of art. The library director addressed the crowd of visitors, and the String Quartet of the Celje Music School provided a festive atmosphere.
2009
Due to the construction of a new library, we hosted the university's activities at a temporary location at Mariborska 7. There were 40 clubs, 3 workshops and 37 events, which were attended by almost 2,000 students. The program included some extremely interesting travelogues, and the Kette memorial evening and the Ipavci evening attracted a lot of attention, as did two lectures about Alma M. Karlin. As part of a half-day excursion with Anka Aškerc and Božena Orožen to Svetina, we also visited her grave.
2010
The year was marked by getting used to the premises in the new library at Muzejski trg 1 a, where the Levstik Hall is intended for U3O educational programs, which is divided into three separate classrooms for the needs of the clubs, and the university headquarters is on the first floor of the library. In December, the network evaluated our work for the first time, which was carried out by Dr. Ana Kranjc, president of the Slovenian UTŽO. She was very satisfied with our work, she only had concerns about the status or. method of organization.
2011
In 2011, there were 611 active members in 46 clubs, we organized 42 events and set up 4 exhibitions: mandalas in the library and in the Mercator Center in Hudinja, an exhibition of handicrafts entitled Bees weave threads with laughter and good will in the entrance hall of the library and the art exhibition Figura in and in front of the Levstik Hall. The year was a record, both in terms of active members and attendance at events and clubs (12,344). In May, together with Rezka Šubic Pleničar, we organized a meeting of retired librarians from all over Slovenia, who were extremely satisfied with the library, the university and the socializing in Celje.
2012
The year 2012 was the International Year of Active Ageing and Intergenerational Cooperation. On this occasion, we held a lecture How to achieve coexistence between generations, which was also attended by several representatives of other Celje organizations that work with the elderly. During the Lifelong Learning Week, we also organized Nordic Walking for all generations in cooperation with the Celje College of Health Sciences. The joint learning and socializing of both young and old was very pleasant and useful. Among the new educational programs, it is important to mention the basic photography workshop, Japanese calligraphy, garden landscaping, and the Russian club, which we have been planning for several years and finally came to life this year.
2014
The opening ceremony of the exhibition The Other 10 Years of U3O was held on April 11, 2014. A commemorative newspaper of the same name was also published to accompany the exhibition.
2023
Mojca Videmšek and Tadej Strnad took over the leadership of U3O.
2024
On April 14th, we celebrated the Third Ten Years of U3O at the Celje Dom with former President of the Republic of Slovenia Borut Pahor and top Slovenian singer Nuška Drašček.
The first U3O Fest took place on May 17th, where all active educational programs were presented through activities. The festival was extremely successful and enriched with a cultural program, local delicacies, socializing, and new acquaintances.
2024/2025
A record number of members (743) enrolled at U3O during the academic year.
2025
In May, we held the 2nd U3O Fest on the platform in front of the library.
2025/2026
During the academic year, more than 820 members enrolled at U3O. Upon enrollment, they received the publication 30 Years of Wisdom, prepared by members of the Journalism under the Mentorship of Mance Mirnik educational program.
In the 2025/2026 academic year, 40 educational programs will be implemented in more than 60 groups.