Rikon
Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Convention, Rijeka, Croatia
Rikon 2009.
October 9th - 11th 2009
Rikon 2008
October 10th - 12th 2008
RIKON 2008 PROGRAMME (in Croatian only)
Rikon 2007
October 5th - 7th 2007
RIKON 2007 PROGRAMME (in Croatian only)
What is RIKON?
Rikon is a science fiction, fantasy and horror convention held in Rijeka, Croatia, in the first half of the October ever since 1997. The goal of the convention is to promote science fiction, fantasy and horror in all arts, to educate participants on topics related to these fields of popular culture, as well as on the latest achievements in sciences.
Programme consists of lectures (topics encompass the following fields: aeronautics, anthropology, archaeology, astronomy, biology, ecology, chemistry, cosmology, genetics, geosciences, mechanics, medicine, physics, psychology, robotics, computer sciences, biotechnology, sociology, philosophy, history, theology, literature), round tables, presentations of books and magazines, workshops, video projections and board games tournaments.
The age structure of the participants is mainly under 30 years and the total number of visitors is usually around 400. Participants are mainly students and members of youth organizations from Croatia, Slovenia and Serbia, and they usually do participate in the realization of the convention itself.
The first Rikon was organized in 1997 at the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, University of Rijeka, where it was held every year until 2002. That year, due to the adaptation of the faculty building, Rikon had to be organized at Dom željezničara. One year later, in 2003, Rikon was organized at Centar za radno-proizvodne aktivnosti. Every Rikon from that period (1997 – 2003) was organized by, now defunct, NGO Aurora. Due to the technical and organizational problems, Rikon did not take place in 2004.
In 2005 NGO "3. zmaj" (The name, which means "the third dragon", is a pun based on the name of the largest Croatian shipyard, "3. maj") took it upon itself to organize the convention. It remained so to this day. Rikon combines culture, fun and science, and tries to encourage young people to socialize in a constructive way. With its content, Rikon promotes literature, film, music, art and, in an atractive and popular manner, presents science and new discoveries. All that is being done by the experts, as well as the enthusiastic amateurs.