Darko Bratina
Darko Bratina (Gorica 1942 – Obernai 1997) se je rodil na meji, kjer se prepletajo tri govorice: italijanska, furlanska in slovenska.
Darko Bratina je vzporejal znanstveni pristop in intelektualno strast. Bil je "uporabni sociolog" in "družbeni inženir", ki je posegal v družbo, kulturo in politiko in se odlikoval s konkretnimi dejavnostmi, ki jih je sam sprožil, spremljal ali uresničil.
Darko Bratina (Gorizia 1942 – Obernai 1997) was born on a border where three languages are mixed: Italian, Slovenian and Friulano.
Combining methodological accuracy and intellectual passions, he has been an “applied sociologist” and a “social engineer” of whom path is measured mostly in social, cultural and political field through the activities inspired, founded or initiated by him.

Bil je filmski navdušenec in strokovnjak, družbeni raziskovalec in univerzitetni profesor socioloških ved najprej v Torinu, potem v Trstu in Gorici. Kot ravnatelj Slovenskega raziskovalnega inštituta SLORI v Trstu je dejavno posegel v inovacijske dinamike v skupnosti Slovencev v Italiji in deloval kot človek dialoga tudi v širši deželni stvarnosti Furlanije Julijske krajine in v razmerju do Slovenije. Po padcu berlinskega zidu je bil pozoren opazovalec dogajanja na evropskem vzhodu, še posebej na Balkanu. Trikrat je bil izvoljen v italijanski senat in zastopal italijanski parlament tudi v mednarodnih ustanovah.
He was a passionated cinephile, social researcher and university professor in social scienze at Torino University first and after in Trieste and Gorizia. He has been director of the Slovenian Institute of research SLORI in Trieste and an active member of the innovative processes in the Slovenian minority in Italy. Darko has been a privileged speaker between the composed reality of Friuli Venezia Giulia and the adjacent Slovenia. He was a careful observer of the radical changes in the European Est and the Balkans after the fall of the Wall. He was elected three times in the Senate of Italian Republic as delegate in various international institutions.
Iz življenja Darka
From Darko's life
Rodil se je v Gorici 30. marca 1942. Obiskoval je slovensko osnovno in srednjo šolo, nato se je vpisal na znanstveni licej Duca degli Abruzzi v Gorici. Maturiral je leta 1961 in se nato vpisal na fakulteto za inženirstvo v Trstu. Kmalu pa se je začel zanimati za sociologijo in ko je izvedel za novo fakulteto za sociologijo, ustanovljeno leta 1962 v Trentu, je zapustil študij inženirstva in se vpisal na sociologijo, ko fakulteta še ni bila priznana.
Diplomiral je leta 1968 z diplomsko nalogo Minoranze etniche: un caso di analisi strutturale. Že v teh letih je torej razviden interes, ki ga je Bratina imel za vprašanja o narodnih in jezikovnih manjšinah in za vse to, kar zadeva narodno identiteto; s temi vprašanji se je ukvarjal celo življenje, saj je njegov zadnji politični poseg, ki ga je imel v Strasburgu na Svetu Evrope kako uro pred smrtjo, zadeval prav zaščito jezikovnih manjšin.
He was born in Gorizia on 30 March 1942. After attending elementary and middle school, he enrolled in the scientific high school Duca degli Abruzzi in Gorizia and graduated in 1961. After, he moved in the collage directed by monsignor Edoardo Marzari to attend the Engineer faculty at Trieste University and here he began to be interest in sociology. When he get to know about the institution of a Faculty of Sociology in Trento, in 1962, Darko leave his studies in engineering to enroll in this new faculty, not already recognized officially.
In 1968 he graduated with a thesis on Ethnic minorities: a case study for a structural analysis. At the time it was already manifested Darko’s interest in ethnic and linguistic minorities and the identity issue; he will never leave behind these themes and even in his last political intervention, at the Council of Europe in Strasburgo a few hours before he died, he will discuss the legal protection of linguistic minorities.
Being a Slovenian of Italian citizenship, loyal to one’s roots and acting fully also in the Italian environment, means confirming one’s European original characteristic and one’s independence …
Že pred diplomo in do leta 1973 se je ukvarjal z raziskovalnimi dejavnostmi v raziskovalnem Centru za podjetja in razvoj (CeRIS) v Turinu. Hkrati je sodeloval pri raznih raziskovalnih projektih Državnega raziskovalnega sveta (CNR). Leta 1967/68 je bil asistent za industrijsko psihologijo pri Šoli za industrijsko upravljanje na turinski univerzi, kjer je naslednjega leta postal profesor sociologije dela, nato pa še splošne sociologije.
Med leti 1970 in 1975 je v okviru Sklada Agnelli sodeloval pri projektu Valletta za usposabljanje in informiranje podjetnikov in menažerjev. Leta 1972 je postal profesor ekonomske sociologije na fakulteti za politične vede v Trstu; v Gorico se je preselil leta 1976 in dve leti kasneje je začel poučevati v Trstu spolšno sociologijo. Univerzitetno kariero je nadaljeval do leta 1992 in sicer tako, da je od leta 1990 poučeval še sociologijo etničnih odnosov na fakulteti za meddržavne in diplomatske vede v Gorici, ki je bila ustanovljena isto leto. Bratina je bil zelo aktiven tudi v slovenski manjšini: od leta 1976 je sodeloval na SLORI-ju (Slovenski raziskovalni inštitut) in od 1982 do leta 1992 je bil ravnatelj te ustanove. Deloval je pri Slovenski kulturno-gospodarski zvezi (SKGZ) in bil član njenega glavnega odbora.
Already before graduating and until 1973, Darko collaborated as researcher for the Centre for Empirical Research on Information Systems (CERIS) in Torino and for the National Research Council (CNR). In 1967/68 he was tutor for the course of Industrial psychology at University of Turin, where he became professor of Sociology of Work and later of General Sociology.
Between 1970 and 1975 Darko Bratina was actively collaborating with Agnelli Foundation for the project Valletta, aim to train managers and businessmen. In 1972 he began a collaboration with Faculty of Political Science in Trieste as professor of Economic Sociology; in 1976 he moved to Gorizia, teaching since 1978 General Sociology in Trieste. Darko will follow the academic career until 1992, also as professor of Sociology of ethnical relationship in 1990 at the Faculty of International Science and Diplomatic Relations in Gorizia, opened the same year. Bratina was particularly active also in the organizations of Slovenian community in Italy: since 1976 as collaborator of Slovenian Research Institute (Slori), directing it between 1982 and 1992, and also as member of the board of the Slovenian cultural and economic union (SKGZ).
Med njegovimi najpomembnejšimi zanimanji je bil film, za katerega se je začel zanimati že kot mladenič in nadaljeval celo življenje. Med univerzitetnimi leti je sodeloval pri pripravi raznih filmskih krožkov (“cineforumov”); več let je bil dopisnik časopisa “L’Adige” na beneškem filmskem festivalu in od leta 1964 je pri istem časopisu začel dnevno kritiko televizijskih oddaj. Od leta 1965 do 1972 je bil član centralnega odbora Federazione italiana Cineforum. Ko je študiral na univerzi, je ustanovil mestni cineforum v Trentu, v Turinu pa cineforum Madonna delle Rose. Na njegovo pobudo so prevedli iz angleščine v italijanščino knjigo I.C. Jarvie, “Sociologija filma”, za katero je napisal uvodno besedo.
V Gorici je leta 1977 ustanovil filmski krožek Kinoatelje. Bil je pobudnik slovenskega fima v Italiji in organiziaral prvo retrospektivo slovenskega filma nasploh. Iz te pobude je nastal Film Video Monitor, letna revija slovenskega filma, televizije in videa. Ustanovil je tudi društvo Sergio Amidei, ki vsako leto prireja poletno filmsko revijo in ki podeljuje nagrado Sergio Amidei za najboljši scenarij.
Leta 1992 je bil izvoljen za senatorja na listi PDS (Demokratična stranka levice) v goriškem okrožju in postal tako prvi slovenski goriški senator. Bil je ponovno izvoljen leta 1994 na listi Progresistov in leta 1996 na listi Oljke. Med raznimi parlamentarnimi funkcijami, ki jih je vršil, je bil član zunanje politične komisije v senatu, član italijanske delegacije pri Svetu Evrope, član italijanske delegacije pri WEU in od 28. novembra 1996 predsednik italijanske delegacije pri CEI.
Umrl je v vasi Obernai pri Strasburgu dne 23. septembra 1997.
One of his passions, cultivated as teenager and after never properly, has been cinema. Since the university years Darko stared to collaborate with various film clubs; for some year he was the correspondent from the Venice Film Festival for the newspaper “L’Adige”, since 1964 in the same newspaper he curated a daily column of television criticism. Since 1965 and until 1972 he was member of the board of Italian Federation of film clubs and involved in the cinema magazine “Cineforum”. During the university Darko organized a film club in Trento and later in Turin he founded the film club Madonna delle Rose. On his own initiative the english book by I.C. Jarvie, “Towards a Sociology of the Cinema” was translated in Italian, for which he wrote the preface.
Once he moved in Gorizia, he founded in 1977 the cinematic circle Kinoatelje. He promoted the diffusion of Slovenian cinematic culture, organizing the first retrospective on Slovenian cinema, from which sprang the Film Video Monitor, an annual exposition on cinema, television and video realized in Slovenia. In Gorizia he founded the Association Sergio Amidei, which organizes every year a cinematic festival during the summer where the Sergio Amidei Prize is given for the best screenplay.
In 1992 Bratina was elected senator for the PDS in the Gorizia’s district, becoming so the first Slovenian senator in Gorizia. He was elected again in 1994 in the group of Progressives and in 1996 for the Ulivo party. In his various tasks for the parliament, are noteworthy, those performed as member of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, as member of Italian Delegation at the Council of Europe and at the WEU Assembly and as president of the Italian Delegation at the INCE Conference.
He died in Obernai, near Strasburg, on 23 September 1997.