Flag of Slovenia	Arms of Slovenia

138th member of the World Organization. Member since 1994.

		Scout Association of Slovenia Zveza Tabornikov Slovenije (ZTS)
		Catholic Guides & Scouts Association of Slovenia Zdruzenje Slovenskih Katoliskih Skavtinj in Skavtov (ZSKSS)

Early Days

"The history of Scouting in Slovenia goes back to the times when Slovenia was a part of the former Kingdom of Yugoslavia. In 1922, a meeting of an important political and sporting movement of Yugoslavia and some other European Countries, called "Sokoli" (Falcons), took place in Ljubljana. Scouting was established in Slovenia in 1922. It was officially dissolved on June 10th, 1941 because of World War II." Excerpted from: History of the Association. From the ZSKSS Home Page

Welcome Slovenia!

"The World Organization of the Scout Movement welcomed Slovenia into its membership during September. Zveza Tabornikov Slovenije (ZTS) has been recognized as the national member organization of Slovenia. The enthusiastic young girls and boys of the Slovenian contingent at the European Jamboree impressed everyone with the quality of their Scouting skills. This reflects very well on the training being provided to all members of the Movement in Slovenia. We welcome and look forward to Slovenia’s very active participation in all aspects of the life of the Region."From Eurofax no. 25, October 1994. Eurofax is the monthly newsletter of the European Region.

"Zveza tabornikov Slovenije is a recognised member of the World Organisation of the Scout Movement since September 1994. As the recognised national Scout organisation in Slovenia ZTS guarantees the rights of WOSM membership which this bestows upon an individual to the members of another Slovenian Scout organisation, Zdruzenje slovenskih katoliskih skavtinj in skavtov (ZSKSS, founded in 1990). This enables individual members of ZSKSS to participate in international Scout events and meetings." From the Home Page of the Scout Association of Slovenia

The Story of a Scout Unit in Slovenia
by Klemen Kenda

Klemen Kenda writes:

"There was no Scout Group in our town, Cerkno, for about 18 years. There was an attempt to start a Scout group about 10 years ago. The unit worked for 2 years and then quit.

About a year ago the idea of founding a unit appeared again. Nine students (6 boys and 3 girls) started to work under leadership of a unit "Kranjski jeglic" from Spodnja Idrija about 17 km from Cerkno. In one year, we became the largest organization for young people in our town (81 members). And we still have to consider, that as there are only 9 guides, we can’t work with all young people who would like to join the organization. Only children aged from 7 to 11 years are included. We planned to expand every year. We would keep all the old members and picked a new group consisted of children aged 7.

We got the most support from the primary school in Cerkno. They gave us the room for our meetings. We got less support from local authorities. That is why we still have very big financial problems.

There is one more problem we have – the people. Of course many support us, but many more do not know what the Scout movement really is. They are not aware of what their children could learn in Scouting, the influence we could have on their psychological progress. However, we plan to publicize Scouting in our local newspaper, on local radio, etc. And we hope to have some success.

We have two different scouts organizations in Slovenia – ZTS (Scout Association of Slovenia) and ZSKSS (Slovenian Catholic Scout Association. Our unit is part of a ZTS (non-denominational). We hear that unit of ZSKSS (catholic) will be founded in our little town (a village, population: 2000). This will put us under a lot of pressure. Why? Well, we are a new unit, and we have yet to get all the equippment we need. Our financial source is the local authorities and they will not give us money unless we have more members. ZSKSS does not seem to have financial problems.

So, there is a possibility that all our work was for nothing. However we have the will, courage and enthusiasm. And, as long we won’t lose it, our organization will succeed.

ZTS is divided into units called "rod". Our Group is "Rod Kranjskega jeglica from Spodnja Idrija". These units are standalone. Our unit in Cerkno is not. It is a part of "rod Kranjskega jeglica". It is called "ceta" or "^ceta" that you would pronounce "cheta". And we work in another town.]

	This is the badge of our Group,"Rod Kranjskega jeglica" from Spodnja Idrija. Kranjski jeglic is a sort of a wild flower, similar to those on which we can play if we blow in. They’re called trumpets in Slovenija.
	This is the badge of our Unit, "Ceta aragonitnih jezkov"in Cerkno. Aragonitni jezek: is a mineral which is found in caves under the ground in areas where there are sediments.. These area are called "kras" in Slovenia, I can’t remember the English expression right now. You can see the shape in our badge.

Here is a link to our Home Page: Scout Group "Rod Kranjskega jeglica" in Spodnja Idrija. The page is under construction and is in both Slovene and English."

In answer to the question, "What do you like most about Scouting?" Klemen writes:
"I became the leader of Ceta Aragonitnih jezkov Cerkno last week. Before that, I was leader of a group called "Medvedki in cebelice" (Bears and Bees) which includes children from 7 to 10 years. The first thing I like about Scouting is its attitude towards nature and the environment, which nowadays is under lot of pressure. The next thing I like is Scouting’s attitude towards other people and the relations between people. It is all so friendly and spontaneous. And what is most important — I would like to show all these beautiful things to the children. I would like to open their eyes, because… they are mostly "children of television" and by themselves and otherwise will not be able to experience all these things. I find Scouting as a philosopy or should I say a way of life. I think through Scouting, everyone can get important experiences that will lead them later through the obstacles of life."

Klemen continues: "By the way, in Slovenia, our Scout motto is "Bodi Pripravljen!" or "Be Prepared." And we usually add "Z NARAVO K BOLJSEMU CLOVEKU" or "With Nature to a Better Life!" on the end."

So, "BODI PRIPRAVLJEN!" and "Z NARAVO K BOLJSEMU CLOVEKU!"

Klemen KENDA
Rod Kranjskega jeglica Spodnja Idrija
Ceta Aragonitnih jezkov Cerkno
Slovenija

European Support

AGESCI, the Italian Catholic Scout and Guide Association and Scout Associations in Poland, Spain, Austria, and Ireland have been actively involved in the growth of Scouting in Slovenia.

		A Guide to Virtual Slovenia is hosted by the J. Stefan Institute (named after a distinguished physicist of the 19th century Jozef Stefan), the leading Slovenian scientific research organization located in the capital at Ljubljana. These pages are informative and incorporate some very creative web and graphic design.
		The Virtual Guide to Slovenia contains an excellent Interactive Map of Slovenia with links to important and useful information about the country.
		Map of the Former Yugoslaviafrom the Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection at the University of Texas at Austin.

Links to Scouting in Slovenia

Home Page of the Scout Association of Slovenia:ZTS. In English and Slovene.

Home Page of the Catholic Guides & Scouts Association:ZSKSS. In English and Slovene.

SKAUT INFO:Internet Journal of ZSKSS. In English and Slovene.

Home Page of Scout Group: Rodu Dveh Rek iz Medvodin Ljubljana. In Slovene.

Home Page of Scout Group: Rod Rasiskiin Ljubljana. In Slovene.

Jure Zitnik’s Home Page for the Scout Group: Rod Zelene Srecein Zelezniki. English language page with interesting graphics of Scouting activities.

Klemen Kenda’s Home Page for Scout Group: Rod Kranjskega jeglica in Spodnja Idrija.

A Chronicle of Scouting in Eastern Europe

With the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe and Russia, Scouting has returned to many lands where it had previously taken root. These pages chronicle the return of former members and the addition of new members to the World Organization of the Scout Movement. They also report the growth of Scouting in the other nations of Eastern Europe.

Scouting organizations around the world are assisting in the growth of Scouting in both Eastern Europe and Russia. They have been identified by country where information is available.

Currently, the "Chronicle" reports on the progress of Scouting in 19 countries in Central and Eastern Europe. The Chronicle Home Page provides links to each.

Return to the Home Page of the Chronicle of Scouting in Eastern Europe and Russia

Return to the Pine Tree Web Home Page: A Collection of the Author’s Links

Your feedback, comments and suggestions are appreciated.
Please write to: Lewis P. Orans

Copyright © Lewis P. Orans, 1996
Last Modified: 8:56 AM on 12-27-96