Slovenský skauting
Encyclopedia
Slovenský skauting or more properly, Zväz slovenských skautov (in English Union of Slovak Scouts, in Hungarian Szlovák Cserkészszövetség), is the primary national Scouting
Scouting
Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement with the stated aim of supporting young people in their physical, mental and spiritual development, that they may play constructive roles in society....

 and Guiding
Girl Guides
A Guide, Girl Guide or Girl Scout is a member of a section of some Guiding organisations who is between the ages of 10 and 14. Age limits are different in each organisation. It is the female-centred equivalent of the Scouts. The term Girl Scout is used in the United States and several East Asian...

 organization of Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...

. With 3,157 Scouts (as of 2011) and about 3,000 Guides (as of 2004), Slovenský Skauting is the largest youth organization in Slovakia and a member of both the World Organization of the Scout Movement
World Organization of the Scout Movement
The World Organization of the Scout Movement is the Non-governmental international organization which governs most national Scout Organizations, with 31 million members. WOSM was established in 1920, and has its headquarters at Geneva, Switzerland...

 and the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts
World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts
The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts is a global association supporting the female-oriented and female-only Scouting organizations in 145 countries. It was established in 1928 and has its headquarters in London, England. It is the counterpart of the World Organization of the Scout...

.

History

The first Scout troop in the area that comprises Slovakia, while under the Austro-Hungarian Empire, was founded in 1912. Scouting in Slovakia started in connection with Hungarian Scouting
Magyar Cserkészszövetség
Magyar Cserkészszövetség , the primary national Scouting organization of Hungary, was founded in 1912, and became a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement in 1922 and again after the rebirth of Scouting in the country in 1990...

 as Slovakia was, at the time, economically and socially linked more closely with the Hungarian parts of the Empire.

From the start, Scouting in Czechoslovakia was open to boys and girls working in separate units. Groups of Girl Scouts began to form between 1918 and 1922 in various towns. In 1919 the Association of the Scouts and Guides of the Republic of Czechoslovakia was founded, and the association became a founder member of WAGGGS in 1928. Girl Scouting grew and progressed until 1939.

As part of the fledgling Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...

, Slovakia was a Founding Member of WOSM from 1922 to 1948, with an interstice in which Scouting ceased to exist as a result of Nazi German occupation in 1940, when the government banned Scouting. After World War II and the 1944 national uprising, Scouting reemerged and was recognized by the state of Czechoslovakia. During the later period of Soviet dominance, like the neighboring Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

 and Hungary, Scouting went underground to reemerge under more suitable conditions.

After the November 1989 Velvet Revolution
Velvet Revolution
The Velvet Revolution or Gentle Revolution was a non-violent revolution in Czechoslovakia that took place from November 17 – December 29, 1989...

, Scouting was one of the first organisations to re-emerge from working underground. By the close of 1989, the number of Scouts in Czechoslovakia was 80,000. On February 1, 1990, the Federation of Czech and Slovak Scouting was officially registered, paving the way for its re-admittance to the World Organization during the World Scout Conference in Paris in July 1990, re-recognised by the major world Scouting organisations. Slovak Scouting returned as part of federated Scouting in Czechoslovakia from 1990 to 1992. Upon Czechoslovakia's dissolution on December 31, 1992, Slovenský Skauting and Cesky Junák were required to apply for membership of the World Organization as the national member organizations of the Republic of Slovakia and the Czech Republic, respectively. Slovakia was welcomed as a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement in its own right since 1997.

Since Czechoslovakia split in two, Slovenský Skauting has started independent development, working hard to train its leaders and to update its youth programme. Several training courses have taken place over the last decade, and a Strategic Planning Seminar is being organized with the support of the European Scout Office. Interestingly for a landlocked nation, Slovenský Skauting maintains a section of Sea Scouts.
Since 2000 there has been a special program for Scouting in the Roma community.

There are also troops for children with special needs
Extension Scouting
Extension Scouting is a programme within Scouting which caters for young people with special needs. Extension Scouting for young people with special needs was originally called Scouts Malgré Tout, which is French for "Scouts Despite Everything"...

.

The Slovakian noun for a single Scout is Skaut.

Program and ideals

Program sections

  • Cubs/Brownies - ages 6 to 11
  • Scouts/Guides - ages 11 to 16
  • Rovers - ages 16 to 25

Scout mottoes

The Cub Scout/Brownie Motto is Be Better. The Guide/Scout Motto is Buď Pripravený, translating as Be Prepared in Slovak
Slovak language
Slovak , is an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages .Slovak is the official language of Slovakia, where it is spoken by 5 million people...

. The Rover Motto is Serve.

Scout oath

Brownies/Cub Scouts:
With the help of God, I promise to do my best.
To help other people, to make a good turn everyday
To keep the Brownie/Cub Scout Law.


Guides/Boy Scouts:
On my honour, I promise to do my best,
To do my duty to God and to my country,
To help other people at all times
And to keep the Guide/Scout Law.

Scout law

Brownies/Cub Scout Law:
  • A Brownie/Cub says the truth
  • A Brownie/Cub helps others.
  • A Brownie/Cub listens.
  • A Brownie/Cub is a friend.
  • A Brownie/Cub takes care of nature.


Guide/Boy Scout Law:
  • A Scout's honour is to be trusted.
  • A Scout is loyal.
  • A Scout is to be useful and to help others.
  • A Scout is a friend of all people of goodwill and a brother/sister to every other Scout.
  • A Scout is courteous.
  • A Scout protects nature and all valuable creations of people.
  • A Scout obeys his/her parents, principals and leaders.
  • A Scout is cheerful and considerate
  • A Scout is thrifty.
  • A Scout is clean in thought, word and deed.

As Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

 symbology and mythology has been popular in Central Europe
Central Europe
Central Europe or alternatively Middle Europe is a region of the European continent lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe...

 since the 1880s, the highest rank is the Three Feathers of Eagle.

Sources

  • distilled from Eurofax 65, February 1998. Eurofax is the monthly newsletter of the European Region of the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM). It is produced by the European Scout Office and is distributed to all member associations in the European Scout Region and the Europe Region WAGGGS, and others.
  • The Scout Oath and Law was translated to English by Jozef Baláž, Assistant International Commissioner, Slovakia

Further reading

  • World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, World Bureau (2002), Trefoil Round the World. Eleventh Edition 1997. ISBN 0-900827-75-0

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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