Scouting and Guiding in Yugoslavia

Scout emblem depicting the arms of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia superimposed on a fleur-de-lis. Ca. 1940.

File:Milos Popovic - Knjiga Cetnik-no-commons.jpg

Četnik (Scouting for Boys) by Robert Baden-Powell, translated by Milos Popović

The Scout movement in Yugoslavia was served by different organizations during the existence of the multi-ethnic state.

History

Scouting in the Austro-Hungarian regions of later Yugoslavia started in 1910 and in Serbia in 1911. A national organization was founded around 1920; it was among the founding members of the World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) the same year. The organization had to stop its activities in 1941 after the German occupation of Serbia. It resumed its activities after World War II but was banned again by the communist gouvernement in 1946; thus it lost the membership in WOSM in 1948.

National Scout emblem depicting a maple leaf instead of the fleur-de-lis and a red star as symbol of communism. Ca. 1951.

In 1951, Scouting was restarted under communist influence. After the founding of regional organizations for all Yugoslav republics, the national organization was revived under the name Savez Izviđača Jugoslavije (Scout Association of Yugoslavia) on November 24, 1951.

The break-up of Yugoslavia led also to the partial dissolution of Savez Izviđača Jugoslavije; the associations of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia subsequently gained membership in WOSM. Savez Izviđača Jugoslavije continued to existed and became a WOSM member on September 1, 1995. The organization was renamed in Savez Izviđača Srbije i Crne Gore (Scout Association of Serbia and Montenegro) on February 4, 2003 following the renaming of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to Serbia and Montenegro. Following 2006, when Montenegro declared its independence, Savez Izviđača Srbije i Crne Gore split once again: WOSM membership was transferred to Savez Izviđača Srbije (Scout Association of Serbia); Savez Izviđača Crne Gore (Scout Association of Montenegro) had to reapply for membership and was admitted on July 1, 2008.

Scouting after break-up of the country

In all countries formerly part of Yugoslavia exist independent Scouting organizations, in some of them several. For details see:

• Scouting in Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Scouting in Croatia
• Scouting in the Republic of Macedonia
• Scouting in Montenegro
• Scouting in Serbia
• Scouting in Slovenia

The situation of Scouting in the partially recognised country Kosovo is unknown.