Union of Pioneers of Yugoslavia
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Union of Pioneers of Yugoslavia (Serbo-Croatian: Savez pionira Jugoslavije) was the pioneer movement of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Its members wore red scarves as well as navy blue hats called Titovka. These hats were sometimes white, and bore a red star on the front. A white shirt was often worn with the Pioneer scarf (marama) and the Titovka, although this varied depending on which part of Yugoslavia the particular pioneer was from. Boys often wore navy blue shorts or pants, and girls wore skirts in the same colour, along with white stockings and black shoes. On special occasions, such as a visit from Tito himself, Pioniri sometimes wore traditional costumes from their native regions of Yugoslavia.
The organization was founded on December 27, 1942. It was a substructure within the Socialist Youth Union of Yugoslavia. It published Male novine. The organization was divided into younger pioneers (7-11 years) and older pioneers (11-15 years).[1]
Typically, the induction ceremony took place in school for children aged 7 in the autumn of their first year in school, as part of the Republic Day celebrations. The youngest generation that undertook it was born around 1983. The text of Yugoslav Pioneer pledge (pionirska zakletva) may have varied slightly from one school to another. Reconstructed from imperfect recollections, in Serbo-Croatian:[citation needed]
- Danas, kada postajem pionir,
- dajem časnu pionirsku reč -
- da ću marljivo učiti i raditi,
- poštovati roditelje i starije,
- i biti veran i iskren drug,
- koji drži datu reč.
- Da ću voleti našu domovinu, samoupravnu SFRJ,
- da ću razvijati bratstvo i jedinstvo
- i ideje za koje se borio drug Tito.
- Da ću ceniti sve ljude sveta koji žele slobodu i mir!
In English:
- Today, as I become a Pioneer,
- I give my Pioneer's word of honour -
- That I will study and work tirelessly,
- respect parents and my seniors,
- and be a loyal and honest friend [or "comrade"].
- That I will love our independent homeland SFRY.
- That I will spread brotherhood and unity
- and the principles for which comrade Tito fought.
- And that I will value all peoples of the world who respect freedom and peace!
Across the former-Yugoslav territory (Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Republic of Macedonia), many associate the prosperity and peace which they enjoyed as citizens of Yugoslavia with their days as Pioneers, and as a result, it is not uncommon to hear people refer to themselves as "Titov(a) pionir(ka)", meaning "Tito's Pioneer".[citation needed] These types of self-proclamations, in earnest or in irony, are not uncommon on online communities frequented by ex-Yugoslavs.[citation needed]
