Slovenski su doseljenici nakon dolaska u SAD ubrzo spoznali da u slučaju nesreće na radu ili bolesti mogu računati isključivo na sebe same i zato su počeli osnivati vlastita potporna društva. Prva ...slovenska bratska potporna organizacija – Kranjsko slovenska katoliška jednota (Kranjsko slovenski katolički savez) osnovan je 1894. u Jolietu (Illinois). Temelj bratskih potpornih organizacija predstavljali su odsjeci koji su djelovali širom SAD-a. Najveći broj članova Savez je okupljao u državama Illinois, Pennsylvanija, Ohio i Minnesota. Osnovna djelatnost bratskih potpornih organizacija bila je pomoć članstvu, odnosno njihovoj rodbini u slučaju smrti, a druga je djelatnost bila bolničko osiguranje. U organizaciji su njegovali i druge važne vrijednosti: slovensku kulturnu tradiciju, slovenski jezik i tijesne veze sa »starom domovinom«. Odsjek St. Francis de Sales Society No. 29 osnovan je u Jolietu (Illinois) 2. veljače 1896. On nije ni najstariji niti najveći u KSKS-u, ali je jedan od najutjecajnijih u Savezu. Članovi iz redova odsjeka zauzimali su u KSKS-u najviše položaje. Na takav su način imali odlučujući utjecaj na politiku Saveza u ključnoj fazi njegova djelovanja, kada se razvio iz male i financijski nestabilne bratske potporne organizacije u moderno osiguravajuće društvo. Savez već više od stotinu godina uspješno ispunjava svoju misiju i na području vjerskoga, nacionalnoga, političkoga i kulturnog ujedinjavanja.
Intense emigration of Slovenes to Australia, especially to Victoria State, commenced after WW I and reached its climax in the 1970s. The Slovenians in Australia are the fourth largest non-European ...immigrant community and they felt the need to organize their cultural and social life a long time ago. The article discusses one of the major and first organizations of the Slovene emigration: The Religious Centre of Sts. Cyril and Methodius in Kew, Melbourne, which has for decades been providing shelter for many of the emigrants and their families. The article especially considers the educational role of the Franciscan priests. As they built a wide network of their educational activities soon after their arrival in 1955, the Centre surpassed the boundaries of a Catholic Franciscan “Mission”. Two of the most exposed goals of their religious, social and educational roles have been the preservation of the Slovene heritage and education aiming at integration of Slovene emigrants in Australian everyday’s life. Through activities of the Centre, the Slovene emigrant community managed to form an immanent and specific way in transmitting the ethnic particularities of the native country both to their younger generations and to the Australian social environment (through the monthly review “Misli”, Slovenian school, language classes, choirs, sporting and social activities, radio etc.).
Finally, as the paper is a result of a case study research including direct involvement in the research, the author tries to answer the question whether the above mentioned educational activities have lead to an establishment of a more positive relationship between the majority (Australians) and minority (Australian Slovenes) communities.
Jože Žohar migrated »down under« to Australia in 1968 and struggles to pacify inside him the two homelands, Slovenia and Australia. In his three published collections of verse in the Slovene language ...(1990, 1995, 2004) the poet remains torn between the two countries, between Eros and Thanatos, between a unique erotic experiencing of the homeland and the wish for physical and spiritual ending and closeness of death, which brings deliverance. The article contextualizes his recently published book of verse Obiranje limon (2004) within recent theories of diasporic writing.
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