Janja Žitnik Serafin and Aleksej Kalc organised upon the 30th anniversary of Slovenian Migration Institute ZRC SAZU an international academic conference titled "Slovenian Emigration Research: New Approaches and Subject Matter". The conference was held in Ljubljana on October 21st, 2016 and it was co-financed by the Slovenian Government’s Office for Slovenians Abroad. Eighteen individually invited authors from Slovenia and abroad presented their papers. The themes of the two morning sessions were “General aspects of Slovenian migration research” and “Methodological approaches applied in case studies of individual emigrant communities”. The afternoon programme included another two sessions: “New Approaches and Subject Matter" and “Presentation of projects”, among others the target research project “Contemporary strategies of Slovenian emigrants for the preservation of ethnic identity«.
B.01 Organiser of a scientific meeting
COBISS.SI-ID: 40516653The Slovenian diaspora all over the world consists of several generations of emigrants and their descendants. It also includes an increasing number of Slovenians who have emigrated since Slovenia became independent because of unemployment, in search of better work and life perspectives, carrier opportunities and for other reasons. All these components of the Slovenian diaspora differ from each other by education, social and economic background, personal ambitions and life styles. Indeed, they are expressions of different circumstances, needs and phases in the long emigration process, working experiences and paths of inclusion into the receiving countries. Consequently they also differ by feelings and attitudes towards Slovenia and Slovenian ancestry. The project Contemporary strategies of Slovenian emigrants for the preservation of ethnic identity aims at surveying how the recent Slovenian emigrants and the yesterday emigrants' descendants consider their Slovenian ethnicity or Slovenian roots and which factors significantly influence their attitudes towards the organized Slovenian communities abroad and the preservation of the ties with their »old country«. The presentation of the target research project at this international conference which was attended by some representatives of Slovenian diaspora brought about a discussion that opened some further potential aspects of the research.
B.03 Paper at an international scientific conference
COBISS.SI-ID: 40475693Marijanca Ajša Vižintin discussed Germany as one of the most frequent destinations of Slovenian emigrants in the 21st century. The main focus of this lecture was on the inclusion/non-inclusion of newcomers in the existing Slovenian ethnic associations. Most of Slovenian emigrants to Germany do not become (active) members of Slovenian associations. They communicate via Facebook or e-mail; some of them come occasionally to one of the Slovenian events. Some associations organize special meeting events for newcomers. On the website of the “Coordination of Slovenian associations in south Germany”, a new tab was opened: it offers information that newcomers usually need when they migrate to Germany. Some new migrants from Slovenia to Germany do become active members or even leaders of Slovenian associations, but Slovenians in Germany and the Slovenian Government Office for Slovenian Abroad wish there would be more of them.
B.03 Paper at an international scientific conference
COBISS.SI-ID: 39972909