In the book, the author presents organisational culture of the Bird Watching and Bird Study Association of Slovenia (DOPPS), i.e. from its formation in late 1970's, noting the transition from a voluntary association into a hybrid organisation integrating volunteers and professionals, to the current cohabitation of three generations of amateur and professional ornithologists. The author looks into the history of birdwatching at the global as well as national level and describes the foundation and ensuing transformations of the association in a dynamic social and political context. The focus is also on the individual, the founder of the association, as the author explains the importance of his charisma in establishing the organisation. Voluntarism and altruism are also presented, being the “basic assumptions” of organisational culture, which provokes discussion on the existence of “true” i.e. selfless altruism. The author explains how ornithological practices are embodied and how the knowledge on birds and the skills of identifying them are transferred among the members of the association. The book therefore presents an insight into the dynamics of voluntarism, equality as well as hierarchical relations within the association that functions as a combination of an organisation and a community – an orgunity.
COBISS.SI-ID: 259095808
The volume gives an overview of independent nongovernmental youth centres in Slovenia. It describes spontaneously emerged sites of socialization and creativity among youths who need a place to gather and engage in creative activities, especially music. The author presents and discusses selected examples of youth centres in Slovenia. In the first chapter the basic terms are defined and a short history of civic dialogue in Slovenia is presented. The second chapter gives a brief introduction of the classification of youth centres and introduces the notion of “grassroots venues”. A short history of youth clubs in Slovenia includes ethnographic descriptions of various youth centres with different types of internal organizational structures.
COBISS.SI-ID: 259365120
In the article, published in a renown international journal with a high impact factor, is presented a comparative ethnographic material on volunteer biodiversity monitoring from environmental organisations in three postcommunist countries: Poland, Slovenia, and Lithuania. Its authors chart and discuss aspects of the heritage from socialism and communist rule in terms of their effect on the present-day running and operations of four case-study organisations in these countries, focusing particularly on challenges posed by the legacy of compulsory volunteering, inherited organisational cultures, economic reorganisation, and internationalisation of the volunteering sector. In closing we indicate certain key differences between our case-study organisations, focusing on factors that influenced their ability to operate in the postcommunist nongovernmental organisation sector, and offer some observations of more general relevance.
COBISS.SI-ID: 44927330