2.1 General context
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Historical developments
Slovenia has a long tradition of voluntary work. Before the Second World War there were cultural and educational organizations alongside Church-led charities. The Yugoslav period (1943-1991) restricted many youth organizations, though volunteering continued in humanitarian aid, tourism, culture, and sports, primarily through state-organized youth activities. The voluntary work at this time included traditional activities organised by the central administration and primarily performed by young people volunteering for sports organisations, fire brigades, and organisations involved in the protection against natural disasters.
In the 1970s a process of decentralisation began with the adoption of the new Associations Act in 1974, which marked the development of modern non-governmental organisations in Slovenia. As a result, the number of NGOs and volunteers has significantly increased from the mid-1970s onwards in what can be described as a bottom-up approach. However, despite some rejuvenation of the sector during this time, the insufficient support from the socialist state and the general public meant that voluntary organisations remained under-developed.
After the 1980s, new social movements emerged (promoting peace, environmental, human rights, spiritual and other movements), which in turn helped the development of the NGO sector. This was a particularly dynamic era for both formal and grassroots youth movements, which evolved through the 1990s into a youth scene primarily organized around recreational activities. Young people became increasingly engaged in diverse social movements and organizations.
Post-socialist transition saw volunteering significantly increase, supported by national advocacy groups and international NGOs like the Soros Foundation, which enabled the establishment of NGOs in the fields of human rights, the protection of minorities, women’s rights, and ecology at national level. The process of accession to the European Union has also helped to encourage Slovenia to fully align with the European standards of dialogue and partnership with the civil society.
Main concepts
Volunteering Act (Zakon o prostovoljstvu), adopted on 3 February 2011 by the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia and amended on 21 October 2015, defines volunteering as a 'socially beneficial unpaid activity of individuals, who, through their work, knowledge and experience contribute to the quality of life of individuals and social groups, and to the development of a solidary, humane and equal society'. Volunteering strengthens mutual solidarity of people, promote the development of human skills and lifelong learning, ensuring social cohesion and cooperation in solving the problems of individuals and society.
Volunteering Act defines organised volunteering as well as voluntary service. Organized volunteering has to be in accordance with the provisions of this Act should be exercised within the framework of voluntary organizations, as defined by the first paragraph of Article 9 of this Act, and the individual work performed regularly and at least 24 hours per year. Voluntary Service is organized volunteering by a volunteer performed at least 20 hours per week over a period of at least six months without interruption.
Youth volunteering is not defined in the Slovenian legislation, apart from the Act on Public Interest in the Youth Sector (Zakon o javnem interesu v mladinskem sektorju), adopted on 18 May 2010 by the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia, where youth volunteering is defined as one of the areas where youth sector is involved.