Key minority organisation in Italy celebrates 70th anniversary
Trieste, 28 November - The Slovenian Cultural and Economic Association (SKGZ), one of the two main umbrella organisations representing the Slovenian minority in Italy, is celebrating 70 years of its existence with a series of events this week culminating with a ceremony in Trieste this evening.
The SKGZ was established soon after the London Memorandum abolished the Free Territory of Trieste in October 1954, dividing it between Italy and the former Yugoslavia, leaving what historians believe were some 140,000 Slovenians outside Slovenian territories.
Its original aim was to strengthen the Slovenian community in Italy, and it later developed to bring together, support and coordinate the activities of many societies, organisations and institutions of the minority.
"The world has changed over the past seven decades, our area has changed as countries were created and disappeared, the ethnic community has changed, the role and the mission of the SKGZ has changed," the organisation's president Ksenija Dobrila has told the STA on the occasion.
"But the one thing that hasn't changed is the reason for its existence: to preserve and strengthen the Slovenian language and culture, and consolidate the area populated by Slovenians along the western frontier," Dobrila said.
The SKGZ has established the framework for the minority's civil society, which remains very lively and active to this day, said Dobrila, adding that throughout its history the association has been a link between Italy and Slovenia, establishing the minority as the axis of cross-border ties.
Still, "great challenges lie ahead," Dobrila said, going on to list a number of issues, including the implementation of Italy's 2001 minority protection act and institutional and meaningful support for the Slovenian school network. "There's no end to this list."
This evening, the SKGZ will host a reception at the Trieste National Hall, where Minister for Slovenians Abroad Matej Arčon will present the association with a special recognition, while Trieste Mayor Roberto Dipiazza will honour the organisation on behalf of the city.
To honour the 70 years of the SKGZ's existence, the Slovenian postal service issued a special stamp featuring the organisation's overhauled logo, a flower with seven petals, each standing for one of the seven geographical areas that are home to Slovenians west of the national border.
The association also produced a short video about its work, while the Slovenian Mountaineering Society of Trieste, a founding member of the SKGZ that celebrates its 120th anniversary this year, will host a series of events dedicated to mountaineering.