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Sunday, 3 October 2010 at 08:02
Item n°105114642
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The Pioneer Organization (Romanian: Organizaţia Pionierilor)
was a pioneer movement in Socialist Romania, created for young
people between the ages of eight and fourteen. Because most
students joined with their classmates in second grade and remained
pioneers through eighth grade, in practice, the normal age range
extended from seven to fifteen, or nearly fifteen. It was founded
on April 30, 1949. Members wore a small triangular red scarf (with
the triangle over their backs), with a red-gold-blue outside border
(red-gold blue were, and still are, the colours of the Romanian
national flag). Both ends of the scarf were passed through a narrow
ring of clear plastic. They also had pioneer uniforms that they
wore on certain days instead of their regular school uniforms. When
in school uniform, they still wore their pioneer tie (scarf). The
organisation´s responsibilities paralleled those of the Union of
Communist Youth (UTC) and involved political (preparing children to
become party members) and propagandistic training. Until 1966 the
Pioneers functioned as an integral part of the UTC, but thereafter
it was under the direct control of the Central Committee of the
Romanian Communist Party. 70 percent of the 9-14 age group,
approximately 1.3 million young people, belonged to the Pioneers in
1981. The organization published Cutezătorii.
The Pioneers ran a variety of summer camps and other activities,
also having a number of recreation centres around Romania. For
instance, Cotroceni Palace became the Pioneers´ Palace on June 1,
1950.
Individual awards could be bestowed on members; these included
stripes, along with the titles "Pionier de frunte" ("Leading
Pioneer"), "Cutezătorul" ("The Brave One"), "Pionier
fruntaş în muncă patriotică" ("Leading Pioneer in
Patriotic Work") and "Meritul pionieresc" ("Pioneer Merit"), as
well as insignia based on the type of activity. Collective awards
came in the form of diploma-like scrolls: "Unitate
fruntaşă" ("Leading Unit"), "Detaşament
fruntaş" ("Leading Detachment") and "Grupă
fruntaşă" ("Leading Group"). These were commonly awarded
at the school´s annual year-end ceremony.
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