PIONEER MOVEMENT

(Redirected from Pioneer Movement)
A 'pioneer movement' is an organization for children operated by a communist party. Typically children enter into the organization in elementary school and continue until adolescence. The adolescents then typically joined Komsomol or a similar organization. Prior to the 1990s there was a wide cooperation between pioneer and similar movements of about 30 countries, coordinated by the international organization, ''International Committee of Children's and Adolescents' Movements'' (French: ''Comité international des mouvements d'enfants et d'adolescents'', CIMEA), founded in 1958, with headquarters in Budapest.
In most socialist countries, membership of the pioneer movement is officially optional. Many features of the pioneer movement made it essentially different from Scout movement, particularly as the Scout movement is independent of government control and political parties. For example, there were no separate organizations for boys and girls. During the existence of the USSR, thousands of Young Pioneer camps and Young Pioneer Palaces were built exclusively for Young Pioneers, which were free of charge, sponsored by the government and Trade Unions. There were a lot of newspapers and magazines published for Young Pioneers in millions of copies. Some features, however, are reminiscent of the Scout movement. The two movements share some principles like preparedness and promotion of sports and outdoor skills. The pioneer movement also includes teaching of communist principles. Opponents of Communist states claim that this is a form of indoctrination.
A member of the movement is known as a pioneer, and a scarf--typically red, but sometimes light blue--is the traditional item of clothing worn by a pioneer. The pioneer organization is often named after a famous party member that is considered a suitable role model for young communists.
In the USSR it was Lenin; in East Germany, it was Ernst Thälmann. The Thälmann pioneers were taught the slogan "We are Ernst Thälmann pioneers. We wear our red scarf with pride." It is notable, that Albania, which had severed diplomatic relations with the USSR since 1961, also had a certain variant of Pioneer organization, called Pioneers of Enver, named after the communist ruler of Albania, Enver Hoxha.

Countries with Pioneer movements

Pioneer movements of the past

Countries with Pioneer movements

The Pioneer Movement currently exists in:

★ Belarus (Belarusian Republican Pioneer Organization)

★ Belgium (Pioneers of the Workers Party of Belgium)

★ People's Republic of China (Young Pioneers of China)

★ Cuba (José Martí Pioneer Organization) Established in 1961; in 2001 it was elected to the Global 500 Roll of Honour of the United Nations Environment Programme for its environmental activities^[1].

★ Cyprus (EDON)

★ Finland (Democratic Union of Finnish Pioneers)

★ The Czech Republic - Nowadays Pionýr is a non-political organisation organizing leisure time for children, part of the IFM-SEI.

★ North Korea (Young Pioneer Corps)

★ Russia

★ Spain (Pioneers of the Communist Party of the Basque Homelands)

★ Tajikistan (King Somoni Inheritance)

★ Syria (Baath Party Pioneers)

★ Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh Young Pioneers' Brigade, established on May 15 1941^[2])
Older children could continue in other communist organizations, but that would typically be done only by a limited number of people.
The communist parties in Russia and other countries continue to run a pioneer organization, but membership tends to be quite limited.