We have established in Australia two Slovenian educational associations, both in Victoria – Slovenian Teachers Association of Victoria (1976) and The Institute for Slovenian Studies of Victoria (1998). Both functioned within the context of Victorian and Australian professional educational language associations and the state language school – Saturdays School of Modern Languages (later named Victorian School of Languages) while addressing the needs of the descendants of Slovenian migrants growing up in Australia.
The association was also also interested in creating a cultural climate and cultural activities for a circle of interested members of the Slovenian community. So in 1980 came into being the Slovenian Arts Society, which met regularly for two years. These were meetings of cultural workers, teachers, poets, editors, radio programmers, artists and interested individuals. They took place at the Migrant Resource Centre in the Melbourne city centre. There were talks on Slovenian humour, Slovenian ballads, poetry readings by contemporary Slovenian poets and Melbourne poets. A visiting clinical psychologist gave a talk on the migrant experience.
In the late eighties it was considered appropriate to establish the Slovenian Teachers, Parents and Students Association of Victoria. This was during the time of major school reforms that found parents rather less than sufficiently informed about the innovations, changes and implications in planning for a future course of studies. Parents had an opportunity to ask questions and were regularly informed about the new developments in state school education and were given advice when necessary.
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