NEW FACES OF SLOVENIA
Read Martin’s story
Who am I?
I’m Martin and I come from the Czech Republic. I grew up in a small village and attended a technical high school, and then studied at the Higher Vocational Pedagogical School. I’m a graduate preschool teacher and a classroom teacher. Later, I also studied school psychology and special pedagogy at the Faculty of Arts in the Czech Republic, with an emphasis on counseling services. After graduation, I worked as a primary school teacher. At the same time, I also taught at a private music school, where I taught piano, guitar and flute.
Coming to Slovenia
I moved to Slovenia to reunite with my family. I didn’t have any major problems with this, but the language and bureaucracy were the biggest challenges for me. The process of nostrifying my diploma has been dragging on for 14 years and as a result, I am still unable to work in the public sector.
Paths in Slovenia
Initially, I received only 180 hours of Slovene course, so I mostly learned the language on my own. In the beginning, I worked a lot as a volunteer, but then I found a job at a private school, where I initially helped as a volunteer, and later I was employed indefinitely. Now I have my own company (S.P.), and for four years I have been working at Cene Štupar, where I participate in primary education for adults.
My pride and accomplishments
I’m most proud of my family, who support me and stand by me. I’m also proud that I’m now fluent in Slovenian. It also means a lot to me to work with a private music school and to have built a wider circle of friends.
Challenges and solutions for better integration of newcomers to Slovenia,
according to Martin:
- 📌Language learning: The system of assigning foreigners to language courses is not effective. Groups often bring together Slavic speakers and those who come from completely different linguistic backgrounds, which complicates the learning process.
Solution: Instead of mass courses, it would be better to organize individual learning or smaller, customized groups and paid tutors who would teach foreigners in a more personal way.- 📌Bureaucracy: The nostrification of degrees takes a disproportionately long time and prevents foreigners from taking up employment in their professions.
- Solution: Simplification of procedures and clearer instructions in several languages.
- 📌Social support: Foreigners often do not find a responsible person to help them solve their problems. The procedures take too long, sometimes it takes up to a year to get a single appointment.
- Solution: A more efficient system of administrative units and more support centers for foreigners.
Most Slovenians are friendly and open to foreigners, but the system is still not well adapted enough for their integration. Foreigners often find themselves in a situation where they cannot live and work normally due to slow and complicated procedures.
Let’s fight the stereotypes, prejudices and discrimination. Every individual deserves the opportunity to participate in society on an equal footing. Let’s stand together for a more inclusive and equitable future.
“The views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor the EACEA can be held responsible for them.”
𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒋𝒆𝒄𝒕 “𝑩𝑶𝑫𝑬/𝑩𝒓𝒆𝒛 𝑶𝒗𝒊𝒓 𝑫𝒐 𝑬𝒏𝒂𝒌𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒊” 𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭𝟒𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝒊𝒏 𝑺𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒂 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝑵𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑 – 𝒕𝒐 𝐀𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐥 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓.
You can read more about the BODE+ project HERE.
In cooperation with ADRA, the project is also on this page.
