In 2024, children from around Australia celebrated the global one-hundred-year anniversary of the formation of their ulad – Novatstvo. We all know Novatstvo as the youngest group of Plast, but what does it actually mean to be a novak or novachka? Plast Australia created a special ‘100 year Novatstvo’ badge work to mark the occasion and help our younger generation learn about how Novatstvo came to be what it is today.
Throughout the year, at their regular meetings, Novatstvo worked towards achieving this badge by learning about the early days of Novatstvo, understanding the history of Novatski rules, and interviewing members of the Plast community about their experiences in Novatstvo.
One particular highlight of the year was a mini-camp at Camp Cottermouth in Canberra, organised by Plast NSW.
The last time we came to Camp Cottermouth was in 2011 for our national YUMPZ to celebrate 100 Years of Plast, so it was fitting that we returned to celebrate 100 Years of Novatstvo in 2024.
This four-day camp gave our novaky and novachky from across Australia the chance to come together and build new connections as they hiked, sang, crafted and learnt new skills.
Novatstvo achieved so much over the 4 days of camp filled with a range of exciting activities attaining badge work in geography and first aid, with an excursion to Questacon, the national science and technology centre and hike at the National Arboretum.
Everyone walked away with great memories, lifelong friendships, new skills and most importantly a desire to continue their involvement in Plast!
To commemorate this occasion, attendees contributed to an art project that captured what it is like to be part of Novatstvo in Australia. This collaborative artwork was turned into a commemorative hat and badge for all Novaky to keep as a souvenir from the fantastic year they had.
We would like to thank everyone who contributed towards the celebration of this significant milestone:
Komnandant – st pl T Olyksyn, Referent UPN NSW
Program Lead – pl sen T Miljenovic, National Referent UPN
NSW Leaders – pl sen M Sveum & st pl D Kasanczuk
QLD Leaders – pl sen K Miljenovic, pl sen A Ohorodnia, st pl N Kopynets & st pl M Hladchenko
Logistics and Kitchen – pl sen N Oleksyn, pl sen E Oleksyn, pl sen D Harasymiw, pl sen M Kasanczuk, pl sen VKowal, pl sen H Lawriwsky
Plast Chaplain – pl sen Father A Mykytyuk
Special thank you to Father Solomko from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Canberra
All the parents who drove thousands of kilometres for their children to attend. We are proud to have so many young novaky and novachky actively involved in Plast today!
