| Short profile: | The BONA FIDES Association is a non-governmental organization, which has been active in Katowice since 2003. The aim of the Association is to take actions on behalf of Polish culture`s development and on development of civil society’s institutions, especially in domain of health protection, welfare, environmental protection, physical culture and sport and charity. We are realizing educational, helping and cultural ventures, which have in view broad development of children and youth.
The Association realizes its mission through:
• helping children and youth from environments socially and economically neglected,
• educational activity,
• sending young people at age of 18-30 to the international volunteer work,
• organizing workshops, schoolings and conferences,
• organizing cultural events,
• cooperation with institutions and associations in the country and abroad,
• promoting volunteer work among children and youth.
• counteracting and mitigating effects of unemployment through increasing the possibilities of employment of jobless.
The Association runs a Club of Social Integration in Katowice that is aimed at persons who are unemployed for a long time (mostly young people), organizes “Big Brothers Big Sisters” program which is aimed at children from poor and disfunctional families. In this programme a child is supported by a volunteer, his/her “big brother or sister” and the volunteers who partake in the programme become important persons in the child’s life, support the child in achieving dreams and aspirations.
Since June 2005 we also publish a monthly “You and I” which is addressed to children attending to upper primary classes and to grammar schools. The aim of the monthly is a broadly known education about tolerance. Our readers have a chance to learn or to complete their knowledge about universal human rights, our and other countries’, nations’ and religions’ tradition and history.
Since April 2006 the Association works as the Sending Organization in the Youth in Action Program, sending for EVS especially the young people with fewer opportunities. Participating in an EVS project gives to the youth, that benefit from our help, the possibility to leave for some period their environment, to see how do the people in other countries live, to get know the basis of a foreign language and, for sure, to live a really big adventure. We have partner organisations that hosted already our volunteers in different European countries.
In October 2006 the Association has organized for the first time the Traveling Film Festival “Human Rights in Films” – the festival is now continued in next editions. The presented films touch upon a question of abiding human rights in the countries of former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, in former Yugoslavia, Asia and Africa.
It can be seen that all the projects have a very positive impact not only on the youth from a less-privileged socio-economic background but also on other young people and children who benefit from Bona Fides Association’s activities. |
