Budapest
Igmándi utca 33.
1112
Hungary
- Youth and education
The Szembenézés Foundation is a Hungarian non-govenmental organisation existing since 2007. Our staff consists of volunteers (cca. 20 ppl.) and one employee who are all committed to the values, missions and objectives of the foundation. Our yearly budgetary resource is cca. 3.500.000-4.000.000 Forints and our main sources of funding are grants such as the HET Ireland and EU and donations as well as benefits in kind. The foundation has a board of trustees and a supervisory board – their members are all volunteers.
Our partners are renowned institutions such as the Budapest History Museum Castle Museum, the Kiscelli Museum, universities (CEU, ELTE PPK), elementary and high schools as well as with non-governmental organizations including Amnesty International, the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, the Palantír Film Foundation and the UCCU Roma Informal Educational Foundation. Our projects include the Crocus Holocaust Remembrance Project for students, several trainings for tour guides and thematic walking tours. Besides that we organize several unique history lessons and sensivity and anti-prejudice trainings for a broad audience.
The Szembenézés Foundation has been implementing projects since 2007 in the spirit of our core values of recognition, understanding, acceptance and compassion. Our staff and volunteers, who have a key-role in our foundation, wish to live in a world where everyone can choose their identities freely and everyone is accepting towards themselves and the others as well.
The values arising from cooperation and community learning are also of great importance for us in creating and implementing projects. That is why we are constantly collaborating with professionals from a wide range of disciplines: historians, archaeologists, art historians, anthropologists, lawyers, educators, artists.
Our main goal is simple: we would like to help people to be open to discussions with each other. Our programs provide opportunities for the participants to have inclusive conversations based on the values of democracy and mutual understanding, acceptance and open-mindedness.
1. The Unknown Medieval Buda Castle: trainings, presentations, consultations and fieldwork for tour guides led by the experts of the most current facts
2. Light and Shadow - 1000 years of Budapest: training for tour guides
3. 'Empty Places' - guided thematic historic walks and biking tours ('1956 - Myths and Facts' – a biking tour along the important places of the revolution of 1956 and a walking tour to remember a young martyr of the revolution, 'Medieval Jewish Relics in the Buda Castle' - a walking tour in the Buda Castle, 'Sinful City, Sinful Girls' - biking tour about the underground life of the turn of the century)
4. 'Common Voice' - historical performances, art projects and guided tours
5. Conferences - organized once every year in a current and important topic involving young people and consisting of presentations and debates
6. Crocus Project - an innovative and non-formal Holocaust remembrance project for students to remember the 1.5 million children killed in the Holocaust. The aim of the project is to tackle prejudices and discrimination.
7. Non-formal History Lessons - history lessons involving contemporaries at universities and in high schools
8. Researchers' Night, Cultural Heritage Days - raising awareness to our historical and cultural heritage involving researchers and scientists
All our programs – be it trainings, city walks, special guided tours, conferences or school lessons – are planned and implemented together with the participants to reflect their needs. Our goal is to educate people to be more curious and open-minded towards each other and the historical facts as well. Our methods are non-formal and interactive, our most important values are expertise, kindness, friendship and humor.
We would like to invite partners to join us in our programs and projects and we would also like to get to know the activities of others to bulid the NGO sector as a community. Joining the network would be a great opportunity to share know-how and to learn from each other.
Because we wholeheartedly agree with the aims and objectives of the Anna Lindh Foundation and we would like to contribute to them. We would also like to apply to potential fundings if we get the chance.