Walter Kahn Fairy Tale Foundation
The Walter Kahn Fairy Tale Foundation was founded in 1985 by the Braunschweig travel company Walter Kahn (1911–2009) and is dedicated to the preservation and research of European fairy tales and legends . The headquarters used to be in Frankfurt am Main and is now in Volkach .
activities
The purpose of the foundation is to support the research and preservation of the traditional European fairy tales and legends (with emphasis on fairy tales) through the work of scientific disciplines such as folklore / ethnology, literary studies, narrative research, pedagogy / didactics, psychology and theology and in to put into practice and to cultivate and promote fairy tales and legends in public.
The purpose of the foundation is achieved in particular through the following measures:
- Awarding of the European Fairy Tale Prize of the Walter Kahn Fairy Tale Foundation in the amount of 5,000 euros to people or organizations who have made a contribution to the foundation's purpose;
- Awarding of the Lutz-Röhrich Prize in the amount of 2500 euros for the promotion of young scientists for folklore, historical and comparative narrative research; If required, the special sponsorship award of EUR 1000 will be awarded if several outstanding entries are submitted for the Lutz Röhrich Prize.
- Publication of the quarterly magazine Märchenspiegel as an organ of the foundation, as a mediator between science and practice and to inform the public;
- Promotion of educational work in relation to the aforesaid purposes;
- Support for the work of organizations and persons who pursue the same or similar purposes as the foundation.
The work is financed by the interest income from the foundation capital. The foundation does particularly effective work by initiating and financing series of lectures and by financing teaching assignments at universities on the topic of folk tales and legends. Another important concern of the foundation is the promotion of fairy tale telling.
Walter Kahn headed the foundation until the end of 1999 and retired due to age. Since then, the Walter Kahn Fairy Tale Foundation has been managed by a three-person board, scientifically supported by an eight-person board of trustees. The foundation maintains an office in Volkach.
Publications
- Series of lectures by the Walter Kahn Fairy Tale Foundation in the catalog of the German National Library
- Magazine Der Märchenspiegel. Journal for international fairy tale research and fairy tale care (quarterly)