one world foundation
| one world foundation (owf) |
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Logo one world foundation, designed by Walter Obholzer
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| purpose | Aid organization |
| Chair: | Kathrin Messner (chairwoman) |
| Establishment date: | 1995 |
| Seat : | Vienna |
| Website: | www.owf.at |
The one world foundation is a non-profit aid organization that uses the proceeds from a guest house and donations to run a school in Sri Lanka for over 1,100 children, young people and adults. In the spirit of social entrepreneurship , the owf is committed to positive change in Sri Lankan society in the long term, especially through its educational offers, but also as an employer that offers its employees good social benefits and fair working conditions. The private social project was founded in 1995 by Kathrin Messner and Josef Ortner. An Artists / Writers in Residence program also makes the foundation a place for art and literature.
The Free Education Unit
The “Free Education Unit” educational project is a private school in Ahungalla (with a subsidiary in Katuwile) for over 1100 children, young people and adults, which enables free teaching programs in addition to the state school system. The school has grown steadily since it was founded in 1995. In the beginning there were around 100 students, in 2004 around 700 children, young people and adults were trained before the tsunami of December 26, 2004 also destroyed the owf facilities. On the newly built school campus, around 40 teachers now offer educational programs from pre-school to vocational training. As the school grew, the range of courses on offer was also steadily expanded. Initially the focus was on English courses and programs for preschool children and women, but now, under the direction of a former student, the director Prabath Wijesekara, subjects such as music, sports, photography, IT and, since 2010, the Tamil language are taught. In the Women's Cooperation, the mothers of preschoolers receive a solid basic technical and economic training. The one world foundation's claim to equal rights is expressed not only in the context of the training of girls and women, but also in the employment policy - many women are employed who act on equal terms with their male colleagues at all hierarchical levels.
Education and training is currently offered up to level 4 of the National Vocational Qualification (NVQ). NVQ is the certification system of the National Apprentice and Industrial Training Authority. At the same time, the standards of the TVEC, the Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission, are observed. Both authorities are subordinate to the Ministry of Education of Sri Lanka. Level 4 is the training level for “craftsmen who can learn their work independently”. The next goal of the Free Education Unit is to be certified for level 5 - that is the "diploma level for future supervisors".
The Ayurveda Resort "Bogenvillya"
The organization promotes a form of tourism that is based on mutual understanding and fair exchange. The income from the guest house is used to finance the school programs of the “Free Education Unit” - a sustainable future investment in the host country. In 2015 the Ayurveda Resort employed around 35 people.
The Bogenvillya guest house is located 80 km south of Colombo on the west coast of Sri Lanka. In the fishing village of Ahungalla , the complex with its spacious garden blends in with the coastal landscape with palm groves, lagoon and tropical vegetation. The resort has direct access to the sandy beach and a swimming pool. The rooms are located in the main building and in the adjoining bungalows, they are each equipped with hot water, shower, toilet, private terrace and WiFi. The food at Bogenvillya is geared towards high quality local cuisine.
Ayurveda healing art is offered to guests. The offer in the Bogenvillya includes wellness cures (Rasayana) with applications such as massages and oil treatments as well as detoxification cures ( Panchakarma ). The course of the course is accompanied by regular consultations with the in-house doctor Janakee Perera. As a supplement to the science of Ayurveda, the guest house also offers a yoga course: every morning, an open yoga class takes place under expert guidance on a platform in the garden with a view of the lagoon.
architecture
The school buildings were designed by the Austrian architect Carl Pruscha , who also designed the “Palm Grove Bungalow” and the “Lagoon Bungalow” for the Ayurveda Resort. The main building of the guest house and the “Gardenloft” were built by Josef Ortner. In 2015 the “Araliya Bungalow” was opened based on a design by the Sri Lankan architect Varuna de Silva. It corresponds to the philosophy of the one world foundation that local specialists are used whenever possible. The school buildings and guest bungalows take the climatic conditions of Sri Lanka into consideration. In their open construction, they offer protection from intense sunlight and monsoon rains and allow good ventilation, which means that the buildings do not need air conditioning.
Residence program for artists and writers
Galerie Krinzinger has been running an artist in residence program in cooperation with the one world foundation since 2009 . On the former school premises, where the owf school facilities were located until the 2004 tsunami, a studio was rebuilt in 2009, which was opened in January 2010 and is now available to the artists invited by the gallery to work. Some works that were created as part of the residence program can be found on the resort area and in the guest rooms.
The following artists have worked for the organization so far: Clarina Bezzola (2010), Christian Eisenberger (2013), Marcus Geiger (2010), Markus Hanakam (2014), Thomas Helbig (2009), Suhasini Kejriwal (2010), Ursula Mayer (2014 ), Peter Sandbichler (2015), Hans Schabus (2011/2012), Roswitha Schuller (2014), Sudarshan Shetty (2009), Navin Thomas (2009), Theegulla Venkanna (2013), Karunasiri Wijesinghe (2013).
In addition to the Artist in Residence program, the organization has also had a Writer in Residence program since 2011, which is funded by the Austrian Federal Chancellery for Art and Culture. The curator is Robert Menasse . Authors working on transnational and transcultural projects are invited to three-month work stays. The previous participants are: Dimitré Dinev (2011), Maja Haderlap (2012), Kala Ramesh (2014), David Schalko (2015), Sabine Scholl (2016), Cordula Simon (2014), Brita Steinwendtner (2013), Ilija Trojanow ( 2014), Andreas Weber (2014).
literature
- one world foundation. A Social Sculpture, Vienna 2015, ISBN 978-3-200-04240-7
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ See owf.at: Imprint
- ↑ See one world foundation. A Social Sculpture, Vienna 2015, p. 108 f.
- ↑ Cf. Agnieszka Gratza: Artistic license to explore , in: The Financial Times, 27./28. June 2015, p. 17
- ↑ See Tanja Paar: Vacation for School , Der Standard, December 23, 2006
- ↑ Cf. Christina Benzer: Paradiesische Residenz , in: Der Standard, April 18, 2012
- ↑ See owf.at: Artist in Residence
- ↑ See Karin Cerny: Sri Lanka: Back entrance to Paradise , profile, August 21, 2014
- ↑ See owf.at: Writer in Residence
- ↑ Cf. owf.at: book