Österreichische Kinderfreunde

opis organizacji

Österreichische Kinderfreunde is a children and family organisation providing meaningful and free leisure time activities for children and young people since 1905.
We have about 300 local groups that are organised in 9 federal states.
The organisation can be divided into volunteering and services. The service provision includes kindergardens, indoor and adventure playgrounds, family centres, public park educational teams, parent children centres, mobile recreational activities and many more.

The volunteering part includes weekly group meetings for children between 3 - 6, 6 - 10 and 11 – 16. The final age group is called Rote Falken (Red Falcons) which evolves into a strong almost independent youth sector within Kinderfreunde, run by volunteers on local until national level organising camps and educational seminars.

Next to these divisions, we can also find Connect – a more recent sector aiming for the inclusion and support of refugee children and families while providing free leisure time activities and support for unaccompanied minors and families.

Falkencamp Döbriach – historically established by Kinderfreunde and Rote Falken, is an independent NPO campsite providing affordable as well as educational summer camps and activities for children and families.

Additionally we have a strong international aspect to our work and are proud to be founding members of our international umbrella organisation - IFM-SEI. The International Falcon Movement – Socialist Educational International is working with non-formal education in order to educate kids and young people about children rights and empower them to be active citizens. It creates awareness about different living situations from kids over the world and work towards international solidarity and active participation from everyone.

The aim of these sectors is very similar – working towards the full implementation of children’s rights. Whether this is through free leisure time activities, affordable camps and vacation offers, or educational activities. Non-formal education is throughout our organisation the tool for the work we are doing.
We believe in Solidarity, Freedom, Equality, Equity and Peace. Within our daily work with children and young people (our target group), we are implementing them as we go.

The role of the ESC volunteers would aim for the following:
- Making international work more visible
- Participate in the activities and preparations for Kinderfreunde/ Rote Falkens targets group and expanding skills and learnings.
- Getting to know different sectors of youth organisations and what work of a youth NGO could look like. Especially profiting of the diversity of the diversity of our organisation has to offer.
- Getting to know, experiencing and implementing project management step by step.
- Experiencing (international) solidarity within our work
- Getting to know non-formal education and learning to implement and facilitate it.

Their profile would be:
- Age 18 – 25
- English an advantage but not necessary
- Enthusiastic or interested in work with children and young people
- Interested in Non-formal education
- Open to work with refugee children and families
- Interest in the daily business of a campsite, including marketing, maintenance, welcoming guests, …
- Wish to work on a diversity of skills and developing them.
- Interested to international work and solidarity projects.
- Open attitude towards the values of Kinderfreunde/Rote Falken