About JustNow
Croatian Educational and Development Network for the Evolution of Communication (HERMES) is a non-governmental, non-profit organization with activities throughout entire Croatia, and in the wider regional area of former Yugoslavia. The mission of HERMES is education for democratic citizenship, through developing and applying innovative (non-formal) educational programs based on promoting non-violent communication methods such as structured and critical thinking, active listening and radical empathy as conflict resolution/prevention tools. HERMES’s activities revolve around using applied debating skills for the purpose of fighting discrimination, contributing to active participatory citizenship, raising awareness about human rights and facilitating the building of an open and inclusive democratic society.
The mission of the International Association for Intercultural education (IAIE) is best described in terms of its main aims and activities. (1) To examine the implications of the societal contexts of education and the relationship between society, nation state and the international contexts and the situation of individuals, groups, and minorities within them. (2) To contribute to the development and implementation of intercultural education in multicultural societies. (3) To promote the exchange of information, knowledge and materials about all relevant issues concerning education in multicultural societies among teachers, teacher trainers, and professionals working in curriculum development, research, and educational policy. (4) To initiate, react and respond to activities developed by international and national organisations in the field of education.
The Krzyzowa Foundation for Mutual Understanding in Europe is a politically independent, non-profit organisation. With its International Youth Meeting Centre, Memorial Site and European Academy, it has more than 35 years of experience in the field of non-formal education in an international context. The Foundation is based in Lower Silesia, Poland, on the former estate of the von Moltke family, where the Kreisau Circle, a German resistance group against Hitler, met in 1942/43. In its educational activities, the Krzyzowa Foundation draws on the spiritual heritage of the Kreisau Circle, the democratic opposition in Central Europe, the tradition of Polish-German reconciliation (after 1989 the historic “Reconciliation Mass” in Krzyzowa), creating a spirit of responsibility and openness to others, diversity, readiness for dialogue towards peaceful coexistence of nations, social groups and individuals. The Foundation’s work focuses on the main areas of education, such as history and civic education, education for democracy and civic engagement, education for sustainable development, including environmental education based on the ecological garden on the Foundation’s premises, and cultural education to promote creativity and international dialogue through various forms of artistic expression.
The Kreisau-Initiative gives space for education and encounter in which particularly young people can gain the skills they need to shape a European society that is characterised by democracy, solidarity, and sustainability. This space for education and encounter takes the form of international inclusive youth exchange programmes as well as training courses for educators and people who work with youngsters. Their subjects revolve around the areas of contemporary history and human rights, inclusion, and social-ecological transformation. The Kreisau-Initiative was founded in 1989 with the purpose of supporting the set-up and maintenance of an international youth meeting centre in Krzyżowa, Poland. Today, the centre is managed by the Krzyżowa Foundation for Mutual Understanding in Europe, and both organisations cooperate closely – nearly 80% of the association’s events take place in Krzyżowa. Apart from that, the Kreisau-Initiative participate in a network uniting organisations in over 20 European countries. Thus Kreisau-Initiative’s work has got a European character with a focus on Polish-German cooperation.
