Czech Republic

KURO Hradec Kralove z. s.

Non-governmental organisation/association

Organisation KURO Hradec Kralove z.s. was founded in 2012 to support the culture and to promote

volunteering in the city of Hradec Kralove (approx. 100.000 inhabitants). We are aware of the fact

that intercultural dialogue and non-formal learning could have very positive influence on the young

people through active engagement to different kinds of activities, as well as on the community he/she

is doing his voluntary service for. From beginning of KURO existence in Hradec Králové we have

been committed to local community needs in terms of cultural and educational activities, as well as

assistance to local charity partners. On the other hand, we are working on promotion of non-formal

education through different international projects (Youth Exchanges, Training courses etc) under

Erasmus+ and other EU Programmes. As a part of our efforts we are introducing international

volunteers to our activities sharing common experiences and skills within multicultural dimension.

Our vision is: we believe that education and culture are building stones of modern society. We create

environment for non-formal education and learning in the fields of active citizenship. We want to

improve the chances of employment of people with voluntary experience by connecting non-profit

and commercial spheres in fields of recognition of non-formal education. Our main target groups:

children and youth, students, teachers, social workers, youth workers, civil and governmental

institutions, NGOs. Main projects we develop are: -We are Sending, Hosting and Coordinating

organisation for Volunteering projects since 2013 -We annually organise training courses, seminars,

study visits under Erasmus+ Programme -We spread the word about experiences gained by

volunteering and engage other non-profit, educational, municipal ,or even commercial organisations

in cooperation in the field of volunteering – Through our networking activities we foster cooperation of

various organisations in the region -We organise various seminars, presentations, youth exchanges,

aimed mostly on development of volunteering, youth participation, active citizenship, inclusion of nonformal

learning methods to formal education, complementary economic systems etc. – We support

the recognition of non-formal learning and volunteering experience on Labour market. -Our region is

not very cosmopolitan and it is full of stereotypes, so we promote participation of young people and

all those, who are interested in non-formal education and projects at the local and international levels.

-We annually organise the Festival of Street music to support culture in our city and make streets

alive by all genres of music; all that with help of our volunteers. -Recently we have organised local

voluntary club with local branch of Charita organisation in order to reinforce civic participation,

promote volunteering and citizenship. -We organise educational, cultural, language presentations,

open discussions for local community. Moreover, since active involvement to Erasmus+ long-term

courses, including first KA2 project (since 2017) related to reinforce recognition of non-formal

education into formal settings and support youth empowerment, we embraced ICT and especially Elearning

as a tool. So, one of the main strategic goals for coming future is to strengthen ICT capacity

and to introduce more tools into local and international youth work and volunteering service. Another

long-term goal of organisation is support non-formal education and learning on academic level within

collaboration with University of Hradec Kralove (as well is international partners), and writing articles

into indexed scientific journals as part of dissemination plan. The staff of KURO HK is composed of

many professional experts with different competences in several sectors such as languages,

economics, psychology, communication, education, social services. Besides the paid staff, the

association also relies on the voluntary work and collaboration of more than 10, mostly young, people

who are also specialised in the above sectors, and who work in KURO HK activities as volunteers

and interns, coming from the local and international contexts. KURO HK has the operational capacity

to implement the project activities and we have the necessary expertise in the fields of the project,

the local partners necessary for implementation and sustainability as well as the necessary

motivation. Concerning the financial management KURO HK has an external accountants that

manage the finances of all projects and activities.