20 years «owf» Sri Lanka

(Short film by Thomas Wirthensohn)

one world foundation

one world foundation is a private organization in Sri Lanka running a school which provides free education to more than 1,100 children, adolescents and adults and is financed with the proceeds from a guest house. For our 20th anniversary we’re planning a special publication for which we will need your support! We want to invite authors, artists and experts from all over the world to vividly reflect the development of our non-profit initiative so far and more importantly the future possibilities for expanding it. The book will include both a European perspective as well as the experiences and visions of agents and partners in Sri Lanka. The publication is to expand the interest in the «social sculpture» one world foundation and encourage people to get involved in this sustainable project or to found similar initiatives.

The Book

The book will be bilingual (German/English) and have approximately 196 pages. Publication is planned in August 2015 by the publishing house Schlebrügge.Editor in an edition of 1,500 copies.

The following contributions are planned:

• Essay about one world foundation by Doron Rabinovici
• Additional literary contributions by: Dimitre Dinev, Maja Haderlap, Robert Menasse, Kala Ramesh, Cordula Simon, Brita Steinwendtner, Ilija Trojanow und Andreas Weber
• Perspective Sri Lanka: Thenuwara Chandraguptha (artist) and Varuna de Silva (architect)
• Expert contributions about the concept of the school and the economic model of one world foundation
• Many illustrations
• Layout/Design: Gilbert Bretterbauer

School Project

Since its foundation in 1995 our school has constantly grown. Whereas in the beginning it counted approximately 100 students, in 2004 schooling and training was already provided to 700 children, young people and adults. That was before the Tsunami hit on 26 December 2004 and left the owf facilities completely destroyed. Today, on our newly built school campus, we offer free educational programs from pre-school to professional training to more than 1,100 students.

Curriculum

While the school was growing we also continuously enlarged our curriculum. Initially the focus was on English courses and programs for pre-schoolers and women. Now, under the direction of one of our former pupils, Mr Prabath Wijesekara De Zoysa, the school’s curriculum also includes subjects such as music, sports, photography, computer and IT courses and since 2010 language courses in Tamil.

Fair Tourism

one world foundation promotes a form of tourism based on mutual understanding and a fair exchange. The school program of owf is financed with the proceeds from our guest house – a lasting investment in the future of the host country. Travelling thereby educates in both ways: visitors through their travel and the Singhalese through the education provided by owf.

Artist / Writer in Residence

In 2009 Galerie Krinzinger in cooperation with one world foundation started an Artist-in-Residence program. An artist studio was built on the grounds where our school facilities used to be until the Tsunami in 2003.

one world foundation also provides a Writer-in-Residence program curated by the writer Robert Menasse. The residencies are open to writers who either work on transnational and/or transcultural projects or who are interested in telling of a world we all share but do not always know.

Thank you!

We would like to thank you for your support! This publication will be a contribution to the future of one world foundation and it will ensure that the school will continue to grow and thrive.