eRko – Hnutie kresťanských spoločenstiev detí (eRko) is a Catholic youth organization in

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

. eRko is a member of the Catholic umbrella of youth organizations "

Fimcap The FIMCAP, which is short for Fédération Internationale des Mouvements Catholiques d’Action Paroissiale (French for "International Federation of Catholic Parochial Youth Movements"), is an umbrella organization for Catholic youth organizatio ...

". eRko is registered at the Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic as a non-governmental organisation. eRko is also a member of

CIDSE CIDSE, which is short for "Coopération Internationale pour le Développement et la Solidarité" (French for "International Cooperation for Development and Solidarity"), is an umbrella organization for Catholic development agencies from Europe an ...

. eRko is based in

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

parishes as well as in

Greek Catholic The term Greek Catholic Church can refer to a number of Eastern Catholic Churches following the Byzantine (Greek) liturgy, considered collectively or individually. The terms Greek Catholic, Greek Catholic church or Byzantine Catholic, Byzantine Ca ...

parishes. eRko is one of the biggest children's organizations in

History

*1973: During the Communist rule in Slovakia Catholics were not allow to organize themselves in organizations. However, nevertheless some activists started to lead children from Christian families in 1973. Until the 80s the number of these activists increased and an underground movement was established. This movement had the goal to help children to become of mature personalities, thus enabling them to contribute to the development of the Church and the society in which they live. The movement wanted to base this formation on the Christian ideals and the utilisation of personal life as the basic substance. *1989: The

velvet revolution The Velvet Revolution ( cs, Sametová revoluce) or Gentle Revolution ( sk, Nežná revolúcia) was a non-violent transition of power in what was then Czechoslovakia, occurring from 17 November to 28 November 1989. Popular demonstrations agains ...

in 1989 increased the liberties for the inhabitants of Slovakia to organize themselves. This encouraged the foundation of various associations by citizens and performance of miscellaneous activities. Also the originally "illegal" Christian underground organisations registered officially and started working publicly and freely. *1990: After the end of the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

it is possible for eRko to register at the Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic as an official non-governmental organisation. *1995: The project Dobrá Novina was set up. *1998: eRko becomes observer member of

. *1999: eRko organizes the campaign Peace for Sudan. During this campaign more than 10,000 children from

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

and

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

sent letters to president El-Bashir and colonel Garang expressing their hope for peace in

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

. *2002: In 2002 eRko sent first three volunteers to

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

. From that time eRko has gained experience of preparing and sending volunteers to work in the area of development cooperation. *2013: eRko becomes a member of CIDSE. *2015: eRko hosts the

EuroCourse 2015. The title of the course is "Enjoy your freedom!". *2015: eRko celebrates its 25th anniversary in

Košice Košice ( , ; german: Kaschau ; hu, Kassa ; pl, Коszyce) is the largest city in eastern Slovakia. It is situated on the river Hornád at the eastern reaches of the Slovak Ore Mountains, near the border with Hungary. With a population of app ...

Aims

The aim of eRko is to assist children and young people to become mature responsible Christian personalities involved in the development of the society they live in. eRko wants to implement this vision through the personal example of young volunteers who experience the life in the community together with children. The core values of eRko are: lively faith, joyful service, open community, respect for life, responsibility and trust.

Patrons

The patrons of eRko are Saint Stephen, Saint Melchior and Saint Mark.

Activities

*meetings in local groups and parishes *trips, carnivals, summer camps and other activities *courses, workshops, seminars and trainings for youth leaders *REBRIK: is a Christian magazine for children. It is issued every month in 12,000 copies. *LUSK: is a Christian magazine for Christian youth leaders. It is issued every month in 1,000 copies. *Switch off TV, switch on yourself! campaign: *Dobrá Novina (English: "Good News"): is the biggest carol singing campaign in Slovakia and one of the biggest charity campaigns by young people in the country.cf. also Jančovič, J, Fialová, Z and O’Mullane, M (2015)
Development Education at University Level in Slovakia: Experiences and Challenges
', Vol. 20, Spring, pp. 166-185.

External links

Homepage of Dobrá NovinaEnglish part of the Homepage of eRko

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:ERko - Hnutie krestanskych spolocenstiev deti Catholic youth organizations Fimcap CIDSE Child-related organisations in Slovakia