§ 2 purpose
The association is non-partisan, pursues non-profit purposes and does not aim to generate a profit. It promotes adult education and adult training in the area of the SOS Children's Villages idea to support and enable its implementation, as well as the processing and evaluation of the organization's development with the aim to disseminate and deepen the idea.
§ 3 Ideal means to achieve the purpose
To realize its purpose, the association maintains the Hermann Gmeiner Academy, which serves as a spiritual centre and meeting place for all employees and friends of the SOS Children's Villages organization, as well as for the promotion, ideational cultivation, deepening and dissemination of the SOS Children's Villages idea.
In order to achieve this purpose, the association sets itself the following tasks in particular:
I. Provision of a spiritual home and care for SOS Children's Villages mothers/fathers and other employees of the SOS Children's Village organisation.
II. Organization of events, e.g. seminars, conferences, meetings, which are open to all employees for various forms of training and further education, friends of SOS Children's Villages and friendly organisations, with the association providing the necessary teaching and learning material.
III. Professional public relations through documentation and publication.
a) The association documents the historical development of SOS Children's Villages. For this purpose, relevant visual, audio and text documents are researched, newly processed, collected, archived, analyzed and made accessible to interested audiences within and outside of SOS Children's Villages.
b) Publication of - partly scientific - work with special regard to the work in the SOS Children's Villages facilities.
c) Presentation of SOS Children's Villages as a socio-pedagogical model of youth care.
d) Presentation of SOS Children's Villages as an international organization. . Raising of social awareness for peace and understanding.
e) Provision of a library and archive dedicated to topics relevant to SOS Children's Villages for all SOS Children's Villages employees.
IV. Organization and implementation of Hermann Gmeiner days. These are seminars, conferences or workshops held to further the integrative development of the SOS Children's Villages idea.
V. Presentation of honours and awards to persons who have rendered outstanding services to the SOS Children's Villages idea.
VI. Professional exchange of experience and cooperation with other organizations dealing with child and youth issues.