Hungarian Peripatetic Association
The direct precedent of the foundation of the Association was that the leaders and representatives of the literature camps that had been organised since 1972 within the frames of the Hungary met in Gárdony first in the summer of 1989 and then in Nagykökényes, where they decided that in correspondence with the act of unification accepted at the beginning of the year they organise and create their camp pedagogical ideas independently. The association was founded on 3rd September 1989 with the participation of about fifty camp organisers by the mutual agreement of 43 legal persons. Our objectives are aimed at the practical realisation of the universal human ideals and the representation of the social-corporate values, and in the course of asserting these we disregard one-sided ideological commitments.
The association is one of the biggest organisations of Hungary that supports student groups inside and outside the borders, it supports about eight thousand organisations that organise camps for youngsters between 12-20 with its methodological, professional and modest financial activity.
We think that the realisation of the so-called thematic camps (art, social-corporate, traditionalist) is ensured by the educational program that is related to the experiences of meaningful togetherness, so mentors (group leaders) or animators (playmates) and instructors (helpers) take part in the realisation of the camps.
There are 150 camps every year where the participants can become familiar with the basic problems of our natural and social environment and the social-corporate relations of human life. The experience that precipitates from the above mentioned interactions in many different ways can mean an experience for the participants that they will remember all their life, so we find that the creation of the harmonic environment of the mind, the soul and the body and the use of the common educational means are very important.
Normally, in the course of this the camp meetings are grouped around one basic theme, let it be the life-work of a poet, writer or scientist, perhaps the time axis of an era of history and art or a natural change, outstanding turning points of tradition. All of these widen the horizons of the growing-up youngsters so that they will devote more and more attention to comparing their own values with other people''s values, to composing their questions and, after a while, to answering them. The Peregrinate Student Foundation and the planned Peripatetic Educational Centre serve the realisation of our aims.
Methodological principles
SINCE 1989 the directorate of the Hungarian Peripatetic Association has annually recomposed the basic methodological principles that provided a basis for the association to be able to provide financial help for the applying groups to organise camps. In the course of organising the given camp it is important to compare the fundamental pedagogical and group-organising plans composed as a recommendation for example with the practical values of the traditions of the literature camps.
As a general aim we can declare that the camp meetings are specific ways where people can think together in groups, and they create initiative grounds in the process of character development, and they definitely support national cultural traditions and the meaningful possibilities of living in a social group while they can get to know their own values and social relations and compose principles for every participant who is older than ten.
Knowing how to use libraries, reading culture, applying sciences and other activities within the circle of self-education are not the primary aims but rather necessary means to organise social groups, because camp meetings can be realised in many ways but in each case they have to have the following characteristic features in common:
(1) the leaders of the camp and the leaders of the smaller groups within the camp should become a team, a group that is capable of creation having corresponding ideas, so that the camp is based on a well thought over idea with a distinct educational aim that is characterised by an elaborated picture of the world and the future, (2) it lasts at least for ten whole days, the suggested number of participants is about 30-60 people, (3) its most important basic methodological units are the small groups, and its most characteristic activities are meditating discussions in small groups and the creation of activating situations, in the course of which (4) the participants start out from their own everyday problems. (5) In the camp environment the relationship between the leaders and the participants is understanding, protecting and friendly. The group leader (mentor) takes part in the group work as a conversation partner and being so he/she only directs, stimulates and summarises the essence of the conversations. (6) Literature that helps to explore reality is usually worth using as an experience, argument, topic for discussion or helping material for preparation, as well as (7) lectures, discussions, games, situation games, etc. According to the local facilities these are led either by the leaders of the small groups, the permanent helpers of the camp or the "conversation partners" invited for one or two days. (8) The sessions for developing different abilities, like singing, making music together, drama games, different activities of visual arts and folk art are led by professional instructors. It is a basic requirement that there are at least two or three possibilities in the camp for activating and ability development, like folk dance, folk crafts, making ceramics and others. (9) Regular sports facilities, encouraging doing exercises, mental hygiene relaxation, yoga. (10) Excursions, village research, homeland hiking, nature walks. (11) Any other things in connection with the specific camp traditions, surprises that call the attention on solidarity. (12) It is necessary and very important to have other cultural groups, associations, funds or institutions join in organising and realising the regular meetings of the participants of the camps that can be planned in advance.