Igazgyöngy Foundation: Art School Rewriting Childhoods in Hungary's Poorest Region

Working since 1999 in the Berettyóújfalu micro-region of Eastern Hungary, one of the country's 33 most disadvantaged areas, the Igazgyöngy Foundation runs an elementary art school reaching around 600 children each year across six towns and 23 settlements. About 70% of its students are disadvantaged, including roughly 300 living in deep poverty, most of them Roma. Its 'triple-focus' method combines child-centered visual arts education with family social work and community development, and its students win more than 500 prizes in national and international children's art competitions every year. Beyond the classroom, foundation staff keep close contact with families, distributing charitable aid and helping connect children to medical care.