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History

Already ancient Greek Clowns played for sick and suffering people, but the contemporary, professional clown projects in hospitals originated in the United States. Almost everyone knows the movie Patch Adams – who actually used Hollywood to promote the idea of humour as a remedy. But it was Michael Christensen who was the father of the “real” Clown Doctors.

He was the one who founded the first clown care programme in New York in 1986. The first professional organisation in Europe CliniClowns was co-founded by Monica Culen & Giora Seeliger (our associated partners) in Austria in 1990.

Red Noses Clown Doctors International

Based on almost fifteen years of experience with professional clowning work in Austria, Red Noses Clown Doctors International (RNI) was found in 2003 by the Red Noses Austria trust. Ever since then, professional clowning work has reached beyond Austria’s borders. RNI is particularly interested in bringing clowning programmes to other countries where hospital conditions for children might be even harder.

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The purpose of the RNI charitable trust is first and foremost to aid in the care of the sick and needy, the professional artistic training of the clown doctors and their continuous education, permanent quality control of the partner organisations and the facilitation and the research of humour. Measures are the promotion of projects and the co-operation with organisations who follow the same targets. To fulfil the purpose of the RNI trust, all Clown Doctors organisations in other countries are established with the target to be self-sufficient and are committed to RNI through the principles via a partnership agreement.

The Red Noses Group acts as a network and through head branding, the exchange of know-how and experience, the use of joint training facilities and administration synergies it can guarantee a high quality standard for all organisations.

Chair: Monica Culen, Founder and CEO of RED NOSES Clowndoctors Austria, Chair of Fundraising Verban Austria, tutor at WIFI Vienna (Fundraising College)
Artistic Director: Giora Seeliger Artistic Director and Founder of the RED NOSES Trust, Founder & Director of International School of Humour, Vienna, Actor & Theater Director
www.rednoses.eu

The development of the New Zealand organisation

After the preparation he started in Oct. 2007, Professor Thomas Petschner, a German health scientist living in Christchurch, contacted the Red Noses International (RNI) headquarters in Vienna in Jan. 2008. Due to his vast experience as a diagnostician and his research in human bahaviour & humour, he is entirely convinced of the importance of RNI’s mission: bringing joy and laughter to sick and suffering people. Thomas’s goal was to implement a professional hospital clown programme in New Zealand with the help of RNI.

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Natalie Porias, an RNI Project Manager, came to New Zealand to meet up with Thomas and his friendly team in February 2009. Together they worked intensely on the start up phase and on spreading the spirit of special hospital clowning.

Due to great commitment and the preliminary work of the New Zealand team, the first important steps for a charitable trust were taken to implement a professional hospital clown programme in the southern hemisphere.

In the course of the next few months Thomas Petschner & Rita Noetzel met many people to find prospective trustees.