Description
The project reacts to the low level of awareness in Czech society of children's rights and of threatened children. Society´s expectations from children raised in institutional and foster care are more likely to be negative than positive. The aim of the project is to increase public awareness about the child's rights and about the situation of vulnerable children. The project will create a documentary comics trilogy consisting of three authentic biographical stories of vulnerable children. The comics will be created by recording life stories of real people – assailable children or young people - who lived in alternative care institutions or foster care. They will become not only narrators, but also co-creators of the comics and participate in the final form of the book. The comics will be distributed also to the public libraries and centres of the foster care. Social networks such as Facebook and Twitter will support the initiative. The project will be also presented at a public and open exposition. The target group - assailable children - will raise their voices. Their stories and the media campaign will highly affect the professional as well as the general public. The aim of additional activities (approved in June 2016) is to deepen current activities and implement 3 new ones. Dissemination will be strengthen by organising discussions in foster houses with comics heroes and authors, seminars for Universities and Colleges, holding public debate on a topic of vulnerable children in our society and comics exhibition. 4th comic will be released and literary completion will be organised (for children in foster houses, social care workers, assistants, foster parents etc.)
Summary of project results
The perception of children growing up in institutions and foster families is still quite negative in the Czech Republic and it is not reflected enough. The discussion about children´s rights needed to be incited and children needed to be involved. It is even more important as the reformation of the whole system of care about endagered children depends on sufficient numeber of foster parents available. Unfortunately, there is still a lot of prejudice about fostering children, especially those coming from minority groups and the general knowledge of the whole process is little. The aim of the project was to raise awareness and overcome prejudice. Four comic books documenting real stories of children growing up in institutional or foster care were published, illustarted by four different comic artists. The books were distributed for free by addressing the public via project´s website, Facebook and direct mails to schools, libraries, NGOs and media. They were also distributed at respectivebook launches, during discusssions and workshops that were organized at universities, children´s homes and primary schools etc. Moreover, the books were distributed to experts, journalists, children´s homes, primary and secondary schools, universities and vocational schools, libraries, NGOs, organizations working with foster families and the general public. In total, 4,500 copies were distributed (1,500 copies of each book of the original trilogy and 500 copies of the book prepared as a part of the additional activity). The books could also be ordered on the project´s website. All the books are now available in electronic form. For each outcome, a video spot was made to promote it. In September 2016 a literary competition was called where people sent stories about their experience with institutional or foster care. An expert committee selected the best contributors, who were awarded at the launch of the original trilogy. A collection of the winning stories was published as “In Another Home”. The authors of the project, together with a main character of one of the comic books, took part in discussions at schools, universities, children´s homes and organized one discussion for the general public. The project was also promoted e.g. at a comic workshop and exhibition of parts of the comic books. The project contributed to the discussion about children´s rights with authentic stories that helped to raise interest and awareness of the topic of institutional and foster care.
Summary of bilateral results