Description
Between January and March 2016 the project promoter mapped the needs of their partner settlements and 11 of them signaled interest in the project. They are all open to cultural and arts programmes. The project promoter organised meetings with professionals who they have been in touch with over the past years, who work with artistic tools that are capable of activating communities, and who have experience concerning disadvantaged and depressed communities. Workshop leaders from the following fields of art were recruited: photography, film, drama and forum theatre, active culture, circus, literature, creative writing, poetry and slam poetry, story telling, land art, stencil, community music and conducting. At the first stage, in the summer months of the project, in the frame of artistic events in each village the project will hold pilot workshops. This way, during the summer every settlement will become familiar with at least 3 types of workshops. The Roma coordinators and the local community helpers, municipalities and institutions of the villages will help the project create the conditions required for these events and pilot workshops. Based on their traditions, amenities and available infrastructure and, most importantly, on the feedback of the local participants of the pilot workshops, the workshops will be ranked and a maximum of three types of workshops will be selected. The workshops will be organised by the Roma coordinators and the workshop leaders between the autumn of 2016 and the spring of 2017 and will be documented with video recordings and photographs. The workshops will include the selection and training of local helpers and their preparation for the period between the workshops and after the project. Community talks will be organised with the help of the Roma coordinators with a view to convincing local representatives to continue operating the workshops through the employment of cultural public workers and external helpers.
Summary of project results
The aim of the project was to build older traditions or to create new traditions by launching new types of art initiatives that move the community closer. Another aim was to convince the leaders of communities and institutions that community cultural and artistic activities were able to give hope and opportunity to create new, sustainable, mutually coherent communities and cultural traditions, and thus create new horizons for the members o the community. Of the 12 possible sessions 8 types were selected by the 11 settlements involved in the implementation, so there was a pilot activity that was presented in several settlements. The frequency with which workshops took place depended on local needs and the nature of the activity. Typically, they were organized on two or three monthly occasions, or organized as camps. The first session, the Film Creation Camp, was held in Kővágószőlős. Here the locals decided to make a film about their own lives, relationships and problems. Even the film scripts were jointly written by locals. The film was released on 26 November 2016 in a community screening project in the village. There were a total of 688 regular participants in the 11 settlements. In addition to the professional leaders and local coordinators, local volunteer assistants were involved in the implementation of the sessions. During the project, the organizational competences of local assistants have improved and their local recognition has also strengthened. In several settlements, an initiative has been launched to allow employment to continue after the funding period.
Summary of bilateral results