Description
Joint creative and art therapy workshops for children in the Praga Południe community of Warsaw and children from an integration class in Kopavogur in Iceland. Exchange of education experience, integration and emancipation of young participants from both countries. Cultural and social exchange. Joint artistic creation. Joint on-site and virtual activities. Engaged youth, educators and artists from both countries - all working together. Unconventional artefacts will be developed and physically presented to wider audiences in Poland and virtually presented in Iceland and internationally. We rely on the experience of therapists, street workers and education methods applied by Icelandic educators.
Summary of project results
"The children living in Kamionek cannot count on their families' support, they are often brought up by their mothers and many stepfathers, and their caregivers are addicted to alcohol. These children often play truant, they stay outdoors all the time, they live in poverty and are malnutritioned, they are emotionally neglected, their self-esteem is very low and they get aggressive. The children from an integration class in Iceland find it difficult to integrate in the community, their self -esteem is low. ""Kamionek - Kopavogur"" is an innovative artistic and community project addressed mainly to children from dysfunctional families. The project implementation included workshops on new media and creativity run by renowned modern Polish artists and addressed to children from disadvantaged groups in Poland and children from and integration class in Iceland. The workshops focused on showing the children some models of alternative behaviour. Working with the artists, the children had the opportunity to discover new passions and talents, develop skills of cooperation, self-discipline and to express emotions without aggression. The aim was to help children increase their self-esteem. 14 children participated in the workshops. They learned how to use new media, how to make short videos about a specific subject and why it is important to build an image - they took part in creating an e-platform which they later used for presenting themselves to their peers in Iceland. The Icelanders were supposed to integrate with the Poles and to increase their self-esteem. The children participated in film workshops, assisted by the teachers from the school in Kopavogur, they helped create the e-platform. The project implementation included 36 various activities, 17 were designed for the children from Kamionek only and 19 activities included all participants. A documentary was made, e-platform and the website were created, exhibition of unconventional artefacts was organized and the project has its FB profile. The project beneficiaries were children from Warsaw community Kamionek and children from an integrated class in Kopavogur in Iceland. The added value of the project implementation is cooperation of the coordinators and pedagogues from both countries and exchange of experiences on education and upbringing."
Summary of bilateral results
The Foundation was going to organise social and artistic activities addressed to excluded children from the Praga district of Warsaw. Therefore it contacted the Icelandic Cultural Centre in Breidhold focusing on the animation of the local community. Representatives of the Foundation took part in a study visit to Iceland, where they met with activists from the Cultural Centre and other institutions indicated by the Partner - i. a. the teaching staff of school in Kopavogur. They lernt about working methods used by the Icelandic authorities and discussed the principles and programme of the planned joint project. The Association and its partner - school in Kopavogur - received a grant for the thematic project in the third call for proposals.