Description
A.R.T. Fusion Association, in partnership with Partners for Local Development Foundation (FPDL), with „Start the engine of change in your community” aims to generate a database with information about the situation of young people in marginal areas of Bucharest and their civic involvement, needs across their communities and existing opportunities; skills development in the field of civic participation of young people from 90 schools and disadvantaged areas in Bucharest, through their engagement in change community groups in a period of 18 months. Community Organizing and non-formal education methods will underline the development of these groups; developing a comprehensive package of resources on community intervention through forum theater, human library and photo voice in the context of community organizing and adapting this model to different types of communities; organizational capacity development of A.R.T. Fusion Association, to act as a resource center for initiatives to stimulate civic participation, especially among young people, for a period of two years.
Summary of project results
Civic involvement continues to be quite low in Romania, especially among young people from deprived areas and backgrounds. They are distrustful of their ability to make a difference and have a low level of trust in the power of state institutions to improve the overall situation in society; thus, their interest to exercise the rights they have as citizens is very low. The problem addressed by the project is the low level of civic participation of young people from disadvantaged areas. The project empowered the youth involved to act as active citizens in the community. Project activities were focused on an individual approach, centred on skills development (critical thinking, interpersonal communication, organising and planning, decision making, problem solving, leadership) for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, as well as on group processes that helped participants learn methods to take a stand for themselves and the community they are part of in various situations of social oppression. Relevant examples for this approach are: the forum theatre plays, which addressed violence in schools, among students as well as students' violence and abuse directed toward teachers; the Photo Voice exhibitions, which revealed problematic situations (deplorable state of a laboratory, dirt in bathrooms or in the schoolyard etc.). Some solutions to these problems were implemented during the project: in 2 highschools food machines were brought after students signalled this problem. Among the main results, there can be mentioned: 39 facilitators trained in working with nonformal methods, 6 forum theatre plays, 10 performances in schools, more than 300 people in the audience (students and teachers), a forum theatre play with students from three high schools performed at the Festival of Children's Rights, 10 Living Libraries with 51 living books, more than 230 readers, Photo Voice implemented in 5 highschools during “Săptămâna Altfel” 2015. A package of resources was developed for further use of the methods in similar environments.
Summary of bilateral results