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Description
The project proposal meets the need for better understanding between the general population and the cultures of minorities with focus on the Roma. The overall objective of the project is to improve the situation of the Roma in Bulgaria, using culture and art as a tool for developing skills, capacity and as a pathway to education, as well as to stimulate greater social cohesion in Bulgaria through improved mutual understanding as a bilateral process between the general population and the cultures of minorities. The target group of the project are 200 Roma children and young people from Stolipinovo district in Plovdiv and villages around the city. The project will include also 10 young Roma artists and art students. In the presentation of the project products representatives of different ethnic groups from the region of Plovdiv and Lom will be involved - more than 500 people. The focus of the project will be the inclusion of 60 children and young people in theater workshops led by a professional Roma actor and NATFA graduate, who will prepare two theater plays - one based on a Bulgarian author text and the other on the topic of traditional Roma wedding, with public performances in Plovdiv. The process will be filmed and a short film will be produced and disseminated in Bulgarian and English. A parallel ethnographic study of the Roma wedding as a cultural phenomenon will be carried out in Plovdiv and Lom areas, and the results will be presented at two educational seminars in the two cities. The project will be finalized with two press conferences in Plovdiv and Lom, which will precede the opening of two photo exhibitions of 50 art photographs to further promote the results of the project and its implementation. To ensure successful implementation of the project and the events, the teams of the applicant and the partner will be trained in competences and skills to organize and conduct public cultural and educational events. A bilingual project website will be developed.
Summary of project results
The overall aim of the project is to improve the situation of the Roma population in Bulgaria, using culture and art as a means for skills development, capacity building and as a pathway to education, as well as to stimulate greater social cohesion in Bulgaria through improved mutual understanding between majority and minority cultures with a focus on Roma as a two-way process.
The highlight of the project was to include 60 children and young people in a theatre group led by a professional Roma actor, who has created two theatrical performances - one by a Bulgarian author and the other on the theme of a Roma wedding, which have been presented to the audience in the Bulgarian town of Plovdiv. The whole process was filmed and a short film in Bulgarian and English was produced and distributed. A parallel ethnographic study of the Roma wedding as a cultural phenomenon in the regions of Plovdiv and Lom was carried out and the results were presented in two educational seminars in the towns of Plovdiv and Lom. The project also included two photo exhibitions with about 50 artistic photographs, which will further promote the results of the project and its implementation process.
The project team with representatives of the promoter and the partner were trained in competences and skills for the organization and implementation of public cultural and educational events.
The project managed to increase access to the culture of ethnic and cultural minorities (with a focus on Roma) and to cultural processes in Bulgaria. It also strengthened the engagement of the majority through cultural and educational events to celebrate the contribution of Roma culture to the development of Bulgaria''s national history and culture. The project has reached a wider audience and gave the opportunity for Roma artists to present elements of their culture, knowledge, skills, achievements and to stimulate their development as equal participants in joint cultural projects, it attracted new audiences, including in remote areas and piloted new educational forms and arts learning activities such as the model of educational theatre.