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Description
We already have something behind us, we are growing and we need bigger space for growth. Karlovy Vary and the whole region lack a larger multifunctional space for creative education, culture and community events. There is no shared and attractive space for associations or individuals. No one will create it for us, so we start it ourselves.
We have acquired an old technical building premises from the municipality, which we are transforming into the DIZAJNPARK creative center - a place for creativity and meetings that will develop the potential of the city and the region.After a long decline, other associations, informal groups and enthusiastic individuals have appeared in the city, sharing our need for such a place. That is why we want to associate, cooperate and professionalize together around DIZAJNPARK. We want to join forces, set up functional cooperation and processes, learn to lobby for a common cause, set up a common strategy and planning for future cooperation, attract donors and be able to take care of them.We want to address especially the group of young people 14-27 years old, which is essential for the future of our community and region and involve them into implementation and sustainability of the unique concept of a shared center. Also support them in their activism, their ideas and development. Establish a relationship with them and find a suitable strategy for involving them and profiling volunteers from them.If we can do this, we will revitalize the city center, offer new services to residents of the surrounding residential areas, inspire other local city centers to similar activities and contribute to a positive image of a city worth living - we implement a city and regional development strategy despite minimal or no support from public administration.
Summary of project results
Karlovy Vary and the whole region lack a larger multifunctional space for creative education, culture and community events. There is no shared and attractive space for
associations or individuals. No one will create it for us, so we start it ourselves. We have acquired an old technical building premises from the municipality, which we are
transforming into the DIZAJNPARK creative center - a place for creativity and meetings that will develop the potential of the city and the region. After a long decline, other
associations, informal groups and enthusiastic individuals have appeared in the city, sharing our need for such a place. That is why we want to associate, cooperate and
professionalize together around DIZAJNPARK. We want to join forces, set up functional cooperation and processes, learn to lobby for a common cause, set up a common
strategy and planning for future cooperation, attract donors and be able to take care of them. We want to address especially the group of young people 14-27 years old, which is essential for the future of our community and region and involve them into implementation and sustainability of the unique concept of a shared center. Also support them in their activism, their ideas and development. Establish a relationship with them and find a suitable strategy for involving them and profiling volunteers from them. If we can do this, we will revitalize the city center, offer new services to residents of the surrounding residential areas, inspire other local city centers to similar activities and contribute to a positive image of a city worth living.
In this project we looked into several problems not only in our town but also in the whole region. The problem was that there was no community, cultural, creative or
educational centre in Karlovy Vary and its surroundings, where people could meet up, create, do things and present themselves. Thus there is no active civil society or
community here aware of itself. Within the project we managed to reverse this situation for different target groups. We managed to open the Výměník centre to the public,
young and active people of all generations and to form and shape our service offer, opening hours, regular activities and services. Despite long and difficult negotiations and agreements together with a few other associations, we succeeded to agree on cooperation and were able to anchor it in strategic documents. We managed to set up the collaboration so that each organisation is involved as much as it needs to be, creating together events for the local community. We have worked out the rules for the space and for the organization as it keeps on growing in capacity and needs to become more professionalized and sustainable in the long run.
We have also involved the public and community not only in attending the events but also in supporting the space itself. We have increased the number of collaborating organizations, both corporate and public, that are interested in the space as well as raised the awareness of the space, its qualities, attractiveness and its potential within politicians in the town. The biggest benefit of this project is that Výměník centre has won its audience that wants to come here and attracted diverse communities of people of different or mixed age groups who regularly keep visiting the place. This is a clear sign that this space is needed in the town and that there are people who want and have the desire to do things, they just haven''t had the space and haven''t had the opportunity to do before. A great benefit is also the cooperation of organizations both within Výměník and the external organizations, which bring new topics and together generate ideas for services not only for the general public, schools and youth, but also for the disabled and socially or mentally handicapped. The mutual support of people and organizations thus creates a human ecosystem that has not yet been here before and without which this town and region would have keept its reputation of “always the worst”!