More information
Description
Institute for the Support of Civil Society Initiatives and Multicultural Cooperation Pekarna Magdalenske mreže is active in the field of youth, culture, and civil society. The institute is building a stimulating environment for networking, co-management, socially engaged art and civil society activism.
The main challenge that Pekarna tackles is creating space for alternative culture and critical literacy intended for use in working with the youth, youth workers and teachers. They promote the interconnection of the international creative scene with the one in Maribor and ensure a greater presence of foreign artists in the city, while also connecting the artistic community with other communities in the local environment. As the coordinator of the local network of volunteer organizations "Volunteering in Maribor", they strive to establish a favorable systemic environment and to recognize the importance and role of volunteering in the local environment. Pekarna is addressing the challenges by actively promoting alternative culture, critical literacy and giving space to volunteers and youth.
In the next three years Pekarna will be able to program pillars of the organization will be thematically unified around key topics, thus responding promptly to current social conditions, more effectively reaching target groups, and gaining greater visibility in society and the media. They will set up a Critical Literacy Center, which will encourage the youth, youth workers, and teachers to use critical literacy tools for engaged participation in social life. As a vibrant artistic community, they will examine current social issues in the local environment.
The organization is actively engaged in cooperation with the local municipality of Maribor and engaging the public in decision-making processes and promoting transparency and anti-corruption.
Summary of project results
With organizational support, the implementation of the organizational strategy has addressed the challenges and needs of the environment, which we recognize at three levels:
Youth: Through our years of work with young people and collaborations with other youth organizations and schools, in recent years we have noticed a strong increase in content that directs young people away from active citizenship and participation in decision-making processes. More and more frequently, the content emphasizes individualism, competition, and consumerism. As a result, young people are increasingly less equipped with the knowledge and tools to critically examine current social circumstances and the characteristics and consequences of the socio-political system.
Culture: During the pandemic, the consequences of long-term neglect of the independent cultural sector were fully revealed, exposing the deficiencies, struggles, and unsustainable conditions in which self-employed individuals in the culture sector and NGOs in the field of culture, especially those outside of Ljubljana, operate. The neglect of culture at the national level is also reflected in the understanding and acceptance of culture at the local level.
Civil Society: Civil society, which includes both non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and self-organized groups of citizens, has faced additional political pressures and threats at the national level during this period. At the same time, the inadequate understanding of the role of civil society and, consequently, the lack of dialogue with civil society, is reflected in the regulation and funding of NGO programs and services, frequent disregard for professional proposals, opinions, documents, etc., prepared by NGOs, and in the exclusion of the public from deliberation and decision-making processes.
As part of the strategy implementation, activities were carried out to establish strategic partnerships, with which they developed educational programs, conducted training for young people, established a critical thinking center, and worked in the field of film art: professional educational content in the field of short animated films for adults, the International Stop Motion Animation Festival StopTrik, educational models in the field of animated film and its marketing... They developed the residency art platform SobaZaGosteMaribor and established collaborations with the local community.
Seven partnerships have been established (with high schools and universities) that promote and operate within the critical literacy center. Young people have developed and carried out 8 social initiatives (two protests in support of Palestine, Solidarity Days with Palestine, screening of Between Two Crossings, radio shows Youth to Youth...). The recognition and popularity of the StopTrik festival has increased: The number of festival visitors (for screenings and music events combined) in 2023 was 1,920. The number of invited guests increased from 55 in 2022 to 62. The number of films screened in 2023 was 1,198. During the support period, the number of media appearances significantly increased. Annually, we now record over 70 appearances, including 40 major articles.