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Description
The project introduces an innovative and integrated service to the local community - its aim is to strengthen and enrich human resources through art. In supporting individuals to balance their professional and personal lives, it focuses on strengthening internal factors, such as coping skills, efficiency, problem-solving and interpersonal skills. An empowered individual manages his or her life more efficiently and knows how to take advantage of a company''s external measures to achieve the reconciliation of life spheres, which is successfully supported in Slovenia by the Family-Friendly Company Certificate project. The specific goals of the project are to establish a Creative Center that would work as support environment for employees, to provide quality care for minors by teaching them about sustainability topics, and to provide support to employees, employers and mentors in work organizations. Local environment lacks measures that help strengthen abovementioned internal factors, which also involves prevention in the field of mental health. Mental health, which underlies health and well-being in general, importantly shapes social and economic stability, social well-being and has a significant impact on the quality of life. In local environment, care for quality free time is supported by the sports infrastructure, while creative activities and dealing with art, which are known for beneficial effects in terms of improving life management competences and balancing the spheres of life, are neglected. Creativity competence is recognized as the key future competence. The project takes a holistic approach to tackling the challenges, supports the establishment of a Creative Center, fosters sustainability through equipping the center with repurposed furniture, enables participants to engage in creative activities and handicrafts, and teaches about reuse based on knowledge about the positive impact of art on mental health.
Summary of project results
The project aimed to strengthen work life balance skills and competences, such as coping skills, self-efficacy, life management and problem-solving skills and raise the awareness about the importance of work life balance in the local community. The project idea was based on scientific evidence showing the positive impact of practicing creativity on wellbeing, resilience and stress management, which is why the project tackled the internal factors, such as individual''s soft skills and competences, with the innovative use of art and creativity. In addition to strengthening adults’ soft skills the project has addressed sustainability by building sustainability skills for children.
The project set up the Creativity center in the Koper old town, offering a cozy space for employees to spend quality leisure time and thus take a break away from everyday worries and stress, supported by quality child care.
Throughout the project, activities were implemented for a total of 1188 participants. The activities for adults included various workshops, namely 11 ceramics handbuilding courses, 15 short ceramic workshops, 17 wheel throwing courses, 18 “clayfulness” workshops and 6 artistic expression workshops, 5 DIY workshops, 6 photography workshops, and 12 workshops in cooperation with the local artists.
Children had workshops with different topics, such as environment, biodiversity, as well as intellectual and handicraft workshops. Alltogether 230 children attended the workshops.
Project started the initiative to form a local network of organizations to raise awareness of the importance of work life balance. Initial meeting, two public events and additional two educational sessions have been organized for the members of the local network. They have also trained 30 mentors and formed a network of mentors who were trained to carry out the activities in their organizations.
The project team created and published the innovative program connecting creativity and psycho-social content aiming into strengthening the work life competencies within the organizations. They also trained 30 mentors and connected them into the local network for raising awarenes of the importance of work life balace. The network was launched by the initial meeting followed by two public events/conferences and two educational workshops about communication skills and the benefits of the flow state.
All project activities have been carefully evaluated. Satisfaction rate has been evaluated using questionnaires and implementing the Book of compliments and comments, while the impact of project activities has been explored within the research conducted by the Science and Research Centre Koper. The vast majority of participants were extremely satisfied with the Creativity Centre''s programmes. Most of the participants expressed that they felt the creative content made them feel focused, calm, playful, immersed and safe. The research results were in line with the scientific data on the impact of creativity on well-being, used as the theoretical background for the project. Participants indicated that clay workshops presented a space where they could switch off their minds, silence their bothering thoughts and forget about time, duties and everything else besides the moment they were in. Most participants perceived a sense of relaxation during the workshops, and some were relaxed also after the course. All of the described feelings are important in developing mindfulness, which can be an important tool for reducing stress levels in the short or long term and better work life management.
At the very end of the project the team produced a video explaining the core content of the project.
Summary of bilateral results
The donor project partner Culture Break Borders brought the knowledge and experience to the project, they especially gave a substantial contribution to the innovative program. Bilateral cooperation was mainly about knowledge exchange and mutual learning. The main result of the cooperation is the improved Innovative program for employees empowering them to better manage work life balance. Influenced by the donor partner, the project team included art into the program and used some of the principals of the Art Therapy, presented by the donor partner. The idea to cooperate in the next project proposal together with one of the donor partner’s team members is being discussed.