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Description
The main subject of the project is the reconstruction of the former Jewish school, which is part of the cultural monument - the synagogue Levice. It is currently unused and in poor technical condition and unfortunately the existing constructions no longer fulfill their original purpose. The roof is leaking and could damage the whole wooden bridge system. In a state of disrepair, the external plasters with huge cracks that endanger the statics. During the implementation of the project, demolition work, excavation work, construction work and remediation works will be done, resulting in the reconstruction of the former school building. Afterwards the reconstructed Jewish school should serve as a space for education, cultural activities, as a center of creativity of the city and the region, along with a permanent exhibition on the lives of citizens of Jewish nationality in the town and region. Many various events will take place with the help of the project partners.
Summary of project results
In addition to the restoration of the functionalist building of the former Jewish school, which was built in 1934 and its complete reconstruction, the main goal of the project was to solve the problem of growing extremism, racism and xenophobia among young people by creating a permanent exhibition about the life of minorities, specifically Jews, in City of Levice. In order not to forget the lives and destinies of the people who formed the City of Levice, lived an active social life, created cultural values. By presenting the culture, traditions, folklore, customs of the national minorities who lived in the interwar period in City of Levice, bringing their way of life, philosophy and knowing them to eliminate phobias of otherness, thus preventing the increase of discriminatory theories. The project was also supposed to achieve the integration of minorities and the improvement of the cultural situation of the city. One of the goals was also to find suitable cooperation with local and regional craftsmen, revive traditional crafts and pass on the cultural heritage to the next generations through targeted activities.
The result of the project is a completely restored national cultural monument - building of the former Jewish school. City of Levice has acquired an architectural gem – a functionalist building that they can not only be proud of, but which actually provides premises for exhibitions, a permanent exhibition on the life of minorities in Levice called "We Lived Together" has been created. In the exhibition, you can learn about important personalities who made our city and region visible (e.g. director Ján Kadár, writer Terézia Engelová, fencing representative Judita Bolemanová, etc.)
With the help of measure of virtual reality, the visitors can move to the period of the interwar Levice, the 1930s-1940s, they can walk from the Synagogue through the square to the railway station (this simulates the last journey taken by fellow Jews before going to Auschwitz), at the end they will appear names of 1015 displaced fellow citizens.
The music for the paintings was composed by Mr. Miroslav Rác, a Levice, whose work is a respectful memorial to the innocent victims of the Holocaust. The documentary film with the same name "We Lived Together", created on the subject of Moše Hoch''s book, Levice citizen, who survived the Holocaust, met with great response and emotions.
The result of the project is also a workshop room where creative activities take place: working with clay, working on the potter''s wheel, the tradition of leather craft, felting, working with scales, blueprinting, weaving, etc. We had a series of professional seminars for secondary and elementary school teachers on the topic: Terminology of fascism and Nazism, Holocaust in the arbitration area and in City of Levice, Education about the Holocaust - theoretical starting points and practice with expert lecturers from the Museum of Slovak National Uppraising in Banská Bystrica.
Exhibitions of photographs by well-known artists: Yuri Dojč Last Folio, UmeNIE vojne, exhibition of works by severely disabled people The world as we see it, exhibition of local artists OKO. Cooperation with ZUŠ P.Kadosu, as the project partner, was excellent. They perform at project events, perform concerts in new spaces. School pupils were part of a workshop at the Schubert fest. Music production and concerts were an important educational tool. A cozy cafe and shop were created, where visitors will soon be able to buy products made in our workshop in addition to good coffee.
The result is promotional material in which the visitor can read about the reconstruction of the building, the project, but also the history of the Jewish school.
With the importat support of the media and targeted promotion, the project is becoming more and more known not only to local residents. Within the sustainability period - in the summer 2024, the promoter already prepared summer workshops for school-aged children, where every Thursday, under the professional supervision of a lecturer, the children modeled from clay, glazed, they could take part in a dance workshop where they learned the basics of folk dance from the Tekova area, tried out the work of an illustrator with professional illustrator Hedviga Gutierrez, participated with the theater workshop or had the opportunity to see and experience the work of a canistherapist. Cooperation has started with the district organization of disabled people in City of Levice, with the day care center Ostrov civic association, with the Municipal Youth Parliament in City of Levice. The secondary and elementary schools in City of Levice and in its district - the target groups of the created educational programs, were approached for the deeper cooperation. Pupils, students, teachers have created a space for experiential teaching of history, civics, regional history, but also art education.
Summary of bilateral results
The project benefited mainly from the sharing of know-how and best practice from the donor project partner. With its experience, the donor project partner provided the promoter with new perspectives on the project''s activities. As part of the project, the promoter cooperated and communicated with the partner during the entire project implementation period, and at the same time, the Norwegian partner visited the project in Slovakia several times. The cooperation continues and we are preparing other joint projects. As it was mentioned above, the promoter continues to fulfill the cooperation. Other projects include other planned workshops for the applicant''s employees regarding effective communication, promotion and the design of promotional manuals.The networking with other potential Norwegian partners is also planned with the help of donor project partner.