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Description
Negative stereotypes, discrimination, hate speech against vulnerable groups in Bulgaria, ad especially against Roma, LGBTI and refugees, have become a growingly alarming issue. At the same time the NGO sector has low capacity for efficient communication and there is no diversity and creativity of communication approaches to address this issue. The project will first raise knowledge and acceptance of specific vulnerable groups and raise sensitivity and intolerance to hate speech by developing a broad range of efficient communication measures to overcome negative stereotypes towards the vulnerable groups (an omnibus of 5 creative videos and three different innovative creative formats: WESEUM, Inside Out and Sprints, resulting in a series of pop-up museums, public exhibitions and art actions); second, boost the capacity of civil society organizations and activists to create evoking communication products by promoting the strategic use of creative approaches and innovative tactics, organizing a dynamic boot camp and an interactive conference and developing a series of training materials (a guide for visual communication and a series of online publications); third, support communication efforts of organizations and activists by creating a bank of visual materials (posters, illustrations, etc.) about human rights that can be used freely in campaigns and events; finally, attract new communities (artists, cultural professionals) as active supporters in the fight for protection of human rights and against stereotypes towards vulnerable groups . Project beneficiary is the general public and the main target groups are civil society organizations protecting and promoting human rights. The project will also benefit three disadvantaged groups of the public: the Roma, LGBTI and refugees.
Summary of project results
The project addressed negative stereotypes towards vulnerable groups in Bulgarian society who are victims of hate speech. On one hand, the project aimed to strengthen support for and raise awareness of human rights in Bulgaria by developing a wide range of diverse, effective communication measures. These measures focused on overcoming negative stereotypes towards vulnerable groups, particularly the Roma, the LGBTI community, and refugees/asylum seekers. On the other hand, the project increased the communication capacity of groups that are object of hate speech, as well as civil organizations that advocate for their rights.
The project successfully executed a multi-year, multi-faceted creative campaign, encompassing the following activities:
1/ We produced the omnibus LOUDER THAN WORDS – a video compilation dedicated to challenging stereotypes towards various vulnerable groups in Bulgaria. Fine Acts collaborated with five Bulgarian directors to create five short films on hate speech, all adhering to a common creative constraint: they are all shot without dialogue.
2/ We conducted three editions of our WESEUM format, featuring 45 individuals from the three groups most targeted by hate speech in Bulgaria – the Roma, the LGBTI community, and refugees/asylum seekersWESEUM is our global series of community-curated pop-up museums.
3/ We launched LOUDER THAN WORDS – an inspiring public photography exhibition featuring portraits of 54 courageous individuals standing against hate speech.
4/ We implemented our innovative format SPRINTS, engaging 20 exceptional Bulgarian illustrators to address the theme of overcoming negative stereotypes towards vulnerable groups in Bulgaria. The resulting collection of illustrations, titled TRADITIONAL VALUES, was presented in a pop-up exhibition in Sofia. This creative endeavor aimed to challenge the notion of something being "contrary to traditional values" as a pretext for limiting people''s rights and inciting division and hatred. Through this action, we reaffirmed the true traditional values of society – love, acceptance, and support. Additionally, all works were featured on TheGreats.co, our unique platform for free social impact art, under a Creative Commons License, enabling non-profit organizations and activists worldwide to utilize them for their campaigns and communications.
5/ We organized the CREATIVE ACTIVIST SUMMIT – the first-of-its-kind event in Bulgaria dedicated to creative communications and campaigns, emphasizing their strategic use by activists and civil organizations.
6/ We developed a series of free-to-use resources for the NGO sector – articles, interviews with artists, a handbook, a collection of visual works, videos – all published on our CreativePlaybook.org platform.
The project successfully accomplished all its objectives and generated a variety of creative and communication products by employing diverse and innovative approaches to address negative stereotypes towards vulnerable groups in Bulgaria. The primary methods and tools utilized included:
1. Facilitating cross-disciplinary collaborations to foster socially engaged creative actions, products, and formats that effectively communicate the project''s themes in innovative ways.
2. Actively involving vulnerable groups and their representatives as participants, consultants, and direct users of project outcomes.
3. Integrating diverse communication approaches with a specific emphasis on visual language and elements.
Civil organizations, the primary target group of the project, were directly engaged as participants in the conference and training sessions, as well as consultants in all creative activities, with a particular focus on organizations representing the three main groups affected by hate speech. Additionally, civil organizations were indirectly involved as users of all creative products and free-to-use resources generated during the project.
The project reached a total of 1,505,887 people online.
https://fineacts.co/active-citizens2
https://fineacts.co/creative-comms-campaign
https://fineacts.co/weseum
https://fineacts.co/creative-activist-summit
https://fineacts.co/traditional-values
https://creativeplaybook.org/