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Description
The Laboratory of Ideas refers to the needs of children and young people regarding their growing up into responsible and active members of the society and community to which they belong.
The target group consist of 25 children and young people from the area of the city of Knin, as well as the municipalities of Kijevo, Biskupija and Kistanje. All these areas are underdeveloped and the assisted areas. Project Activities will contribute to the empowerment and inclusion of deprived areas by advocating for change among the youngest members of these communities. Continuing the cooperation with the Knin Social Welfare Center, children and young people at risk will be included in the project. The Biskupija municipality has a predominantly Serb population, the Kijevo municipality has a predominantly Croat population, while the Kistanje municipality is inhabited by Croats from Janjevo (Kosova) and an autochthonous Serb population. By connecting the youngest members of these communities, intercultural dialogue develops and influences positive changes in the future.
We connec the personal dimension of development, through exercises and development of social and communication skills and non-violent conflict resolution skills, with the cultural and socio-political and environmental dimension. Target group will learn about rights and responsibilities, different cultures and decision-making and political community structure, cultural heritage. Children and youth will have the opportunity to fully adopt and connect all the elements necessary for the inherent adoption of values, attitudes and skills that make them responsible and active members of society. By establishing youth councils, drafting a document on the situation in the local community, designing and implementing public volunteer actions, meetings with government officials, the target group will specifically apply what they learned from the workshops in the field of participatory democracy, activism and volunteering.
Summary of project results
The local community covered by the project consists of the municipalities of Kijevo, Biskupija and Kistanje and the city of Knin. Association "Magical World" operates in the mentioned areas and is familiar with the problems that children and young people face. The city of Knin and the 3 listed municipalities have a development index below 100 and belong to goverment assisted areas. They are faced with displacement and a decline in the number of inhabitants and the number of children.
In the territory of the municipality of Kijevo, lives Croat population, in the territory of the municipality of Biskupija, predominantly Serbs, while in the municipality of Kistanje, the Serbian population and Croats from Janjevo live. Ethnic and religious diversity continues to represent an obstacle in the development and integration of these communities. In February 2021, the Magical World Association conducted an online survey in which 117 respondents participated. The purpose of the survey was to determine the needs of the residents of Knin. The results showed that only 23.1% of respondents were satisfied or completely satisfied with life in the city of Knin. They emphasize the need for group workshops for children and young people (59.8%) and the need for better spending of free time, educational workshops and workshops for the personal development of children. Furthermore, they point out that the youth center should be a place to spend quality free time through education and group workshops, encouraging the development of social responsibility and volunteering.
Project is therefore focused on the needs of children and young people regarding their growing up into responsible and active members of society and the community to which they belong.
Through the project, a series of educations for children and young people were carried out connecting the personal dimension of development, through exercises and the development of social and communication skills and non-violent conflict resolution skills, with the cultural, socio-political and ecological dimension, through which they learned about rights and responsibilities, various cultures and ways of making decisions and the structure of the political community, as well as the preservation of cultural heritage.
On one-day trips to the municipalities of Kijevo, Kistanje and Biskupija and the city of Knin, they had the opportunity to learn in detail about their community and to connect with each other.
By applying what they learned at the trainings, the participants founded the Youth Council, which was conceived to have an advisory role in their communities and would promote the active roles of young people and children in the community of which they are an integral part. Council members also created a document in which they gave their view of the community and presented it to representatives of the city and municipal authorities. The Youth Council, based on the perceived problems in the community, also designed four volunteer actions to eliminate or alleviate selected perceived problems in the communities where they live.
Through the project, children and young people have learned and integrated all the elements necessary for the inherent adoption of values, attitudes and skills that make them responsible and active members of society. They directly apply gained knowledge in the field of participatory democracy, activism and volunteerism.
In overall, project has improved an integrated approach to care for children at risk of poverty and social exclusion and increased the availability of free programs aimed at social inclusion of children and families that are at risk of poverty and social exclusion.