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Description
Common objective – promoting multicultural dialogue between Roma and other ethnicities through arts, tangible and intangible cultural heritage. Specific objectives: •Increasing the participation of Roma people in cultural events; •Development of skills and capacity for cultural exchange between Roma people and other ethnicities through training and common cultural initiatives. The project will address the needs related to: •Stimulating the Roma community to participate actively in public cultural life; and •Preserving and developing the cultural identity of minority communities and educating tolerance for different ethnicities in the community. Target groups to be covered are: •people from the Roma ethnic and cultural minority, including Roma artisans, students and young people; •employees of the project partner organisations; •civil society, including disadvantaged persons and persons interested in culture and the arts; •persons in remote areas; •experts engaged in the field of art and culture, including representatives of the Roma ethnic and cultural minority; •representatives of local and state authorities, the non-governmental sector, socio-economic partners and Roma leaders.
Summary of project results
The overall project goal was to promote multicultural dialogue between Roma and other ethnic groups through the arts, as well as through tangible and intangible cultural heritage. The specific objectives were to increase Roma participation in cultural events and help develop skills and capacity for cultural exchange between Roma and other ethnic groups through training and joint cultural initiatives.
The project managed to enhance the capacity of the project partners to work with ethnic minorities in the field of culture thanks to a two-day training of 10 staff from the two partner organisations.There were also 4 ''creative talks'' held between young Roma and non-Roma artists and professionals from schools and qualified teachers in the field of art and culture with a focus on Roma children and youth, which can influence their future personal and professional development.
The project established a ''School of Folk Dancing and Singing'' that is bringing together traditional arts of Roma and non-Roma and training 50 children and youth under the guidance of professional teachers of folk singing and folk dancing to create a concert-performance involving Roma and non-Roma children and youth. Four 2-day Celebrations "Art and Culture for All" were held in smaller settlements - two in the town of Kyustendil and 2 in the town of Vratsa. The two-day celebration includes a concert-performance of the school of folk dancing and singing, a plein-air painting session with the participation of children from both ethnic groups, workshops of crafts with the participation of the master-craftsman from the "Bratstvo 1869" Community Centre, who makes Kuker masks, health amulets, folk costumes and craftsmen from the "Vasil Levski" Community Centre.
The project results enhanced multi-ethnic cultural dialogue between Roma and non-Roma children in the Kyustendil Municipality, increased capacity of the project partners and developed skills for holding cultural events related to ethnic and cultural minorities as well as attracting new audiences. It also increased capacity of the municipality in the town of Kyustendil to educate Roma children and youth through the arts and creative expression.