Description
The "Directing the Future: Integration Through Cinematographic and Non-formal Education" project will be implemented by the Romanian Film Promotion Association for 18 months, in Cojocna, Cluj county, a multi-ethnic village with 3360 inhabitants, of which 29.67 % Roma. The problem identified is the integration of Roma into society, the project proposing a different approach: it is aimed at children, who are most likely to accept change, with the maximum potential to develop their own desire for integration, and takes place outside the community so that children will gain their own new experiences. The main objectives are to increase awareness of the benefits of integration, for 100 children, aged 7-14 years, mostly Roma, in a 10-month educational program consisting of 80 workshops for film education and psycho-emotional development; information campaign incresing the awareness level of the community members about the role and importance of education.
Summary of project results
The activities of the project included workshops for film education and psycho-emotional development, for 5 groups formed of 20 children each (2 groups aged 7 to 10 and 3 groups aged 10 to 14). The structure of a module consisted in 8 sessions of 4 hours each, that included one workshop for film education and one workshop for psycho-emotional development, as well as recreational activities (e.g. visits to historical and cultural objectives in Cluj-Napoca or meetings with actors / famous photographers). The workshops for film education and psycho-emotional development took place at TIFF Studio – Casa TIFF in Cluj-Napoca. The selection of the 100 beneficiaries was based on non-discrimination principles, and a total of 80 workshops - 40 for film education and 40 for psycho-emotional development - were developed and adapted to the participants’ age. During the workshops, the children had the opportunity to develop their cinematographic knowledge (regarding the role of a film director, what is a cinema, what is a documentary, what is an animation, what is a script etc.), as well as the following competences: emotional (e.g. to wait for their turn in a game situation, to express if they are feeling happy, angry, sad or afraid), social (e.g. to follow the rules and instructions that they receive, to understand the consequences of disobeying rules), personal autonomy (e.g. to know how to use the fork and knife, to realise which situations are dangerous – crossing the street, using matches etc.), aggressive behaviour versus socially accepted behaviour (e.g. not to laugh at anybody else’s misfortune, to speak about their opinion or discontentment in an appropriate tone, not to be physically aggressive). The children have also made video recordings in their communities, out of which a documentary film was made to be projected in Cojocna. During the project, an information campaign was implemented at the level of the entire community in Cojocna, which had as a purpose increasing the level of awareness among the entire population upon the importance of education. Information regarding the access to education and the impact it has on children’s future, implicitly on the future of the entire community, was distributed and promoted.
Summary of bilateral results