Description
The precarious situation of the Roma people is reflected directly in the "ghettoization" them. One of the most popular ghetto-type neighborhood in Bucharest is the Ferentari where live several thousand people, mostly drug addicts and involved in illegal activities (such as theft, prostitution, etc.). Many of these children are talented, but they will be able to capitalize never talent due to lack of access to cultural opportunities and education cultural. Given that many of them can not write or read, cultural education and skills development through native is considered a luxury (and all a "luxury" education is the "normal" form - only a tiny percentage of children Ferentari ghetto ends well eight classes). This project considers that the extension to the ghetto-type - a space that is not covered by any cultural operator - the possibilities of carrying out activities in the artistic field and cultural stake is not only a cultural, but also a social one: it is a chance given younger generation and perhaps a whole generation of artists to have access to future the only path that can lead them towards the exit from disadvantaged backgrounds living. The project is aimed at the development of cultural and artistic abilities among 15 Roma and non-Roma children (aged 9 to 14 years old) from one of the poorest ghetto type area of Bucharest (Ferentari neighborhood). The project aims to ensure access to culture through an innovative array of artistic activities, including theater workshop for children, preparation of a public play, video products such as dissemination trailer and teasing videos, participation in theater festivals and public performances. The project will emphasise the power of culture in changing the attitudes and the behaviour of the vulnerable children, in articulating values and in changing the perception of marginalised ghetto type communities from being havens of criminality to havens of hope and positive transformation.
Summary of project results
This project was designed with the belief that adapting arts and culture initiatives to the needs of children living in marginalization and discrimination conditions can help them to better integrate and express what they go through and at the same time enable them to use and develop their creative skills, which are rarely promoted by formal education. This was done with a view to increasing their self-confidence, to improving their own view with respect to their life prospects. To respond to these needs, the project “Stories from the school yard” aimed and succeeded to stimulate the cultural production among minority and disadvantaged groups via the development of cultural and artistic abilities among 15 Roma and non-Roma children from one of the poorest ghetto type areas of Bucharest, the Ferentari neighborhood. The project did this by working with the children in weekly theatre and improvisation classes and involving them in the common creation of a cultural product – a theatre play, based on their own stories, which was performed in front of a varied public. As the project progressed, eight of the older children focused more on theatre workshops where they developed a theatre play in which they had leading roles. The play was performed at 7 different cultural locations in Bucharest, ranging from independent theaters to café-type bookshops, to a theatre festival, to other cultural event venues, as well as a school in their own neighborhood. The shows gathered a total audience of over 500 people – both adults and children – and brought full-house representations for all 7 shows. In addition, the project involved the creation of a video trailer to promote the play, as well as two video spots to promote the anti-discrimination component of the project. Both the trailer and the anti-discrimination spots greatly surpassed expectations in terms of viewership on social media. The trailer achieved over 8,600 views on Facebook, while the two anti-discrimination spots went quickly viral on social media, achieving over 150,000 views and 880 shares, almost 10 times higher than initially planned. While the initial objective of the project was to involve the children in the play, the children have now gone a further step and feel ownership of their own co-created artistic product, which is seen as a result of their teamwork that they can now perform with minimum input from the coordinator and even make adjustments to.
Summary of bilateral results