RESHAPE URBAN PLACES project takes place between 01.08.2014 – 31.11.2015 in Brasov, Romania. In frame of this project, Remi from Germany, Egle from Lithuania, Ina from Germany and Pierre from France spent 11 months in Romania, between 01.10.2014- 31.08.2015. The project aimed to promote handicrafts, traditional art and an environmental- friendly thinking among the youngsters of Brasov.
Main project aims:
1. to raise awareness regarding traditional values and products from communities around Brasov;
2. to increase tolerance between different communities and different social groups;
3. to encourage active participation of youngsters;
4. to develop entrepreneurial competences among local artists and artisans;
5. to promote the idea of sustainable development and environmental- friendly behavior.
Main activities& results
First part (October 2014 – January 2015) focused on offering different opportunities for the volunteers to get in contact and understand local culture and different traditional crafts. The activities implemented in this period offered an intense intercultural exchange between volunteers and different local communities:
- Non-formal education Day event, organized together with the volunteers from Inside Ride and Inside Journey project and focused on sharing childhood games and activities from volunteers’ countries and regions, as well as from Romania;
- A traditional Romanian gathering, Şezătoare tradiţională, organized in Întorsura Buzăului, not far from Brasov. The event gathered people of different ages eager to share parts of Romanian traditional culture through some traditional crafts, dances, music, food and different stories.
- Weekly gatherings, called Sezatori Urbane, based on the style of Romanian traditional gatherings, where youngsters from Brasov were invited to participate at different creative activities: printing on t-shirts, making bracelets, recycling pallets into furniture, decorating the walls by common paintings etc.
- presentations in different highschools from Brasov in order to promote different volunteering opportunities, as well as weekly activities offered by Mirakolix
- Cineforum – weekly movie evenings initiated by Pierre, from France, together with Thomas, from the Netherlands (volunteer in frame of Inside Journey project);
- Regular activities in a German afterschool in Brasov.
The second part of the project (February – May 2015) focused on community-oriented events and activities, aiming to bring traditions in the urban space and to promote these traditions among youngsters from Brasov and around. Besides the regular activities from the previous period, volunteers organized different events in this period:
- Contemporary dance and theater performance “Viscol”, initiated by Egle, from Lithuania and based on an adaptation of old Romanian poem “Iarna pe ulita” to contemporary movement and theater interpretation. The performance combined different cultural elements and the talent of both international volunteers, and local teenagers.
- Non-formal activities developed for “Scoala Altfel” week in Sacele: creative recycling, international cooking and traditional dances.
- Collaboration with incubator107 Brasov to organize several workshops which were generated by community members and presented in a big event: “Nocturna cu palarie”. This offered a dynamic space for sharing creativity, knowledge and skills. A wide range of workshops has been offered by different members of the community: spanish cooking, jam session, body percussion, redecorating old clothes etc.
- Weekly non-formal activities in Grigore Moisil highschool from Brasov (creative recycling activities and discussions about volunteers’ countries and cultures)
The third period of the project (June – August) focused on integrating bjects and products realized during different workshops into outdoor events organized in Brasov and around Brasov. These events aimed to promote playing and games as an effective and funny method of learning, as an alternative for free time and leisure activities, but also as an healthy and responsible behavior towards the environment. Some of the realized events were:
- Afară în parc într-un Braşov de poveste- (Out in the park in a fairy tale Brasov) – outdoor events organized in parks in Brasov between May – August 2015;
- „Fest Camp”, 14-18 July 2015, Acriş, Braşov county;
- „Ceva de Vară Festival”, 2nd edition, 18-19 July 2015, Întorsura Buzăului, Covasna county.
Other achievements of the project:
- over 6000 hours of volunteering (local and international volunteers);
- promotion of more than 10 local artists and artisans in Brasov community;
- 3 personal projects:
Egle: Contemporary dance performance „Viscol”
Ina: Mira’kologic campaign and a series of recycling workshops;
Egle, together with Vero („Inside Journey”) – „Fest Camp”.
- personal development
„I learned to embrace differences in culture, beliefs and opinions as they broaden my horizon and teach me tolerance.” (Ina, Germania)
” … the EVS opportunity itself let me understand that there is a possibility to realize ideas that I have in mind and those ideas are worth to realize.” (Egle, Lituania)
- professional development:
“I did youth work before but EVS helped me, to gain new creativity and approches in the field of non-formal education and I am sure that the experience made here will be useful for my future working process.” (Remi, Germany).
“I would say I did activities this year, a cinema forum for example, which for me were a way to develop and share some reflections or thoughts about the world and the society.” (Pierre, France).
Beneficiaries:
- Direct beneficiaries of the project were the 4 European volunteers from Lithuania, Germany and France.
- Beneficiaries of the activities:
- approximately 20 youngsters from Brasov participating in the weekly activities „Sezătoare Urbană”;
- around 150 youngsters from Brasov that participated at “Nocturna cu palarie” event and the workshops that followed in May;
- approximately 10 artists, young artisans and passionate youngsters from Brasov which could offer different workshops in frame of the activities organized by the volunteers;
- 25 highshool teenagers from Grigore Moisil highschool;
- aproximately 170 youngsters from different highschools from Brasov that could find out about different volunteering opportunities and about activities offered by Mirakolix ;
- 30 children from 1st grade from a German afterschool from Brasov;
- 25 youngsters from Gymnasium School No. 5, Sacele;
- around 100 visitors and participants in the outdoor events organized in Brasov;
- 26 youngsters from Întorsura Buzăului, Braşov and Predeal that participated in FestCamp;
- 35 volunteers from Braşov, 27 volunteers from Întorsura Buzăului, 9 volunteers from Predeal and 27 people from partner organizations involved in preparing the second edition of Ceva de Vară festival;
- over 750 visitors of all ages from Ceva de Vară festival.
RESHAPE URBAN PLACES project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This communication reflects only the views of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of information contained herein.