People with special needs, migrants, other people, who are trying to fit in! Let’s help the society to accept them! We will use art as a medium for better understanding of their lives as it influences people emotionally! Citizens will draw problems, portraits, disabilities …, of socially excluded people. Paintings will influence "the society" to understand the problems we are trying to solve. Empathy and knowledge will help with social inclusion. Art exhibition will straighten the democracy.

In the town called Maribor in Slovenia.

We live in a small town and we are facing many problems with social inclusion. The number of kids with special need is rising dramatically year by year, we had to welcome immigrants in our city, the number of other migrants is also rising. Then there are other groups of people that we should help include: the unemployed, the recovered alcoholics and drug addicts, the minorities living in our city (gypsies) ect. These are all groups of people that need to be included actively in our society. And that will happen only if people get to know them better and accept them as they are. We will bring these people closer to the majority by art.

*For our local community, for better acceptance and social inclusion of all people (Invalids, people with special needs, immigrants, migrants, ...) To create better environment for living, for equal opportunities. To raise awareness that we are all different, but still the same.
*For the people of local community. To change their perception of people that “are different”.
* For the people that are being socially excluded because of their disabilities, different cultural background, …
*For our organisation to be more recognisable in our local community, to be able to work more in contribute more importantly to development.
*For the artists in our city, society. They will be given an opportunity to help change the world through arts!!

We will:
1. Form groups of participants (children, youth, elders, beginners or already artists,…) that will participate in the project.
2. Organise educational activities: Participants will get to know all the important groups of socially excluded people in our environment. We will connect with organisations that are working with them in Maribor and organise different events (interviews, lectures, presentations,…) so that our participants will learn about their lives, problems that that they are facing in order to be able to present them through art.
3. Organise Art classes: Our participants will be invited to draw with all the necessary help and instructions from art mentors.
4. Organise ART exhibitions of the paintings.

With the:
-first activity we will activate and motive the local residents to actively participate in our project. Result: A group of active citizens.
- second activity we will educate people. Result: They will gain knowledge about them and also develop empathy towards them.
- third activity we will teach the participants how to catalyse “the knowledge and empathy” through art. The result: the paintings. Empowerment and better recognition of socially excluded people: as their lives will be the main motif of the paintings. The empowerment of participants (artists) - they are doing something good for community.
-art exhibitions we will be changing the perception of people.The results: Changed attitude towards socially excluded people, better democracy.

We will present stories of people that need social inclusion through art, so that they will be better accepted. The community will be more aware of their needs, disabilities and their lives will be more recognizable. People will better understand the background of their lives and will develop empathy. The community will accept them better with knowing them. This project will also empower the people who need social inclusion, because it will give then value and acceptance by local community which can only have positive impact on their lives. In the communications with our participants they will also connect with people and develop new friendships. Being invited to our art exhibitions will also empower them as important contributors to our society.

We are all active citizens, participating in different projects on a local level, with the purpose to achieve a better quality of life for all of us in our local environment. We believe we can do that if we are all equally accepted and happy, that is why social inclusion is important to us. Everybody can contribute to our community with something to make it better. Let’s find that something!
Let's make our society better for "our children", no matter what their disabilities, friends and cultural background is!

Project management: 12.000
Art mentors: 12.000
Material costs (paints, canvas, place, administration): 6.000 eur
PR, Social media manager: 5.000
Internet page: 1.000
Art exhibitions: 12.000 eur
Travel costs and expenses: 2.000 eur
total: 50.000 eur

Yes, we woul be happy to get feedback from others on the platform.