The project strives to enlighten the problematic of LGBTIQ individuals living in traditional societies. The activities which will be conducted during the project realization process include: writing a scenario (script) for a play intended for high school students, working with amateur actors and preparing for the play, inviting sociologists to encourage discussions and debates after every performance as well as arranging performances in many different high-schools.

Project takes place in Imotski, Inner Dalmatia, Republic of Croatia.

The city of Imotski and its surroundings belong to a rural area which is characterized with extremely emphasized traditional values oriented towards the homogeneity of society. Intolerance, when it comes to anyone and anything different is commonly accepted as normal, therefore younger generations are being raised in accordance to that. This presents a serious problem which we will attempt to portrait through artistic activities performed by amateur actors. After every performance, an expert -sociologist will hold a short presentation about human rights, followed by a moderated debate with inclusion of audience. The play will be performed in 4 high schools and 4 times repeatedly in each (for freshmen, sophomores, junior and seniors) whilst the audience will gather approx.500 young people.

The goal of the project is to reach out our target group - young populations (500 young people) in rural areas. Many sociological studies resulted in high levels of intolerance oriented towards others, mainly the LGBTQ community members. A study by the Institute for social research from 2015 that targeted Croatia´s high school students presented devastating results:a) half of the respondents consider homosexuality to be a type of disorder or disease b) half believe that LQBTIQ community members should be deprived of the right to public speech and appearance c) a third would forbid them to work at any job positions that include contact or interaction with children d) most of the respondents think that LGBTIQ community members should not be able to publically state their sexual orientation.

Project implementation will be executed through the following steps:
1. Determining the project manager
2. Procurement of project managment equipment
3. Hiring experts to work on the project
4. Hiring amateur actors
5. Public calls to participate in open rehearsals and preparation of the play
6. Rehearsals for the play
7. Organizing performances in cooperation with schools
8. Promotion and visibility
9. Preparing educational brochures – accompanying the content of the play
10. Performances, lectures and discussions.

The desired results would manifest in a noticable change in the mentallity and approach of young people when it comes to others and diversity, mainly LGBTIQ community members.

The participation of targeted groups (young people from rural areas) is planned to be carried out through engagement in preparation of the play, performance of the play and active moderated discussions and debates with audience.
The activities of the project are:
1. Managing the project
2. Hiring experts for project implementation
3. Rehearsing (6 months), preparing and organizing performances
4. Performances, lectures and discussions
5. Promotion and visibitlity

The motivation behind the idea is a need for change in the perception young people in rural areas have about LGBTIQ members. It is the aim of this project to make them see that diversity only contributes to building a powerful society, instead of holding it back. Tourism is widely spreading in Imotski which brings many different personalities into the city. In order to benefit from their visits change of mentality is inevitable. People of Imotski must not demonstrate any hostile behavior and need to learn how to welcome all people regardless of their sexual orientation, religion, race or nationality. This way the project will not only influence the social and demographical picture of Imotski, but also the economical aspect and the standard of living.

Project manager: 9,536.42
Script Development Assoc.: 2,649.01
Assoc.Director: 2,649.01
Stage Movement Assoc.: 927.15
Speech Assoc.: 927.15
Costume Designer Assoc.: 397.35
Light and tone assoc.: 3,602.65
Music Assoc.: 1,324.50
Sociologist: 1,483.44
Eng.of amateur actors (4): 18,013.25
Scenography: 1,986.75
Costume material: 397.35
PR: 2,384.11
Brochures and T-shirts: 2,649.01
Overheads: 1,589.40
Office supplies: 662.25
Camera: 1,059.60
PM Laptop: 662.25
Other expenses: 1,456.95

We would appreciate hearing experience from other practitioners, working on projects with similar topics.