The project implements innovative and socially engaged activities in the field of visual arts and non-formal education. The project addresses the lack of involvement of young people from the suburbs in current cultural events, and the program plans to engage them and create the foundations for further education, cultural affirmation with the direct involvement of young people in the process of mediation of art, to become active citizens in the society in which they live.

suburban area of the city of Zagreb (Zagreb County)

During many years of work in the cultural sector, we have discovered that a very small number of young people from the periphery are actively involved in current cultural events. One of the reasons is the reduced number of visual art classes in educational institutions, which makes it impossible to achieve the necessary continuity within the regular school program, then dislocation, insufficient finances of parents. To address this problem and become one of the catalysts for change, we designed this project to enable young people from the suburbs to become actors in cultural production and become aware of their own active role in the community. Consumption through artistic content encourages the development of critical thinking, which will ultimately result in aware future citizens.

Target groups include more than 400 young people aged 11 to 18, consisting of young people living in remote areas from Zagreb (capital of the Republic of Croatia) - primary and secondary school students (310), social welfare beneficiaries (60), participants with disabilities (30). The secondary group consists of students and the unemployed (80).
Participation in project activities will at the same time be available to all interested individuals, who will be informed about the project through the media, the Internet and promotional materials.
Attendees are provided with free attendance at cultural events and participation in all accompanying facilities, in order to make them available to all.

Participants gathered in groups (form of excursion) together with the project leader go on a tour of selected museums or galleries. In order to gain the widest possible picture of the city's cultural events, the project also includes the cultural contents of the city's independent cultural sector. With its informal approach, combining a tour of three cultural institutions in a two-hour walk through the city, the project in a specific and original way, attractive to young people, shatters the established notion that exhibitions are boring and incomprehensible. By getting to know their city, young people become aware of their civic role and the right to use public space, and at the same time create a broader picture of society.

Involving young people from the periphery in current cultural events, and getting to know the locations of cultural institutions in the environment in which they live, creates potential for future active citizens. In this way, young people will become aware of their civic role and the right to use public space, and thus create an image of their city.
By accessing new content, the goal is to push the boundaries in perception and contribute to the development of youth's critical thinking and breaking stereotypes. With this project we expect to expand education and create the foundations for cultural affirmation and contribute to the creation of positive habits of young people. We want to achieve cooperation and create a dynamic relationship between educational and cultural institutions.

The project opens the possibility of new interaction between cultural and educational institutions, creating a modern model of communication exchange. The program contributes, especially among young people, to the development of their critical thinking and breaking stereotypes, and the intention is to encourage the development of critical thinking through artistic content, which will result in aware future citizens. The themes we choose through artistic content question certain segments of the state of contemporary society and direct young people to the need for a more active social role (gender and sexuality issues, the role of institutions, the consequences of war in these areas). The project activities promote the values of an open society and education for democratic citizenship.

Working in schools located outside the city, we noticed that in the classroom there is not much space for such content, and that the implementation of this project is of great benefit to students and their parents, who also do not have time to explore such content. We are witnessing the fact that students often complete primary and even secondary education without knowing how to locate important cultural centers in the environment in which they live. The project activities directly complement and supplement the educational content and curriculum of schools in the field of education of students for active and responsible citizens, raise cultural awareness and expression, and contribute to the development of social skills, which is of great value for young people.

Tickets for cultural and artistic events 20, 000 EUR
Transportation 10, 000 EUR
Organized guided tours 675 EUR
Photo and video documentation 675 EUR
Promotion and visibility (print, design, website upgrade) 3,000 EUR
Project manager salary 7,500 EUR
Project coordinator salary 7,500 EUR

We welcome any kind of advice and feedback related to the development of our initiative from others on the platform.