The project seeks to raise awareness about imbalances produced by depopulation in rural areas of Valle Ustica. Revaluing local practices of mutual-cooperation to improve living conditions. We’ll work with citizens, educational institutions, and social organizations in 5 rural communes. Through citizen participation and collaboration we’ll co-create 5 projects of collaborative art and 1 mediation program. Looking to strengthen the civic-community coexistence before the impact of depopulation.

Five communes of Ustica Valley: Licenza, Vicovaro, Roccagiovine, Mandela and Percile. Lazio, Italy.

The social challenge faced for this project is the impact and consequences produced by rural depopulation of Valle Ustica. A marginal territory of Lazio, affected by a demographic decrease, aging, lack of productive and cultural activities.

Depopulation has promoted the detachment of the communities from their territory. Damaging social cohesion, cooperation networking, and civic participation, due to barely recognition of their identities.

Based on collaborative art actions and educative-mediation program, the project will create awareness about social, cultural, ecological imbalances of rural depopulation. To overcome the social and civic-local impoverishment, it will improve the knowledge and skills of the community, strengthing the relation between territory and identity

The direct beneficiaries of the project’s activities will be mixed participants: Adults from 30 local organizations oriented to social development, agriculture, and environmental. Besides student of 12 rural schools through the mediation cultural program.
We will have a broad range of opinions because people will integrated workgroups are from different genders, ages, and ethnicity in Valle Ustica. Combining women’s perspectives (+18), immigrants (+18), senior people (+60), and students (+15).
The broadcasting of the project, the indirect beneficiaries will be the neighbors from Valle Ustica Communes (6.240 population). In addition, the staff of 12 local educative and cultural institutions, where we will deploy a mediation cultural program

1)Mentors & partners will trace the guidelines and supporting materials
2)Implementation of 2 informative presentations in each commune
3)Develop communication strategies and open call to create 5 communal work teams
4)Organizing each communal team (mentors, partners and participants)
5)Regular debating participatory group meetings
6)Gather feedback & check the perspectives
7)Codesign 1 collaborative art project for each communal group through participatory methodologies+tools
8)Cocreation of a mediation program from the 5 group perspectives
9)Public event to share the projects of each commune. Implementation of the mediation program at 12 local schools
10) Iteration of the art projects in 5 communes
11)Design & distribution a fanzine with methodologies+project’s achievement

The first year we want to achieve: 1) strengthen the awareness, commitment, education, and civic participation of local communities. 2) Create a conscience about social imbalances produced by depopulation.
We would like the community develop skills about active participation and listening. Besides creative, imaginative, and political action skills, reinforcing civic commitment and social cohesion. Empowered the community and improving the living conditions.
Through collaborative art projects and mediation program, we will promote cultural exchange, learnings, critical reflection, and sensibilization instances, prior nonexistence in context. We will contribute to the revaluation o local material and immaterial heritage, territorial identity from a horizontal and intercultural perspective.

We reinforce democracy and active citizenship through methodologies and co-creation tools based on citizen participation. Facing a common challenge, the local agents will be who will interrogate and decide the guidelines to shaped 5 community art projects and 1 cultural mediation program.
The facilitators will guide participants, organizing co-creation sessions, combining theoretical knowledge, and hands-on learning through formal and nonformal methodologies of Collaborative Art, and Speculative/Service/Critical/Inclusive Design methods, besides of agro-ecology and ecofeminism perspectives.
It will improve civic-commitment and citizen participation through regular meetings, collectives debates, participatory mentorships, co-creation sessions, cultural mediation and public presentations

Depopulation is marginalizing our rural community, endangering the representativity, identity, and quality of life of the Valle Ustica population. Our motivation is to foster social transformation and strengthen the community where we are living. From arts & education, we would like an opportunity to create spaces where the community can dialoguing, learning, imagining, creating in a horizontal way. Valuing and deciding about ways to live, addressing challenges and goals together. As an intercultural and multidisciplinary group, we are committed with revaluing of intangible cultural heritage, and environmental ecosystem. Drivers to generate sensibilization and social cohesion, based on recognition of shared concerns and identities that are giving a vital sense of community in Valle Ustica.

A. Staff Cost (project cultural management, project administration, accountant and translator): 22800 €
B. Collaborators Cost (community manager, photographer, and experts): 9700 €
C. Travel, Per Diem & Accommodation Costs: 4200 €
D. Production Cost (Production budget per experts, Material costs per workshop): 7100 €
E. Communication & Evaluation Cost (Catalog, Domain website broadcast, Flyer/Poster for broadcast): 1800 €
F. Contingency Cost (Broadcasting, Prints, catering, others): 4000 €

Any feedback is welcome. We would appreciate support and advice on all topics (ideas, tools, methodology, activities, communication, and others) related to the project.