Crestart

CHALLENGE

COVID situation brought unexpected and new challenges for local communities in almost every field of their lives. We selected local cultural activities as subject of our project: because of lockdown and keeping distance policy cultural activities needed to be rethought. Our project focuses on these changes and all the novelties it brought in local communities, which will definitely shape the cultural life after the pandemic as well.

INNOVATION

Never in our lives have we experienced such a world pandemic outbreak, where all people of the world have to find new solutions for their social interaction. It is a new challenge that needs innovative and sustainable solutions. It shows innovation also in the involvement of the target group, since community and cultural institutions and their experts are involved in the project from the beginning.

OBJECTIVES

We want to equip local community organisers and stakeholders with the knowledge and toolkit to organise local communities’ events, activities in challenging times: that will have an effect on the mental health of the community, also will contribute to the community cohesion. Our project focuses on community organisers from the field of culture, but knowledge can be used in other fields as well. We have identified the following aims:

• Understanding and mapping the old cohesive traditions of the local societies and their chances to survive in the 21st century.
• Mapping the impact of the COVID pandemic on the culture of local societies in the participating countries and pilot settlements.
• Mapping the community resources in the pilot settlements, with special regard to the creative capacity among the target groups.
• Via mapping we plan to reach active citizens (nonprofessional community organisers) as well, and also we plan to identify formal and informal local groups
• Cultural consumption and culture shaping best practice collection in the participating countries, with particular reference to geopolitical and cultural differences in the Netherlands, Hungary, Bulgaria and Cyprus.
• Searching for opportunities to involve locals by target group (young people, the elderly, working-age adults) in order to achieve the main goal.
• Assessing the possibilities of offline and online activities and developing new solutions by target group in the pilot settlements.
• Capacity building of local residents to become active culture shaping stakeholders and community organizers locally.
• International exchange of creative solutions, adaptation of new creative methods in local level.
• Making available a user friendly and easily adaptable social impact measuring tool for settlements eager to support community initiatives.

ACTIONS

Starting with and online and offline research in the 4 participating countries to map the local communities: traditions and impact of COVID-19 on local communities is the basis of the online platform, containing training materials, elearning, creativity toolbox, etc. The partnership also develops eLearning and contact training curricula for cumminity organisers. A collection of good practices will be available for further use. At the end of the project we prepare a Social Impact Report.