CitizensLab is a European network of local actors/practitioners of change. Born in 2016, this network has been experimenting, prototyping and inventing with citizens new forms of expression, shared narratives, commonalities, shared spaces, real or symbolic. Since November 2020 CitizensLab has become a registered NGO in Berlin, aiming at working locally as well as internationally.
CitizensLab´s actors are active in different sectors and contexts across wider-Europe. Community organisers, curators of spaces for active citizens, artists and performers of new societies, urban public space re-inventors, activists, disturbers, societal innovators, participatory leaders – people who are able to break out of our own bubbles and hierarchies in a non-violent way and who want to create alternative European encounters that speak to all people.
Organise an autobiographical activity within the prisons to promote and encourage the reconsideration of the past and the planning of the future “beyond the bars”.
– Creating a space for reflection on specific topics to allow prisoners to redefine their lives during and after their experience in prison; – Strengthening the identity and the self-esteem; – Encouraging and motivating prisoners to describe their personal experiences and to communicate – even within a European context – the difficulties of living in prisons; – Comparing the outcome with similar experiences of other European prisons; – Presenting their work to the regional networks operating within the prisons
Partners: Italie Slovenie Kroatie Spanje Portugal Frankrijk
Social Integration of Migrants and activation of Paths for Learning and Employability Ensure the protection of migrants who were victims of trafficking in human beings, exploitation, traumatic experiences, abuse and violence. Enhance job opportunities for migrants; encourage integration at work and, more in general, into the society. The SIMPLE project is focused on the psychological wellbeing and the social integration of migrants traumatized by the travel and the human trafficking, with specific attention for women. Development of an innovative Model of Approach based on visual narrative methodology, accompanied by the guide for operators, consisting of materials and tools and learning pathways to the socio-economic integration of migrant women that aim to maximize the level of integration in the country where their migration route took them.
Promote the creation of a network which incentivizes inclusion and creative education accessible to social projects and artists, in addition to: 1. Experiment with new models of active welcoming within the communities, which provide permanent education for adults using creative residencies and art exhibitions inside and outside the host communities. 2. Generate a digital web platform which brings together social projects capable of providing training and services beneficial to artists. 3. Equip social media users with the necessary digital skills to manage artistic events,transforming social projects into places of Active Reception, promoting art and themselves 4. Train adult migrants and low-skilled project users in the technical production of art shows in order to bring them closer to the art world and give them greater job opportunities 5. Make the condition of the migrant visible through art and educate citizens in order to change their perspective towards migrants. 6. Offer migrant adults a different perspective of host communities where the user is the protagonist and engine of their community together with the technical team 7. Promote the inclusion of art as a form of informal education thanks to the consolidation of its presence and support in social projects. 8. Sustain the vision of communities as a social entrepreneurship project in favor of the principle of Generative Welfare.
Identify and collect knowledge acquired through EU and other projects in recent years and to bring all this information together in a WIKI, a Wikipedia like website. – identifying organizations to visit through desktop research and through listing existing contacts. – individual support and travel grant in jobshadowing and structures courses and training events in Europe partners Nederland: Klick F1: https://clickf1.nl Educatie achter buitenlandse tralies: https://www.eabt.nl/nl Valk en Uil: https://valkenuil.nl EPEA: https://epea.com De Nieuwe Kans: https://www.denieuwekans.org
COVID situation brought unexpected and new challenges for local communities in almost every field of their lives. Because of lockdown and keeping distance policy local cultural activities needed to be rethought.
–map the cultural changes before and after COVID that have developed and will develop in certain dimensions of the institutional and national culture of the participating countries. Collect and share the best practices. –develop and share a complex, participatory and user-friendly toolkit for strengthening the creativity and innovativeness of local societies on how to successfully tackle similar challenges and reduce cultural risks. –involve different types of local communities: big cities (Nicosia, Rotterdam), a town in the metropolitan area (Érd) and a medium size town (Lovech).
In the penitentiary system, access to training is of enormous importance both for the quality of life during their stay in institutions and for the possibilities that people can access once their sentence is over. A high percentage of prisoners in the EU have a rather low level of preparation and training and these low qualification levels have important negative effects on the job prospects of prisoners close to release, a condition identified as one of the key factors for relapse. With the explosion of the health emergency and its repercussions access to adequate and quality training have become of vital importance. In fact, issues have emerged that can no longer be postponed: access to the internet and digital education, the preparation of prison staff, the basic digital skills of trainers and learners, are essential tools to guarantee the right to training and therefore to an effective rehabilitation process.The STEP – Supporting distance Training and Education in Prison – project aims to support and enhance the use of digital tools and distance learning in prisons.
Produce and publish two educational books (manuals) explaining and displaying different aspects of artwork in the prison. Artists involved in working in prisons need to go through proper education: – a different approach to work, -a different approach to the people they will encounter. Promote education in prisons, search for professional associates, the exchange of knowledge and the dissemination of good practice have been implemented in the European area for a long time. The transnational implementation of the project will use the specific knowledge and expertise off each partner.By educating the prison system’s expert staff about artistic activities, part of the scientific field of medicine and psychology, it is one of the important lifelong literacy processes. Partners: Kroatië: https://www.hdlu.hr/eng/ Hongarije: https://uni-eszterhazy.hu/en Polen: https://en.uj.edu.pl/en_GB/
Three-year project on the impact of documentary films on young people’s worldview. Target group 14-19 year olds.
At a time when many people and especially young people live in their own “bubble” they are looking for “tools” to learn to look critically and empathically. -Develop methodology and “open course toolkit” to be used by everyone. – Research on impact and describe attitude change. – Involve young people actively
Partners: Hongarije Hongarije Litouwen Litouwen Nederland Bulgarije Bulgarije
Developing a method that will help to reduce reoffending under young offenders by setting targets for their future and hand them tools to become better and more active citizens. Use of rap music and storytelling as a tool to communicate with the target group and as a language for them to formulate their ideas and goals.
Comparative research in the various partner countries to the existing methodologies to work with storytelling and rap music and above all to the indicators that can define the quality of the interventions. (IO1) Operators in the sector and the young inmates themselves will be involved as much as possible. –Co-construct indicators and criteria for comparing experiences. –Share outcomes research and involve them in the co-creation a draft version of the methodology (IO 2) –Developing tools for all those who work with young at risk. In the third phase of the project group interventions will be created and piloted in prisons. Create a focus group with family members of the young inmates, ex-offenders, prison staff, organizations involved in probation outside the prison walls and of course the young inmates themselves. By using the collective intelligence of this group and with the simultaneous presence of young people, parents and operators, we will create an opportunity to rework the experience related to the crime but we will also create an opportunity for all young offenders to formulate a way forward. (IO3) To participate in a project like GUTS can be a step to participating in other educational activities in the prison system. -In 2023 an on-line rap festival will be realized at one of the same dates as the big bi-annual EPEA conference. Livestream the festival during the conference, one of the ways to disseminate the project results.
Partners : Norway Italy Portugal Belgium
educatieve programma's met kunst voor kansarmen en mensen die met justitie en strafrecht in aanmerking zijn gekomen.
