May 2016 16_NEWSLETTER MAY: The month of cultural activities within Cluj Days 2016 – The City Lives!
Events and actions with and for the community We continue the work on community needs In May the work on community needs continued. As our aim was to carry out an exhaustive process through which each member of the community benefits from the budget destined to community needs, we resumed work in the Cantonului and Coastei communities, where we had to supplement the lists with those families, which were not present at the initial consultations. We finally made an additional list including 20 people from the Cantonului street and 8 people from the Coastei community, who benefited from the same quantity of building materials as the other people from their communities. At the same time the process of installing individual electric meters separately for each household continues for families from the Coastei community who live in the modular houses built by municipality.
Pata-Cluj and the Christiana Foundation involved children enrolled in the project’s educational program in cultural and educational activities On May 6th and 26th, children from the Cojocna School and children enrolled in the Second Chance educational program went on two trips organized by the Pata-Cluj team project and its partners. 15 pupils, children from Pata Rât and their colleagues from the 1st grade in the Cojocna - Cara School, visited Turda Gorge (Cheile Turzii) and Salt Mine (Salina Turda). The trip was organized by ADIZMC, the project promoter together with the school children are attending, with the Biroul MecanismulFinanciar Str Joseph II 12-16 (adresa poștală) Bd du Régent 47-48 (adresa fizică) B-1000 Bruxelles www.norwaygrants.org
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aim to show children local touristic destinations, to enhance group cohesion, and to have a salt therapy. On May 26th, 14 children from Pata Rât attending the courses of the Second Chance educational program visited the same sights. This visit was organized by the educational services provider, the Christiana Foundation, and the project promoter with the aim to develop general knowledge concerning the good effects of salt on health, but also to raise awareness on environment protection. On May 20th, 10 school-children from Pata Rât, involved in the educational program of the project, participated together with a group of children from other districts of Cluj, at the workshops held within the second edition of the Pata-Cluj Living Library. Organized within the framework of the Cluj Days, the PataCluj Living Library aimed to bring together people and their various experiences with the city. Thus, while participants were reading the books at the Shto College Bar, facilitators set up a a children’s corner where they could craft bookmarks or listen to Romani tales read in Hungarian. At the end of the event children could rejoice over an interactive game organized by László Vadas, one of the living books participating at the event,
Community consultations on the topic of social apartments are at the core of a research on housing a research on housing, initiated by the team of the Pata-Cluj project was conducted in May. The design and the methodology of the research were conceived by a team of researchers from the Department of Sociology and Social Work of Babeș-Bolyai University. This research was based on a series of consultations with the community on the topic of housing that took place at the beginning of the year and consisted in the use of door-todoor questionnaires and in focus group discussions in three out of the four communities from Pata Rât: Canton, Dallas, and Coastei. Consulting the communities is essential for developing a participatory process of elaborating the criteria of granting the social apartments, in a way to accommodate, as much as possible, the specific needs of people from Pata Rât. The Pata-Cluj project team planned and organized meetings with the community in order to discuss about the 32 apartments planned to be built within the project, and was also accompanied to the focus groups organized in the community by members of the research
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May 2016 16_NEWSLETTER team. Filling in door-to-door questionnaires we managed to reach out to more than twothirds of people living in Pata Rât. The colleagues who facilitated the focus groups tried to create a more intimate atmosphere and a safe space for the participants so that they could express themselves, their own views and fears concerning social housing. Thus, those who didn’t have the chance to talk and make themselves heard during the community meetings could speak this time. The aim of the focus groups was to initiate comprehensive discussions about people’s specific needs both related to moving out from Pata Rât, and to their life after moving. Although access to decent and accessible housing is essential to inclusion, the specific needs of people in sustaining a social apartment are complex and varied. On the long term social housing would be unsustainable, if this aspect is not taken into account. In this respect, the results of the consultations would also be submitted to the public authorities responsible for the management of the social apartments. The research team will first present the research results to the project team and then in the community as well. Thus, on June 6th and 7th we have scheduled meetings in order to present the findings in the communities, and on June 13th they would be presented to the stakeholders, members of the working group on social housing.
Nine families are moving in the Habitat apartments in Jucu, where young participants at the YouthBuild Cluj program contributed On May 13th, our partner Habitat for Humanity Cluj celebrated its 17 years anniversary of activity, and marked this day by a dedication event to the Habitat community of Jucu, during which nine families received the keys to their newly built apartments. It is the same community for which 27 young people from Pata Rât, the first generation of the YouthBuild Cluj 2015 program, volunteered over 6,000 hours for construction works, completing, at the same time, their practical training in order to obtain the qualification as construction workers. The building of Jucu community of Habitat for Humanity Cluj also involved more than 900 volunteers, the contribution of 28 local Biroul MecanismulFinanciar Str Joseph II 12-16 (adresa poștală) Bd du Régent 47-48 (adresa fizică) B-1000 Bruxelles www.norwaygrants.org
sau www.norwaygrants-povertyalleviation.org © EEA și Granturile Norvegiene, Biroul Mecanismului Financiar, 2014-2016
NORWAY GRANTS | 16_NEWSLETTER • May 2016
companies and more than 500 donators through direct debit. You can find more details about it here.
The acting workshops for children at MiniReactor ended The acting workshops for children at MiniReactor are coming to an end. Following an extended vacation, the weekly meetings were resumed, unfortunately with fewer children participating at the workshops on May 10th and 17th. The last meeting was held on May 24th. From the 15 children registered to the workshop, six children came from Pata Rât. The coordinators of the workshops, artists of the Reactor, space for creation and experiment team, directors, playwrights and actors alike, worked at developing the social skills of children through playing. By a careful thematic selection of games they worked with children for enhancing abilities like attention, memory and imagination, each child having the possibility to express not only their own imagination and creativity, but also contribute to the group creativity. The children worked in smaller or larger teams, cooperating with others. The participants got to know each other, interacted, expressed themselves, and , of course, had a lot of fun as well.
Cooperation with REDI contributes to promoting social entrepreneurship projects in Pata Rât During this month, the employment team got involved in the Pata-Cluj–REDI project. At the beginning of the project, 20 people from the community were interested in launching and conducting a business. Only 10 of them were selected for the phase of elaborating a business plan and applying for financing. Thus, the selected projects target the following activities: opening a secondhand bookshop, a flower shop, a car repair service, a vegetable and fruits retail company, a building company, and an agricultural company operating glasshouses. The project proposals will also be evaluated by the fund operator, which will decide which projects will be financed. During May members of the REDI team
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May 2016 16_NEWSLETTER went to Pata Rât each week in order to have personal encounters with each person in order to complete the individual business plan and to establish details related to space, equipment and costs, required for the application to financing. On May 10th the future entrepreneurs received legal counselling at the Mobile Unit regarding the necessary permits for functioning to be able to start the procedures for obtaining them. The employment team had a meeting with a representative of the Heritage Department of Cluj-Napoca City Hall, in order to discuss about the needs of people from the community in obtaining the permits. For more information on the daily actions and activities carried out by our teams in Pata Rât check each thread of the project on our website, section Pata-Cluj Threads. Please check the working hours at the Mobile Unit of each intervention team below and at section For the community – program of the Mobile Unit. The team engaged in social services and identity documents: each Monday between 12 am and 2 pm. The medical team evaluating health condition and ensuring emergency medical services: each Tuesday between 2 pm and 4 pm. The team of case managers who work with the families to help them solve their problems: each Tuesday between 10 am and 12 am. The team facilitating employment: each Wednesday from 2 pm until 4 pm. The team which offers legal counselling for various litigations: each Friday between 10 am and 12 am. The medical team evaluating health condition and ensuring emergency medical services: each Friday between 2 pm and 4 pm. The community facilitators team, which offers general information, helps resolving community issues and facilitates cultural activities, goes to Pata Rât whenever is necessary.
Biroul MecanismulFinanciar Str Joseph II 12-16 (adresa poștală) Bd du Régent 47-48 (adresa fizică) B-1000 Bruxelles www.norwaygrants.org
sau www.norwaygrants-povertyalleviation.org © EEA și Granturile Norvegiene, Biroul Mecanismului Financiar, 2014-2016
NORWAY GRANTS | 16_NEWSLETTER • May 2016
Past events
Pata-Cluj recommends the theatre performance Shelters (Refugii), a critical play on the effects of precarious housing on people’s lives On Friday, May 6th took place the first performance of Shelters (Refugii), a performance staged by Petro Ionescu and Raul Coldea, displaying different perspectives on forced evacuations and the situation of homeless people in Romania. On a minimalist scene, the four actors (Doru, George, Alina and Paul) bet on the play between detachment and implication, a play meant to produce critical discourse, to raise question marks and initiate new discussions regarding precarious housing. Built on the methods of devised theatre, the performance aims at familiarizing the public with these issues through a presentation which generates empathy among the public. The audience at the first performance, but also the people presented at the second one, reacted with sensitivity to the issues raised by the performance. The critics’ reactions were in agreement with the public’s reactions: “[…] The theatre performance isn‟t a refugee from reality, at least not this one. The atmosphere is like the atmosphere of a social conflict unfolding too rapidly. It means the opening of doors and inviting reality „to confess‟. Without canons, only through doubts and questions one leaves the hall with as a viewer. The proposal of each moment is to get out of our comfort zone and to place ourselves in the space of the marginalized. Not by substitution, but through empathy and awareness. By entering into the liminal and reconsidering the socalled respected rights and values. The viewers have the chance to displace themselves from the social roles they fill in daily, through a perspective targeting otherness, deconstructing clichés and stressing upon differences.” (Silvia Maria Netedu in Zona Nouă) The next performance will take place on June 16 th at 8 pm, at the Reactor, space for creation and experiment. The Pata-Cluj project team recommends this performance and invites all those interested in topics like vulnerability and social invisibility, precarious living
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| 16_NEWSLETTER• May 2016
May 2016 16_NEWSLETTER conditions and personal histories which gets us out our comfort zone and teleports us beyond reality and stereotypes. The production of Shelters was realized by the team of Reactor, space for creation and experiment, and was financed through the cultural thread of the Pata-Cluj project. It was realized within the open call for cultural manifestations and artistic intervention works, launched by the AltArt Foundation, in the framework of the Pata-Cluj project. Through the artistic works produced within this call we wish to encourage reflections upon issues related to the relationship between the communities in Pata Rât and Cluj-Napoca.
The Pata-Cluj Living Library challenged the readers at Cluj Days On May 20th the Intercommunity Development Association, Cluj Metropolitan Area organized the second edition of the Living Library – Books Invite You to a Discussion about ClujNapoca, diversity, interculturalism and social inclusion within the framework of the Cluj Days. The event addressed issues related to the city and social inclusion. The event organized this year aimed to highlight the richness of the cultural and artistic heritage of Cluj and all its inhabitants, Romanians, Hungarians and Roma alike. The “living books” were embodied by personalities from the cultural, artistic, academic or social scenes of Cluj. Our guests were Hajnalka Bessenyei, Alex Fechete, Sharon Frankenberger, Mihai Goțiu, Elena Ivanca, Diana Lăcătuș, Raluca Mărginaș, Mateiașu Eugen, Noémi Mátyás, Katalin Moscu, Vadas László. In the safe space created in the ambiance of the Shto College Bar, the living books touched upon issues meant to confront with and deconstruct stereotypes, prejudices and discrimination of all types. More than 30 inquisitive and keen readers spent a great time with the 12 books, and extended the program of the reading room with almost 2 hours. The living books had a positive experience, and were impressed by the interest and courage the readers show in addressing questions on the suggested topics. They tried to live up to readers’ expectations and curiosity by offering examples and personal reflections from their own lives. At the end they answered in front of the camera to a couple of equally provoking questions regarding the inclusive Cluj and its inhabitants.You can find out soon their answers in a video material about the 2nd Living Library. Our colleague, Lavinia, who was the host of the event, considers that this year’s edition „was an extraordinary experience, a lot of young people interested in interacting with the living books came. Both young people and the invited living books left with the feeling of being enriched with information and life stories. A pleasant atmosphere was created, in which children from the city and from Pata Rât crafted bookmarks for those present, and interacted in an ad-hoc play guided by director Vadas László.”
Biroul MecanismulFinanciar Str Joseph II 12-16 (adresa poștală) Bd du Régent 47-48 (adresa fizică) B-1000 Bruxelles www.norwaygrants.org
sau www.norwaygrants-povertyalleviation.org © EEA și Granturile Norvegiene, Biroul Mecanismului Financiar, 2014-2016
NORWAY GRANTS | 16_NEWSLETTER • May 2016
At the installed tables for children could choose among two activities. These activities were dedicated to r the children from Pata Rât enrolled in school within the Pata-Cluj project and the Hungarian children from the Waldorf School. They were joined by the Children of participants to the event joined them enlarging the group to almost 30 children. They could choose to design bookmarks to offer to those who donated books for the Youth Center, or to listen Roma tales read in Hungarian. The children’s and tales’ corner proved to be too small when all the children arrived, however this aspect wasn’t an impediment in rejoicing the creative process: they were cutting out, sticking, drawing, sewing together, switching techniques and changing places permanently, thus neither the language and the original cultural environment represented any barriers. Sewing on paperboard had an unexpected success; drawings made by children were perforated by the facilitators, thus children could sew them easily. During the event those children who rapidly acquired the technique were teaching the other children, who didn’t know so well how to do it. They crafted several bookmarks, keeping some for themselves, but generously offered most of the products to the books donators. At the end of the event, director László Vadas invited the children to play,and experience a game where the rules don’t solely mean restrictions. Thus, observing the rules of the proposed game became funny. The children were happy to play, and had a great time. We are thankful for the time, knowledge and life stories brought by the books and readers in creating this delightful experience. We also thank those who brought books for the Pata-Cluj Youth Center Casa Tinerilor / Le Ternenqo Kher / Fiatalok Haza / Youth House, to the hosts of the event and the Cluj Days organizers for their openness. We hope to see you again at the third edition, even more curious and numerous!
The winners of the Pata-Cluj Got Talent! contest performed on a scene at Cluj Days 2016 The organizers of the Pata-Cluj Got Talent! contest, an event for celebrating cultural diversity by bringing together individual talents of inhabitants of Cluj and Pata Rât on the International Roma Day, proposed to present the local awarded talents on one of the scenes dedicated to cultural activities within the Cluj Days.
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May 2016 16_NEWSLETTER Thus on My 20th, starting from 7.30 pm, almost all the winners of the Pata-Cluj Got Talent! contest performed on the scene installed in the Kogălniceanu street: solo singers Kalman (2nd prize winner) and Debora (the winner of the Prize for Inclusion), imitator Amador, who won the public’s award for the best representation of actor Florin Piersic. The dance group The Best was also present, although in a different formation; they created an extraordinary atmosphere due to the originality and virtuosity of how they were dancing traditional Roma dances, due to which they won the 3rd prize at the Pata-Cluj Got Talent! contest. The public enjoyed the performances lasting for half an hour, and supported those on stage, becoming more and more numerous and attracting people from the area. It was a successful show for celebrating joy and cultural diversity. We thank to the participants for their presence, energy and enthusiasm, and to the organizers for their openness and for this opportunity. We hope to see the winners as active as possible on the cultural scene of Cluj! You can find more photos, videos and details on the event of May 20th on the Facebook page of the project at Pata-Cluj.
Networking
The employment team participated at a discussion on social entrepreneurship The employment team participated on Friday, May 13th at the event organized by Impact Hub – Morning Café, where Erik OJ Oorod presented his experiences in entrepreneurship. The discussions focused on the professional experience of Erik, originally from the Netherlands, who came to Romania in 1992 for the first time, when fell in love with this country. Erik started his activities in agriculture, and in the following years launched several entrepreneurial projects. He is currently developing a project entitled Biroul MecanismulFinanciar Str Joseph II 12-16 (adresa poștală) Bd du Régent 47-48 (adresa fizică) B-1000 Bruxelles www.norwaygrants.org
sau www.norwaygrants-povertyalleviation.org © EEA și Granturile Norvegiene, Biroul Mecanismului Financiar, 2014-2016
NORWAY GRANTS | 16_NEWSLETTER • May 2016
Reflex People, a social business, in which he created an online platform announcing jobs for people with disabilities (capabil.eu) searching for employment. He wishes to offer support to these people, and recurs to the law according to which, in all firms having more than 50 employees at least 4% of the employees should be people with disabilities. During the event participants also talked about the Pata-Cluj project, our representative from the employment team presented the job opportunities and the difficulties regarding the employment of people from Pata Rât.
Announcements for the community Monthly photo sessions for identity documents On the last Monday of each month, our colleague Roland is taking photos for the identity documents for members of the Pata Rât community, during the working hours of the team offering support for the submission of files for identity documents. In May 6 ID card photos were taken, 11 ID cards and 3 birth certificates were issued with the help of the team responsible for social services. The June session will be held on June 27th, starting from 10 o’clock at the Mobile Unit. In order to check the dates of the following sessions please consult the calendar of activities carried out at the Mobile Unit on the project website: http://www.patacluj.ro/calendar/.
Pata-Cluj social inclusion calendar: June June 1 – International Children’s Day The League of Nations adopted on June 1st 1924 the first Geneva Declaration on the Rights of Children, stipulating that children must be ensured rights to special care and legal protection prior to be born and after birth. One year later, at the International Conference on Children' Well-being, June 1st was proclaimed as the International Children’s Day. The day of June 1st was adopted in 1950 as the International Children’s Day, of observing the right of children to live in peace, to have access to health and to harmonious development. In some countries the Children’s Day is celebrated on November 20th, on the Unviersal Children’s Rights Day. June 20 – World Refugee Day (UN) The UN General Assembly, on 4 December 2000, adopted resolution 55/76 where it noted that 2001 marked the 50th anniversary of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, and that the Organization of African Unity (OAU) had agreed to have International Refugee Day coincide with Africa Refugee Day on 20 June. The General Assembly therefore decided that 20 June would be celebrated as World Refugee Day. June 26 – International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking By resolution 42/112 of 7 December 1987, the General Assembly decided to observe 26 June as the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking as an expression of its
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May 2016 16_NEWSLETTER determination to strengthen action and cooperation to achieve the goal of an international society free of drug abuse. This resolution recommended further action with regard to the report and conclusions of the 1987 International Conference on Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. The General Assembly recognized that despite continued and increased efforts by the international community, the world drug problem continues to constitute a serious threat to public health, the safety and well-being of humanity, in particular young people, and that it undermines socio-economic and political stability and sustainable development.
Media Video on Pata-Cluj 2nd Living Library – Books invite you to a discussion about ClujNapoca, diversity, interculturalism and social inclusion The inhabitants of Cluj talk about their favorite places in Cluj. With whom do you drink your morning coffee? Which is your favorite place in Cluj? Where do your children like to play? These are just a few of the questions about the diverse Cluj to which inhabitants of Pata Rât and of other districts of Cluj answered before and during the Living Library. Living day by day in the city, you understand that the experiences and life stories embraced by the city are diverse, some of them being beautiful, others being sad, and are lived by cohabiting Romanians, Hungarians, Roma and other ethnicities alike. Tell us about your city at the 2nd Living Library
The Pata-Cluj project, fully named Social interventions for the de-segregation and social inclusion of vulnerable groups in Cluj Metropolitan Area, including the disadvantaged Roma is implemented by the Intercommunity Development Association, Cluj Metropolitan Area, in partnership with the Community Association of Roma from Coastei, Habitat for Humanity Cluj and AltArt Foundation. The project is financed by the Government of Norway through the Norway Grants 2009-2014 within the Poverty Alleviation Program (RO25).
Biroul MecanismulFinanciar Str Joseph II 12-16 (adresa poștală) Bd du Régent 47-48 (adresa fizică) B-1000 Bruxelles www.norwaygrants.org
sau www.norwaygrants-povertyalleviation.org © EEA și Granturile Norvegiene, Biroul Mecanismului Financiar, 2014-2016
NORWAY GRANTS | 16_NEWSLETTER • May 2016
*** About the Norway Grants Through the Norway Grants and EEA Grants, Norway contributes to reducing social and economic disparities and to strengthening bilateral relations with the beneficiary countries in Europe. Norway cooperates closely with the EU through the Agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA). For the period 2009-2014, Norway‟s contribution is €1.7 billion. Grants are available for NGOs, research and academic institutions, and the public and private sectors in the 12 newest EU member states, Greece, Portugal and Spain. There is broad cooperation with Norwegian entities, and activities may be implemented until 2016. Key areas of support are environmental protection and climate change, research and scholarships, civil society, health and children, gender equality, justice and cultural heritage.
Conținutul acestui material nu reprezintă în mod necesar poziția oficială a granturilor Norway Grants 2009-2014. Camelia Badea coordonator comunicare proiect Pata-Cluj Tel.: 0786/375 825 E-mail: camelia@patacluj.ro patacluj@gmail.com Website: www.patacluj.ro Facebook: www.facebook.com/PatadinCluj Canal Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQVqL CQJ4ozYqZtRtTlcAnQ
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| 16_NEWSLETTER• May 2016