Subtopia, about Spaces for Change and Resilience Erasmus Project

Project Title

Subtopia, about Spaces for Change and Resilience

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Partnerships for Creativity

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Civic engagement / responsible citizenship; Youth (Participation, Youth Work, Youth Policy) ; Creativity and culture

Project Summary

SUBTOPIA, ABOUT SPACES FOR CHANGE AND RESILIENCE is a Strategic Partnership project supported by the Erasmus+ programme via the Belgian/Flemish National Youth in Action Agency JINT.
As a Partnership for Creativity project, SUBTOPIA responds to the circumstances created by the COVID-19 pandemic.

SUBTOPIA, ABOUT SPACES FOR CHANGE AND RESILIENCE is coordinated by Vitamine C, Leuven, Belgium together with 8 partners in Europe: Aurora Budapest Hungary, Studio Alta Prague Czech Republic, Kanapes Riga Latvia, Brunnenpassage Vienna Austria, Izolyatsia Kiev Ukraine, DreamTeam Athens Greece, Tandem Berlin Germany and Trans Europe Halles Lund Sweden.

SUBTOPIA focuses on how creative and cultural spaces all over Europe are change makers in society and havens for resilience. SUBTOPIA wants to empower both staff and young people of cultural and creative spaces all over Europe to be change makers in their local environment and community.
SUBTOPIA helps young generations and professionals to acquire skills and competences that supports the potential of youth, contributing to the resilience of their local environment. At the same time SUBTOPIA wants to unveil new opportunities and perspectives for positive change that can be sought and found in a critical context.

In 2015-2016, Vitamine C coordinated the Strategic Partnership CREATIVE SPACES. The key question of CREATIVE SPACES was: “What is the space that young people need to be creative, to develop their talents, to empower?”.
Two crucial things we noticed, during and after the project was that these creative spaces not only make a difference for the personal growth and empowerment of young individual people, but
1) that these CREATIVE SPACES also make a big difference for their community and local environment: many of these spaces are drivers for social change, they are often freehavens for free thinking, activism, and for resilience. MANY OF THESE CULTURAL AND CREATIVE SPACES ARE WORKING BENEATH (SUB) THE SURFACE TO TRANSFORM SOCIETY IN TO A BETTER PLACE, A BETTER WORLD (UTOPIA), WHICH IS WHY WE CALL THIS PROJECT SUBTOPIA.
2) and – very important – in most of these spaces for change and resilience YOUNG PEOPLE are at the heart of it! They are the ones who provide a continuous flow of new energy into these spaces to change society and TO BE RESILIENT.

Based on these needs that we detected during CREATIVE SPACES and based on our convictions and belief in the power of young people and arts, culture and creativity, SUBTOPIA, ABOUT SPACES FOR CHANGE AND RESILIENCE, was born. Of course during 2020, The COVID-19 crisis was an extreme situation that hit the cultural and creative sectors and all who are involved particularly hard!THE COVID-19 CRISIS MADE ALL OF THESE NEEDS AND CHALLENGES EVEN MORE PERTINENT AND RELEVANT.

THE MAIN ACTIVITIES during the project are:
– 4 TRANSNATIONAL PROJECT MEETINGS;
– 4 meetings of 5 LOCAL YOUTH LAB with around 10 young people;
– 1 PARTICIPATORY END CONFERENCE, where both groups come together: 10 staff and 10 young people
– 3 extra special ACTIVITIES TO DISSEMINATE the results of the project (1 in Flanders and via big networks 2 in Europe) and
– online and DIGITAL COMMUNICATION via social media during the whole project.

There are TWO IMPORTANT TARGET GROUPS in the project SUBTOPIA, ABOUT SPACES FOR CHANGE AND RESILIENCE,:
1) the STAFF WORKING IN cultural and creative spaces, and
2) the YOUNG PEOPLE THAT ARE CONNECTED WITH these cultural and creative spaces

The output and results of SUBTOPIA, ABOUT SPACES FOR CHANGE AND RESILIENCE, will be the COMBINED AND CO-CREATED OUTPUT REALISED VIA TWO PROCESSES.
During the whole SUBTOPIA project, in both these two layers, two processes, the staff and the young people will focus on the same questions, topics, and will work towards the concrete results and output of the project. Each of these layers will have its trajectory, exchanging expertise, developing skills, co-creating content, and so on. But throughout the project we will intertwine and connect both layers, so that AT THE END OF THE PROJECT, THERE WILL BE A COMBINED OUTPUT THAT STAFF AND YOUNG PEOPLE REALISED AND CO-CREATED TOGETHER.

THE TANGIBLE RESULTS we expect during the project and on its completion are:
– LESSONS LEARNED
The results of the most important conclusions and findings of the project. What did we learn about how spaces for change and resilience all over Europe are change makers in society and havens for resilience?
– TESTIMONIALS
We are strong believers of the power of testimonials. At the end of the project we want to produce at least 10 testimonials both of staff and young people, in a fresh mix.
– ARTISTIC MANIFESTO
Creative initiatives and artefacts to express the key messages of what the participants found out about this topic of change and resilience to be expressed.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 60000 Eur

Project Coordinator

Vitamine C & Country: BE

Project Partners

• Asociatia Casa PLAI
• MitOst e.V.
• CARITAS DER ERZDIOZESE WIEN – HILFE IN NOT
• TRANS EUROPE HALLES
• ALT@RT o.s.
• DreamTeam AMKE
• Marom Klub Egyesület