Community actions for social inclusion
Basic information
Project Title
Full project title
Category
Project Description
The aim of the project is to involve the population of the Avas district (about 1000 people) in various social actions and community programs.The implementation period was 24 months, by the Municipality of Miskolc and the „Dialóg Association”. The task of the Avas Community Space is to provide a background for local integration and to become a new space for the community life of the local population.
Geographical Scope
Project Region
Urban or rural issues
Physical or other transformations
EU Programme or fund
Which funds
Description of the project
Summary
The aim of the project is to involve the population of the Avas district (about 1000 people) in various social actions and community programs. The majority of the population is disadvantaged, and although the area is not segregated, our goal with the project is to ensure that the area does not become segregated again. The implementation period of the project was 24 months, implemented by the Municipality of Miskolc and the „Dialóg Association”. The Dialóg Association has been working in Avas, the largest housing estate of Miskolc since 2009. The association’s experience is that the level of social cooperation is very low. There is no real residential activity but it can be increased by continuous development. The people living here are largely not members of communities, it is difficult to move for the development of their narrower or wider environment, and raising awareness of responsibility and advocacy is an important task. The population living in Avas is affected in large numbers by unemployment, poverty, housing difficulties, family and relationship problems and loneliness. Community-based solutions can respond effectively to all these problems in many ways. Within the framework of the project, the following programs and services were available to local community: gymnastics, table tennis, 50+ KLUB, photo club, craft club, flea market, clothing exchange, music evenings related to holidays, professional workshops (aim to maintain and develop civil, institutional interprofessional relations), job search service, improving access to services: operation of Avas Information Point, drug prevention programs - alternative children's programs. The task of the Avas Community Space is to provide a background for local integration and to become a new space for the community life of the local population.
The project was finished at 29/05/2020 that is the date of the acceptance of final payment request. The implementation of the programs was finished at 30/11/2018.
Key objectives for sustainability
The sustainability of the project is due to its embeddedness. It is important to mention as a prelude that the Dialóg Association has been working as a community development organization in the Avas district for 8 years before the project was started, so it had a network of contacts, which it consciously used to activate local people. It has also established professional cooperation, both with social workers and with local civil and institutions. This project was preceded by some social development programmes, and a programme in a close consortium ran in local partnership for many years with the Family Support Institute, the Maltese Charity Service and the Jesuit Order. From this partnership, the ÉMOP social urban regeneration program was organized, in which an Avas Community Space was created in the middle of Avas, the operation of the local family helper. This space became the center of local social movements and the basis of its operation was that it did not provide services, but was built on the cooperation of communities and the principle of reciprocity. With this emphasis, the TOP program was able to move forward with the process, complementing community-based operation with the role of information and information and the development of workforce skills.
The operation of the Avasi Community Space continued to operate during and after the project, and as a result of a process, the staff of the social institution performed the new tasks with embedded cooperations and the activities of the communities.
Key objectives for aesthetics and quality
The equipment of Avasi Community Space was built on local authentic knowledge of local people: pallet furniture; patchwork textiles; accessories and colourful motifs used by playback troupe; shelving systems made for a voluntary book exchange point; photos taken by photo circle, exhibitions with Avas theme. The space is characterized by the realization of ideas and local actions from the Avasi Community Café, which opens next to the Avasi Community Space, and the space were decorated thematically during the celebrations involving the children of Malta and Tanoda, such as Christmas celebrations, carnival and Easter celebrations.
Key objectives for inclusion
The activities were carried out for the target group living in Avas with the active involvement of local people. Before the programmes were launched they were built as a result of a population survey, a questionnaire survey and a personal interview. It is important that the project is in line with the Integrated Urban Development Strategy of Miskolc, which includes the Anti-Segregation Program and the Local Equal Opportunities Plan as well. During the preparation and implementation of the project Partnership Consultations were held several times. Partnership Consultations were implemented by local NGOs, local people and the partners involved in previous relevant projects. As a result of the survey and consultations as a preparation phase of the project a so-called Community Intervention Plan was designed that became the basic document of the program. During the implementation phase of the programme the services could be used free of charge by anyone, thereby ensuring equal access to programmes and services.
Results in relation to category
New communities have been created, local residents are active organizers of their own community life. Access to services for people living in housing estates has been improved with the help of Avas Community Space. Increase the number of people who are involved in social inclusion programmes, in particular education, training and employment programmes, thereby reducing the chances of disruption and poverty. The chances of progress, academic achievement and leisure time for school-age children/young people enrolled in the programme have been improved.
How Citizens benefit
A questionnaire of 500 people was prepared during the previous social development programmes. The project was prepared during a one and a half year community involvement procedure. It was not only served as a needs assessment study for the project, but also activation questions were included in the questionnaire according to the methodology of community work, which in turn revealed local knowledge during personal interviews. We results were used for volunteering and starting community clubs by Dialóg Association. The active participation of different stakeholders in the planning phase was the guarantee of involvement of local people and civil society, commitment of residents. In the long run the participants experienced that they were able to initiate independent programs by themselves.
Physical or other transformations
Innovative character
The benefits of the community development process are shown at the individual level, individual results can be reported. The innovative character of the project was given by the synergies that resulted from interprofessional cooperation. Community developers and social workers implemented the project together. The result: interprofessional, sectoral partnership, working with the population, thinking together, actions. The activation effect of the local community survey is still novel. One of the most important elements is to realize that local people are the greatest resource and their capacity to act contributes not only to solving individual but also local problems.
Learning transferred to other parties
Creating partnership approach that can involve local civic and civic capacities
Increasing cooperation, for example by setting up joint working groups
Emotional processing of professional jams was also possible thanks to the improvisational theatrical performances
Building local community actions on local ideas and increasing creativity.
