Lives of “others”: an open call to an action against discrimination and social exclusion

Festival Miden and Kalamata Youth Center cooperate with a group of young people in Kalamata for a special project which will be realized with the support of the European Commission (Youth in Action Programme).

The theme and the basic aim of the project is the combating of social discrimination, xenophobia, racism and social exclusion, through a variety of collective & participative actions which will combine public art practices and the creative use of new technologies to create an online platform (blog-forum) in order to begin an open dialogue with -and about- minorities and people with less opportunities.  The project will start with an open call addressed to everyone interested, but specially targeted towards immigrants and people with special needs/capacities. The main objective is to set the basis for a communication network without borders between young people of different backgrounds and needs, combining social awareness with a free cultural expression with the use of art and the contemporary tools that information society offers. One of the main intentions is also the personal development of the participants regarding the use of artistic practices & new technologies via creative, collaborative and non-formal learning methods, hoping to set a basis for future projects & collaborations.

The program will be realized in the city of Kalamata. All young civilians of Kalamata are invited to participate with works and proposals. The project will include open meetings, lectures and demonstrations of related art works, conducted by invited visual & new media artists and computing specialists. The invited artists will discuss with the young local participants and co-operate with them in the creative process. Besides the young attendants of Kalamata, any person interested in the project (from all over Greece and internationally) may also participate through the internet during the whole period of the project, submitting their proposal and relative material individually. The open call also invites through the web all interested students and young artists  globally to participate with their personal works, encouraging this way a global discussion.

The proposed duration of the project is 5 months (till mid-October 2013), but the idea is to create a permanent network that will continue to function also in the future, at least online.

More info at the project’s blog

You are also welcomed to join the project’s facebook group