COOL-ture yourself!

A broader description of the 7-month ESC opportunity in Kamnik (SLOVENIA)

Our societies are presently facing a complex and intertwined set of societal challenges, that would in all likelihood be felt as quite unimaginable to a lot of people as little as one year ago. In light of the present COVID circumstance we feel that in these times of social tension, of personal anxieties, and of an uncertain epidemiological situation it is therefore all the more important not to abandon the nurturing of peace, of a culture of quality (co)existence and fundamental EU values, and of a spirit of a united Europe among the young people in our local communities. With the help of our ESC volunteers and within the scope of our team`s mentorship competence and capacities in the field of cultural heritage, of culture, of digital technologies and our experience in active civic engagement, we wish to contribute to the nurturing of everything mentioned and to assist in curtailing the process of degradation of our societal atmosphere.

Under the scope of the Cool-ture yourself! project two ESC participants will be creating a multitude of diverse video content that will both showcase the activities of our youth center and local youth, as well as those of some of our local partner organizations, whose activities contribute towards a nurturing of a better atmosphere and coexistence within our local community. Alongside these contents, the aim of which will be to support the visibility of well-meaning engagements of already existing actors in our community, the participants will also be mentored and supported in the direction of developing their own innovative ideas of cultural actions and video-streaming them.

With the assistance of individual mentorships, attendance of workshops and practical trainings the ESC volunteers will become familiarized with the equipment, screenwriting, directing, filming, editing, production, advertisement, implementation of opening events, etc. We will also involve our local youth in such processes of creating/disseminating contents. They will be invited to attend the workshops and filming sessions within legally permissible crowd numbers, or, in the event of exceptionally unfavorable epidemiological circumstance, we will connect with them virtually and with them co-create ideas of cool-tural actions. The goal of these will be the transformation of present societal discomforts (and wrath?) into creative and interesting cultural creations. In all cases our aim will be the facilitation of personal as well as professional developments of our participants, and make sure that the upgrade of their competences will be geared towards the direction of positive effects on society and (mostly, but not exclusively) local environment.

Youth center Kotlovnica Kamnik is, with its current idea project “Creative district Barutana”, also working towards developing an entirely new space that we hope will eventually become a central spot for various artists/creators/experimenters in our city. Our ESC volunteers will therefore potentially have the opportunity to cooperate and be part of the very first developmental stages in the creation of a brand new creative production space – undoubtedly a priceless experience for a young person with a pronounced interest in the field of culture.

Through attendance of various events the ESC volunteers will get to know all the possibilities of using our youth center and perhaps also join some of the teams of young people who are making creative content. The activities of our youth center are set-up in such a way as to encourage young people to participate actively – either independently, with mutual assistance or with the assistance of mentors.

With “closed” events, the ESC participants will be able to set-up the scene, document the happenings and/or take part as technical support of our sound and light technicians. On workshops with our technicians they will get to know how to use the light and soundboard, which will enable them independent engagement with less demanding events and assistive engagement in larger cultural events, should they choose to try out such a role.

With “open” events, they will be able to step-in also as performers. With the help of a mentor, they will be able to develop their performance and present themselves to a live audience. Through active participation in workshops, rehearsals and organizations of activities, they will also get a chance to more easierly connect with our local youth.

Activity COOL-ture yourself! is foreseen to last from March/April 2021 to October/November 2021 (7 months). It will involve two young people between the ages of 18 and 30 who are interested in culture, youth work and active citizenship and will be motivated to learn new digital skills. We foresee one of them being a young person with fewer opportunities, but both will have to have a good knowledge of English and an interest in developing and producing ideas of actions that will contribute to the improvement of social dynamics and atmosphere within the local community.

We often find that young people choose to participate in the ESC because they are unhappy with the situation they are in – unemployment, doing work that they are not satisfied with, or are trying to decide what to study. The activities we offer within the youth centre are mainly focused on culture and the arts, but besides creativity, there are many possibilities for technical improvement. The activities of our other local organisations are primarily social in nature - socializing with young people with fewer opportunities or mobility impediments. Most of all, they need company and they are happy if our volunteers sing, play or talk to them..