Our youth workers’ training project ‘Wind of Change’ happened between 3rd and 11th November 2021 in Philipsburg, St Maarten. It has been approved by the National Agency for Erasmus+ UK! The aim of the project was to educate and empower young people to challenge racism and xenophobia in all its forms, with a focus on the Windrush generation. It was a wonderful opportunity for young people and youth workers from different cultures to explore topics surrounding migration, prejudice and activism. We had been planning this project since the summer of 2019 having seen the problems faced by Windrush Generation in the UK and felt an even greater need to promote respect for one another, diversity and reconciliation, which are topics we love working with in our projects. Our partners are from Turkey, Romania, Sint Maarten (Dutch part), France (Guadeloupe) and Anguilla.
Former Projects
WIND OF CHANGE
YOUTH SCREEN AND SOUND PROJECT
Youth Screen and Sound allowed young people, mainly but not only from Turkish/Kurdish communities, who were at risk of social exclusion or criminal activity to become meaningfully involved in music and film activities, leading to participation in a festival of film and music in their local area.
They gained skills in music making and film literacy, alongside valuable experience of festival production, through participation in high-profile public events. They became part of a network that offered long-term opportunities, both professionally and socially.
Their role as active citizens allowed skills-sharing with younger teens as the project progressed.
REEL SKILLS FILM MAKING AND SCREENING PROJECT
The Reel Skills project brought together young people from Turkey and the UK, the first leg in Bodrum focusing on filmmaking around refugees and the second leg in Cambridge with a unique set of workshops around ‘Filmmaking and Organising Community Film Screening Events’. During the second part, young participants took part in the 1st Taste of Anatolia Film Festival as an audience, as volunteers but also as filmmakers as the films they shot in the first part of the project were screened during the festival. They got together with professional filmmakers and famous actors such as Nur Sürer, Kadir Doğulu and Sıtare Akbaş and benefitted from informal advice and guidance.
SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP WITHOUT BORDERS
“Social Entrepreneurship Without Borders” was a long term Erasmus+ project that not only gave participants a comprehensive overview on the topic of social entrepreneurship but also enabled them to get involved in structured field work in their own communities. The project consisted of 3 main parts:
- Introductory Training Course in Poland introducing notions such as social entrepreneurship, innovation and social impact. Participants learned how to generate and assess concrete SE ideas and to write business plans.
- Field work for 4 months period based on participants’ work back in their home communities including research, community need assessment, business planning and others
- Summing up seminar in Georgia: Participants presented and discussed the results of their field work, adapting and fine-tuning their social enterprises ideas.
THE HAMLETS POP UP CINEMA PROJECT
Click Here for more information
CLIMATE ACTION PROJECT
The Climate Action project was linked to the Erasmus+ priority of the environment and climate change. The project also covered topics important for the programme, notably cultural integration, creativity and developing young people’s skills and competences. The young people worked together to create short films where they expressed their concerns in regard to ecological and environmental changes, demonstrated the climate impact and documented the project as a youth expedition.
MUSIC BEYOND BARRIERS PROJECT
Music Beyond Barriers was one of our amazing projects. It brought together young people from Turkey, especially those from Gypsy/Roma communities, and those from the UK, firstly in Istanbul in 2015 and then in Cambridge in 2016. Here is a documentary focusing on the second leg. Enjoy!
Click Here for more about Music Beyond Barriers Project!
THE GOOD START
The “Good Start!” is a Contact-Making Event for organisations with a strong motivation to implement Erasmus+ youth and mobility programs. The aim of the program is to provide a suitable environment for building solid partnerships which will eventually lead to future youth projects, with the main objective of strengthening the capacities of young people and those active in the Youth field. The program will last 5 days and will take place in Sparta. It was originally scheduled for March but postponed. It is expected to take place before the end of 2021. 22 youth workers aged 18+, from 10 different countries, will participate in a common framework, building strong partnerships, engaging in various workshops, visits, presentations and round table discussions, setting the conditions for joint implementation of programs in the near future. In consultation with local agencies, we will hold an open event named “EXPO” with stands for each organisation where we will be informing the people and local organisations about our activities and the ERASMUS+ programme.
ACTORS FOR CHANGE
Actors for Change aims to empower young people from the UK and Turkey by discussing social issues such as violence in various spheres of life, especially violence within the education system i.e. towards teachers and other students. The project will take place in Bodrum, Turkey between 11th and 24th of April and the participants will be introduced to forum theatre as a participatory art form.
Forum theatre is a type of theatre that involves the audience in the play. The actors stage a performance and the audience is allowed to stop it and either share their opinion or join the performance to change the course of events. The performance/scene usually indicates some kind of oppression.
PEACE WITH ME
Balik Arts is delighted to partner with IPTA (Projects and Ideas for Active Youth Romania) for Peace with Me, a project aiming to promote a preventive approach to managing conflict and violence among young people. We are looking for UK-based participants aged 18+ to join colleagues from Romania, Latvia, Estonia, Denmark, Turkey, North Macedonia & Italy in what promises to be an enlightening and exciting week.
