Enhance political participation in local political affairs through participation in civil society organisations, and volunteer groups / Enhance active participation and the reappropriation of the public space / Experience street art and its social context
*The activity was not carried out by Dafni Kek, but staff members of Dafni Kek comprise the organisational team of ArtWalk, and decided to integrate elements of the BEEP project in their activities and suggested to report their observations
| Duration (hours) | 10 hours (preparation 5h – actual walk 4h – reporting 1h) |
| Aims of the activity | Enhance political participation in local political affairs through participation in civil society organisations, and volunteer groups. Enhance active participation and the reappropriation of the public space. Experience street art and its social context. |
| Description of Participants / Target Group | Participants were adult citizens of Patras, Greece. The group were diverse regarding their backgrounds, ages and educational levels. In addition, some participants had a migration background, and some had an educational deficit, i.e. they had not completed basic education. A significant number of them were young adults and people over 60 years old. All participants felt cut off from the public space. They experienced public space as being accessible only for vehicles and public transport, and they felt unable to change that. Moreover, most of them had not been in touch with contemporary art, and they had misconceptions about public art and street art. |
| Activities Carried Out | Short intro: What is the aim of the workshop? Brainstorming: Organising an international street art festival through a civil society organisation. Is it possible? (political participation, civil society, volunteering, identifying stakeholders, forming partnerships) Guided walking tour at the murals of Patras: Who owns public space? (reappropriation of the public space) Discussion: Street art and mural art, art or vandalism? |
| Feedback (if possible) | Most participants felt motivated and determined to take action and claim changes in their neighbourhood. They also understood the possibilities of participating in their local community more actively. Some of them expressed the intention to form a group in their neighbourhood to try to claim changes more formally. They felt motivated to find partnerships with civil society organisations and associations, and sponsorships in order to organise local festivals and improve locations of their neighbourhood. They all felt excited because they had the opportunity to get in touch with other people with common backgrounds and have discussions about their everyday lives, their difficulties and their acclaimed rights. |
| Reflection on Impact | All participants had positive intentions towards taking action in their local community. Still, they needed motivation and getting to know an example of best practice, like the ArtWalk festival, which is solely organised and implemented by civil society and volunteers. The workshop got people in touch, having fun, discussing, developing their ideas and identifying relevant local stakeholders who can contribute to their initiatives. |