Our marks: Mládež ulice

4.10.2023

Karina Andrašiková (Program Coordinator, Social Worker)

How do you perceive the implementation of the project over time?

We perceive it as one of the pieces in the overall puzzle of our activities in our locality and in the city of Bratislava. It significantly helped us initiate the building of partnerships among various (not only) local organizations and initiatives. However, even more importantly, we recognize that thanks to the project, we were able to work with members of our community, young people, and families. We accompanied them in addressing challenging life situations, during their adolescence, as well as in their involvement in community life and development. This is a very significant milestone for us.

How has your project evolved after the conclusion of support from the Active Citizens Fund – Slovakia program?

Currently, it provides services to children and young people in the afternoons after school on weekdays. In addition to this, numerous preventive, educational, and developmental activities are carried out during community events, summer camps, and special events focusing on specific topics that interest young people. The family program continues, with several new families added to the program of social family counseling. We have expanded cooperation with several elementary and secondary schools, as well as with departments of child protection and social guardianship (OSPODaSK). We are involved in preventive work with students in schools, and we collaborate with OSPODaSK in providing counseling to specific families. Community work has made significant progress. Our partner, the old dining hall, offers a diverse program of community and cultural events, and thanks to the project, we have motivated several community members to prepare their own programs at the center for the rest of the neighborhood.

What results have you achieved thanks to the project?

During the project’s duration, we managed to engage more than 1200 individuals – young people, members of families, our community, as well as partners from the local government and other youth or community initiatives or organizations. We executed 10 civic initiatives in the form of discussions, workshops, events where community members could express their opinions on public matters affecting life in the city or their urban district. Some of these initiatives allowed them to interact with their chosen representatives. We focused on topics such as public decision-making, community participation, civic engagement, as well as environmental issues. We organized several hundred community events, and our low-threshold club for children and youth was open four times a week in the afternoons, providing a place for them to spend their free time and receive support during their adolescence.

Have you been able to achieve the goals you set at the beginning of the project?

The project was focused on young people and their social environment – their healthy development, building relationships in school, within their families, with peers, and also within the community. Our goal was to implement activities that would touch upon all these areas, with young people as the main actors who could actively participate.

An important objective was also to build partnerships at the local level – with the municipal district, other important initiatives, but especially with members of our community. We wanted them to perceive our space as their own and actively use it for their benefit, for community development, and to actively participate in public matters.

We successfully achieved all of these goals, and we continue to do so even after the project has ended.

What achievements have you attained thanks to the project and the support of the Active Citizens Fund – Slovakia?

The greatest success contributed by the project is the fact that our youth and community center is actively used, and people (not only from the community) have found their way to it. It is their space where they spend their free time, build relationships, plan their own activities, learn new things, and receive support when they need it. Young people are in a safe environment, given the opportunity to participate in their own community, and they develop a sense of belonging. This was the reason we wrote and wanted to implement the project, and we have successfully achieved this goal.

What was the project’s impact on the target groups and the community?

Our target groups included young people who, thanks to the project, were able to spend their free time in a safe and stimulating environment and received support from a professional team of social workers, psychologists, and youth workers. We worked with their families, classes, and schools to ensure they had a healthy social environment in which to grow. We provided them with leisure activities, preventive and supportive services, engaged them in community activities, and motivated them to participate in community life. Another target group was the members of the community in Bratislava’s Rača district and the city of Bratislava. They had the opportunity to utilize the community center space to implement their own ideas and to address topics related to local district or city politics and public matters that impact their quality of life.

What experiences has your organization gained from the implemented project?

Building partnerships was a highly valuable experience for us, both with the local authority MČ Bratislava – Rača and with our closest collaborator, the community center Stará jedáleň, as well as other youth or community initiatives and organizations. Co-organizing something together is much more challenging, and the skill of collaboration, clarifying essential matters during project implementation, was indispensable. These partnerships further strengthened our relationships, which continue to this day.

We encouraged them to actively participate and get involved in creating a better community, fostering good neighborly relationships, and realizing their ideas.

Addressing challenging community issues and engaging in discussions with both community members and individuals in public office or elected representatives was an important part of the project, and we are pleased to have gained this additional experience.

What specific benefits and opportunities has the Active Citizens Fund – Slovakia program provided to your organization?

Undoubtedly, the financial support brought by the project was exceptional and made it possible for us to carry out such a comprehensive project. Thanks to this support, we were able to:

• Maintain a low-threshold club for children and youth open 4 times a week and provide professional youth work.
• Implement a family program of social counseling directly within families.
• Collaborate with multiple partners, including schools, OSPODaSK, the municipal district of Bratislava – Rača, Stará jedáleň, and various organizations and initiatives.
• Create a space for community members in Rača to realize their ideas and operate the community center Stará jedáleň.
• Address topics related to public life, politics, civic engagement, and local-level participation.

We implemented the project at a time when Stará jedáleň, as a community and youth space, was just getting started. Although the people and organizations involved had long-standing experience in social work, community work, and youth work, the name Stará jedáleň needed to be built from scratch. This was particularly challenging as it occurred during a pandemic period when community gatherings were not possible. Despite these obstacles, we did everything in our power to fully utilize this opportunity, and the project helped us to establish stability, create a space for activities, and build an open “living room” for relationship-building, discussions, support, and participation.

How do you assess the collaboration within the Active Citizens Fund – Slovakia program?

We evaluate our collaboration with ACF – Slovakia, as well as with the project manager in Slovakia – Ekopolis and OSF, positively. Despite having to deal with administrative matters during the implementation of project activities, we managed it together to mutual satisfaction. The program supported us financially, professionally, and personally, providing us with the space to elevate our work in the community to another level. Thanks to it, we focused on our internal development as well as on building relationships with people from our community and encouraging their participation in public matters.

Prepared by: Karina Andrášiková, karina@mladezulice.sk