Maribor - Capsule Stories #1
28/11/2018
PIKA Daily Centre for Children and Youth Maribor, Slovenia
Simona Martinšek, head of the programme
-What is your connection to the project NewPilgrimAge?
Seven of our children participated at the cultural heritage workshops, organized by the Municipality of Maribor as part of the NewPilgrimAge project. Our kids worked on suggestions and ideas; not less then 5 projects were prepared! Our children, age 13 on the average, actively engaged on above mentioned workshops in Tkalka and Vetrinjski castle; v but brainstormings for new ideas for the project have been conducted at our premises several times.
The topic of cultural heritage was presented as part of the playing with our youth. We set a challenge for them: what in the field of cultural heritage would be interesting enough for you, for young people? We talked with them on what cultural heritage actually is, what it means for and to them. For them to realise that they are able to co-create interesting stories for young people, was very important to us as a Centre. We gave them the feeling of importance and belonging, the sensation for them to have the capability to participate in a project! Through conversation they realised that the topic itself is actually interesting, that cultural heritage is not “some boring stuff”.
-What kind of impact does that have on their lives?
To participate in projects in that manner impacts the self-esteem and the self-value of our youth and children. They have never considered themselves as being able to co-operate in any project, as they haven’t grown up with the self-assurance of being capable of such things. It is extremely important for them, to have new options, new opportunities. These children come from environments, where challenges of such positive connotation don’t wait on each step, so it is a wonderful experience for them, to do a great job, to show the talents, knowledge, skills … To be heard, to be taken into consideration as someone who has actually to say something important! One of their ideas was announced as one of the best. And that is truly recognition to them.
With that experience they realised, they are not just kids, just some pupils, but foremost people who can add value, give a lot, have potentials they haven’t even known about, less even to develop them.
These kids are not used to be proud of themselves or to trust their own abilities. So they got the chance to see their uncovered talents, gain the experience of other people to be proud of them; that we are proud of them. And at the reception, organized by Municipality of Maribor, they were welcomed and respected. This was a positive connecting action, where they gained the sensation of being valued in this environment. Their work had value. So, consequently, their self-esteem, their self-image has grown. They were completely enthusiastic to be able to pull through something like that – and that is something they usually don’t show.
-What has changed?
Two things are important: the fact, that the awareness of what Pika Daily Centre actually does, through and with projects like that, rises. Secondly, and to me much more important, is, that we have created an internal change at kids. They have invested their effort, time, energy into something. They have left their comfort zone, where nothing is possible and no will to change is present – and the most important thing: they have proved to themselves – we can do it!
We will take part in future endeavours within the project NPA. We truly wish, that young people are actively engaged in the activities outside their school and home, to be able to see, what else is happening out there, that we have the power of being active members of the society – city Maribor. We are grateful, that someone gives credit and recognizes the value of these young people and we thank you for inviting our kids to participate in give them the chance, the possibility of creating something of value.
PIKA Dnevni center za otroke in mladostnike Maribor,
Simona Martinšek, univ. dipl. soc. del., vodja programa
-Kako ste povezani s projektom?
Sedem naših otrok je sodelovalo na delavnicah na temo ohranjanja kulturne dediščine s strani Mestne občine Maribor v okviru projekta NewPilgrimAge. Sodelovali so s predlogi in idejami, dodelali smo kar pet predlogov. Naši otroci, v povprečju stari 13 let, so šli na zgoraj omenjene delavnice – enkrat smo bili v Tkalki, drugič pa v Vetrinjskem dvorcu; iskrenje idej pa smo organizirali kar pri nas.
Mladim smo kar med igro približali tematiko kulturne dediščine. Postavili smo jim izziv: kaj bi s področja kulturne dediščine vas pritegnilo, kaj bi bilo zanimivo za mlade? Z njimi smo se pogovarjali o tem, kaj sploh je kulturna dediščina, kaj to zanje pomeni. Pomembno nam je bilo, da vidijo, da lahko in zmorejo soustvarjati mladim zanimive zgodbe. S tem smo jim dali občutek pomembnosti in pripadnosti, da tudi oni lahko sodelujejo v nekem projektu. Skozi pogovore so mladi spoznali, da je tematika pravzaprav zanimiva, da kulturna dediščina ni nekaj »kar je suhoparno«,
-Kako to vpliva na njihovo življenje?
Tovrstno sodelovanje je za naše mlade zelo pomembno z vidika lastne vrednosti; nikoli niso razmišljali o tem, da bi v nekem projektu samoiniciativno sodelovali, saj nimajo občutka, da to zmorejo. Zelo pomembno je, da so dobili nove priložnosti. To so otroci iz okolij, kjer takšni izzivi ne čakajo nanje na vsakem koraku, zato je zanje čudovito, da so se izkazali in lahko pokazali svoj talent, svoja znanja, veščine ... Da so bili slišani, upoštevani – ena njihovih idej je bila izbrana celo kot ena najboljših. In to je res priznanje zanje.
Skozi to novo izkušnjo so dojeli, da niso samo otroci, niso samo učenci, ampak so tudi osebe, ki lahko dosti doprinesejo, dosti dajo, imajo potencale, za katere niso še niti vedeli, kaj šele, da bi jih razvijali.
Ti otroci niso navajeni biti ponosni sami nase, ali si zaupati. Videli so nerazkrite sposobnosti, pridobili so izkušnjo, da je lahko nekdo ponosen nanje; da smo mi ponosni nanje. Pa tudi na sprejemu, ki ga je organizirala MOM, so bili zelo toplo in lepo sprejeti. To je bila pozitivno povezovalna akcija, kjer so dobili občutke vrednosti v tem okolju. Njihovo delo je imelo vrednost. Dvignila se je samopodoba, dvignila se je samozavest. Čisto navdušeni so bili, da so lahko izpeljali nekaj takega, sicer tega med njimi ne vidimo.
-Kaj se je spremenilo?
Dve zadevi sta pomembni: dejstvo je, da postaja prepoznavnost Pika dnevnega centa je skozi takšna sodelovanja zagotovo večja. Meni pa je bolj kot to pomembno, da smo pri otrocih omogočili notranji premik. Vložili so trud, ki ga sicer ne bi. Šli s(m)o iz cone udobja, kjer se jim nič ne da – in najpomembneje, sebi so dokazali, da gre.
Tudi v prihodnje bomo še sodelovali pri projektu NPA. Želimo, da so mladi aktivni tudi izven šole in doma, da vidijo, kaj vse se dogaja, da smo lahko aktivni prebivalci mesta Maribor. Hvaležni smo, da nekdo prepoznava vrednost teh mladih in se zahvaljujemo za to, da se spomnite na naše mlade in se da tudi njim priložnost.
