Partners

The project "STOP - Storytelling against Polarization" involves 5 organizations in 5 countries: Storytelling Centre (NL), Kepes (HU), La Xixa Teatre (SP), Sagapò (IT) and Hasat (TR).

Storytelling Centre

Netherlands

STC is driven by the conviction that everyone's story is important and that it is vital to provide space for everyone's story for the sake of a balanced society. We believe in the power of sharing stories and are committed to fostering this, nationally and internationally.

We do this in various ways, such as

by coaching (semi-)professional storytellers in the creation process of a performance;
by training people in exploring and telling their stories for the benefit of their personal growth, resilience and social involvement and for better coexistence in today's society (so called ‘applied storytelling’);
by acquiring knowledge about applied storytelling and sharing this information in publications and through training modules that we develop ourselves and/or in cooperation with others (e.g. by initiating or participating in European innovation projects);
by literally offering space for sharing stories in theatres, at festivals and in various neighbourhood accommodations.

Képes

Hungary

The mission of Képes Alapítvány is to help different target groups to develop their social emotional learning (SEL) competences. We explore, adapt/develop, evaluate and promote SEL programs and initiatives.

We find this field important as SEL competencies are shown to increase academic and work achievement and they help better adjustment in everyday life. These skills can be taught and developed and can help disadvantaged people to “beat the odds” - with increased self-efficacy and motivation to learn, with more flexibility, realistic goal setting and good problem-solving skills they can achieve more than their peers from the same disadvantaged background. We set up programs for those who lack these skills the most and who have little chance to have access to such trainings. We also target those professionals who work with these target groups (e.g. social workers, youth workers).

We mostly work with volunteers (currently we have about 15 volunteers) and involve external experts related to specific projects. As of now, two persons are employed by Képes.

What we have done so far:

We explored the use of storytelling techniques as a way to develop social emotional learning competences in young adults from disadvantaged backgrounds in the framework of an Erasmus plus project (Aladdin and the intergenerational lamp)
We developed a SEL program for unemployed/inactive people/people working in Hungary's public work scheme. This collaboration was set up in the framework of an Erasmus plus project (SELFEE - Digital Literacy and Social Emotional Learning for Engagement and Employment)
We are developing a training programme to help social workers/health professionals to avoid burnout/develop resilience (RESICARE – Resilience building techniques for professionals working with vulnerable groups)
We work on developing the social emotional skills of youth workers and help them to keep boundaries with their clients (IRIS - Intimacy, Relationships and Interculturality in Youth Work)
We started a community building project by setting up a network of self-managed volunteer groups (COBU)
We are creating three Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) for higher education students developing social emotional skills that are highly relevant for employability: presentation skills, teamwork skills, stress management skills (OPENSEL)

Associació La Xixa Teatre

Spain

La Xixa Teatre Association is a non-profit organization founded in 2010 that aims to research, develop and multiply educational and theatrical tools as a means for social transformation. We believe that education at all ages is the key for social change towards a world with equal opportunities. The scope of our activities are aimed towards the following topics:

School Education, Early School Leaving, Prevention of Risk Behaviour among Youth;
Intercultural Communication, Racism, Xenophobia, Social Inclusion and Integration;

Gender, Equality Policies, and Sexual Diversity;
Peace Culture and Co-existence, Active Citizenship, Civic Engagement, and Local Development.

The mission of La Xixa is to facilitate the creation of spaces for empowerment through Participatory Methodologies, Process Oriented Psychology and Theatre of the Oppressed to generate processes of individual and collective transformation in contexts of social vulnerability. Participatory Methodologies allow a group with diverse interests to acquire an ever greater role in the analysis of their own reality and decision-making, thus all agents become crucial actors in their own development. Process Oriented Psychology focuses on developing a state of consciousness; i.e. helping individuals and groups to create awareness on how they perceive and live their experiences, and gives them tools to learn to change their approach. Theatre of the Oppressed Theatre (TO) puts theatre at the service of education. We conduct workshops for various groups, training for trainers and artistic actions at a local and international level. We are a multi-disciplinary and multicultural group of collaborators, trained in the field of social sciences, pedagogy and arts. The diversity within our team enriches our social and creative work, and that keeps us in permanent training and learning.

Sagapò

Italy

Sagapò APS promotes the belief that Art is the universal language able to overcome any cultural or ideological barrier; Sagapò uses Art as an essential resource for its activities of social interaction and collective development.

Based in Bolzano/Bozen(Italy,) Sagapò organizes festivals, events, panels, workshops and performances for the promotion of cultural and social interaction. Its code of ethics is based on respect of diversity, it promotes cultural exchange as a source of personal and community enrichment and sets dialogue as the first and most necessary principle for the safeguard of human rights. Sagapò projects aim at creating ideal spaces for free communication, integration and cultural exchange, using artistic means to kindle dialogue and interaction with social issues.

The Association Sagapò APS acts through different areas: Social and inter-cultural Theatre, Storytelling, Reading Promotion and Training in different artistic disciplines for both Adults and children. Throughout the years, Sagapò APS has led several workshops, both in Italian and Germans, aimed at schools, educators, and other public institutes approaching social issues using Storytelling, reading, Commedia dell'Arte, theatre and comic design.

Hasat

Turkey

Hasat aims to support positive social impact through inclusive leadership & collaboration.

The goal of Hasat (harvest) is to support social issues and rights in Turkey and abroad through inclusive community building and empowerment. We do this by embedding participative and restorative practices, using polarities and conflicts as ways to reach a wiser community, into the mainstream way of conducting work processes.

We have three principles that are common to all we do:

1. We make use of collaborative facilitation techniques as a way to have more impact for positive social change. We bring new techniques through co-design and co-facilitation to

events, meetings, conferences, or projects that have the aim of leading change and positive social impact.

2. We bring an understanding of participation and interaction as a means to avoid conflict and gain more traction. We enable others to learn the theory of conflict engagement and offer the tools for how to lead during conflict and resolve tension.

3. We encourage the need to be more inclusive in decision-making processes. We create a culture of hearing unpopular views, so as to include everyone in decision-making about

topics that will affect them, including unpopular voices. This may be internal to an organization, in relation to a project or toward stakeholders.

We work in partnerships to insert these principles into the mainstream way of conducting projects and leading organizations. We partner with NGOs, civil society actors, social

enterprises and others whose purpose is to create a positive societal change in Turkey and abroad– through their fieldwork, projects, through their internal organization or interactions with stakeholders/members. We combine our expertise in collaborative facilitation methods with projects that focus on positive social change. We bring expertise in methods such as Art of Hosting, Deep Democracy, Theory U, World Café, Open Space Technology, Sociocracy, Socratic Dialogue, Non Violent Communication, Non Formal Education, Forum Theater and more.