Focus Experience # 1

Title Paths in the City (Caminhos da Cidade) Transformation process of the centre of Belo Horizonte

Basic data City: Belo Horizonte Country: Brazil Number of inhabitants: 2.300.000 Topics: Urban development, policy and administration, citizenship participation Principles of the Charter of Educating Cities: 1, 4, 6, 11, 18

Summary Starting in the 70s, Belo Horizonte went through a process of motorization, accompanied by public investment in thoroughfares in order to avoid traffic problems and improve vehicular flow. This process involved an increase in sound, visual and environmental pollution that had a negative impact on the urban landscape, the quality of life, pedestrian safety and the Estação Square organization of social life in urban spaces.

As from 1993, the City Council of Belo Horizonte began to correct this type of urban design that prioritized the automobile over pedestrians. Amongst the measures that were taken of special note have been those aimed at to impede the investment of public funds in major works to expand the road network that placed pedestrian safety and Rio de Janeiro Street welfare in the background. As from 2000 a new stage has begun on this challenge, marked by a recovery of public spaces to the benefit of a more human city and a more sustainable culture of mobility.

In this context, in 2002, the “Paths in the City” program was launched to recover public spaces in the city centre and which consists of the creation of a network of streets free of barriers that are safe and comfortable for pedestrians, connected to the public transport system. The program, which has broad citizen support, has transformed the centre of the city into a more appealing place, accessible to the population, improving town planning conditions and habitability, while fostering social, cultural and economic development. 1

Objectives -To generate open, welcoming urban spaces in the city. -To foster citizen participation in town planning projects. -To encourage the citizenry to stroll in the city centre and appropriate it for themselves -To develop awareness, understanding and appreciation of urban environmental quality.

Methodology First phase (2002-2006)

The city’s public transport company, BHTRANS, and the local regional government of Centro Sur began a series of actions to refurbish and improve the intersections and pavements of the streets, avenues and squares, in order to facilitate pedestrian movement, access to public transport and the enjoyment of the city space.

Actions carried out in this period: improvement of the conditions of the pedestrian cross-walks at the intersections of Sete Square; improvement of the pavements and refurbishments of the fronts of historic buildings on Caetés Street; refurbishment of the esplanade in Estação Square; improvement in access to public health centres, adapting them to the use of persons with mobility handicaps; and an increase in the number of pedestrian cross-walks with traffic lights.

Second phase (2007-2009)

The “Paths in the City” objectives were incorporated in the strategic plan of the city centre and in the mobility plan. In this stage, the urban renovation projects followed these directives: Organisation of vehicular traffic in order to improve the efficiency of public transport; implementation of bicycle lanes; creation of incentives for the use of non-motorised Carijós Street ways of travelling; and increase and improvement of signage for pedestrians and people with special needs. Following these directives, Carijós and Rio de Janeiro streets, Amazonas Avenue, Arrudas Boulevard and Soares Square were improved.

The urban transformation of Rio de Janeiro Street began on the basis of a field study that consisted of auditory, sensory, olfactory and visual rounds. During these rounds the surrounding environmental noises, the smells, the condition of the pavement and the obstacles to pedestrians (the sensory round was made by two individuals, one with reduced mobility and another who was sight impaired) were monitored, and the fronts of buildings that did not match the urban style of their surroundings were photographed. With this information the City Council decided to harmonise the landscape of this public space by planting aromatic trees, eliminating obstacles on the pavement, signage and guidance for the handicapped, reduction of traffic speed limits, pedestrian overpasses, etc.

The refurbishment of Plaza Raul Soares was chosen by the population as a priority in the digital participatory budget. The City Council makes available to the public Internet access points and a toll free telephone number so that people can contribute their ideas and participate in the decision-making on projects in which public funds will be invested. This is how this square was chosen, which had once been a marginalized area, and has now become a space for democracy, diversity and socialisation.

Current phase:

According to the strategic plan and the mobility plan, executive projects were developed in order to be implemented into the new improvement phase of the public transport network, such as, for example, the BRT (swift bus transport), which involves, amongst other actions, works in the sidewalks, the reorganisation of the traffic lanes, the improvement of the public transport system in the city centre, the creation of new stops and connectivity of September the 7th Square different city areas by public transport.

All these refurbishments have been accompanied by awareness campaigns in order to promote a change in the culture of mobility and foster respect for pedestrians.

Social and Belo Horizonte is the capital and main urban context services, knowledge and technology hub in the State of Minas Gerais, a region located in southwest Brazil.

The first settlements date back to the beginning of the 18th century, but the city, as it is known today, was planned in 1897, based on the models of Paris and Washington. It went through a major growth in population in the last few years of the 20th century, and now has 2.3 million inhabitants. Belo Horizonte Aerial View

Assessment -Safe, appealing spaces have been created in the city centre that are more adapted to pedestrians, and have notably increased the number of people on these streets.

-Connectivity in the city has improved through public transport.

-The citizenry has participated in the decision-making in the improvements made.

-Establishing a new culture of behaviour in the city that prioritises pedestrians will take time.

Contact Organisation: Prefeitura de Belo Horizonte (Belo Horizonte City Council) Contact: Mr Marcelo Cintra do Amaral Urban Planning Direction - Sustainability Policies Coordinator Email: [email protected] Phone: +55 31 33795735

You can consult more than 1.000 Educating Experiences in the website of the Educating Cities International Documents Databank (BIDCE): http://w10.bcn.es/APPS/edubidce/pubPortadaAc.do

Focus Experience # 2

Title Max Jacob Cultural Centre of Quimper (Pôle Culturel Max Jacob)

Basic data City: Quimper Country: France Number of inhabitants: 67.255 Topics: Associationism and participation, urban development, art and humanities, Lifelong learning. Principles of the Charter of Educating Cities: 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 10, 14, 18

Summary Quimper City Council, in order to encourage the exchange of cultural activities, promote diversity and develop meetings between artists and citizens, has set up the “Max Jacob Cultural Centre” project, a space for artistic and cultural experimentation.

The centre will be in the area of a neighbourhood undergoing transformation; that of the station. The

space will be open to the whole city and View of the future building Alvéole Son all age groups. Cultural proposals will Berranger & Vincent have specially adapted spaces, based around an old renovated theatre: the Max Jacob Theatre. The spaces will include rehearsal rooms, training classrooms, exhibition and performance areas and so on, to practice music, plastic arts, live performances, Breton culture (music, language, dancing and so on). There will also be a teaching space dedicated to gardening.

The project brings together organisations that are committed in various ways to education (the young Workshop of music and dance of the Conservatory of theatre association, amplified music, the Music and Acting of Quimper (April 2011) conservatory, art school, Breton culture etc.). The centre will thus make it possible for synergies to form between various experiences in order to propose transversal educational routes.

The Max Jacob Centre management team that is bringing together the various agents in the territory will take an original composition. The City Council wants the project to be built cooperatively, involving not only the cultural agents of the territory but also the citizenry. 1

Objectives -To have a dedicated space for artistic and cultural experimentation, which will include a space for coexistence. -To create the conditions needed to encourage meetings and exchange between artists and the citizenry. -To support the artistic and cultural activities done in the city.

Methodology In Autumn 2008, Quimper City Council polled the citizenry on the subject of the general state of Culture. This was aimed at all the citizens and the objective was to open up cultural policy to debate. This meeting gave rise to the idea of creating a cultural and artistic space: the Max Jacob Cultural Centre.

In 2009, the first stage consisted of gathering the 10th Anniversary of the Très Tôt Théâtre Cultural Association at wishes and needs expressed the Max Jacob Theatre garden (2010) by cultural agents and © Pascal Perennec politicians. Before taking a decision, a number of considerations, opinions and standpoints needed to be shared in order to reach an agreement on the future of the centre. To do this, professionals and experts were invited to present and share their experiences in the context of developing innovative cultural projects. At the same time, a specialist in cultural policy ran a number of workshops with cultural agents in order to create an ethical consensus protocol to express the shared values and principles on which this new initiative should be based.

Quimper City Council has worked hard on the production of the cultural and artistic project based on the centre’s technical programme, which was completed in 2010. A specific work team has been created, made up of citizens and financial and cultural agents that will be in charge of managing the coexistence space of the centre.

In 2010, a request was made for projects, in order to “imagine” the future Max Jacob Centre. This produced a number of proposals: a special open day for families; free-use software and digital creation for students and the general public, decorating a new space for the exhibition of children’s work and so on.

Berrenger & Vincent Architects have recently won Performance of the students of the Conservatory of Music and the official competition to Acting of Quimper design the project.

The project’s creation is transversal, involving participation from citizens and various other bodies. The City Council’s services are also participating in the project.

The Max Jacob Centre has a budget of € 14.2 million, supplied by Quimper City Council, the department of Finistère and the Brittany region. 2

Social and Quimper is in the region of Brittany, and is the historical urban context and cultural capital of the Cornouaille area. It has a population of 67,255 and covers an area of 84.45 km2.

By age group, the population is divided up as follows: 25 and under, 31%, 26 to 64, 52% and 65 and over, 17%. 3.2% of the population are immigrants.

The city does not have a very high unemployment rate (5.6%). View of the Quimper Cathedral © Ackles29 On January 1, 2000, the city joined the nearest towns (Ergué-Gabéric, Guengat, Plogonnec, Plomelin, Plonéis and Pluguffan) to form a metropolitan area of 85,410 inhabitants, the Quimper communauté.

The Quimper metropolitan area is the region’s main employment centre. The economic activity is divided between service and administrative sectors and the agriculture and the food industry. Industrial activity and tourism also play a large role in the territory’s economy. In the 1980s, a large number of establishments previously involved in traditional sectors, changed mainly to the economic sectors of the canning, pastry-making, fashion and ceramics industries.

Assessment The assessment of the project is ongoing, based on the Max Jacob Centre’s ethical consensus protocol. The first part of the architectural project will begin at the end of 2013.

Strengths: - Involvement of a large number of varied organisations (city council, cultural organisations and agents, the citizenry, etc.).

Weaknesses: - The project is only in the early stages of implementation and still needs to increase visibility particularly with regard to the population. -The diversity of the organisations involved can often be the sources of conflict.

Ressources Presentation of the Cultural Centre by the Mayor of Quimper, Mr Bernard Poignant: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xcckma_budget-2010-le-pole-max-jacob-nouve_news

Contact Organisation: Mairie de Quimper (Quimper City Council) Contact: Ms Sandrine Maignan Direction of Cultural and Sociocultural Development - Director Email: [email protected] Phone: +33 298988900

You can consult more than 1.000 Educating Experiences in the website of the Educating Cities International Documents Databank (BIDCE): http://w10.bcn.es/APPS/edubidce/pubPortadaAc.do

Focus Experience # 3

Title Connections of Complicity Camargo Educating City

City: Camargo Basic data Country: Spain Number of inhabitants: 32.000 Topics: Policy and administration, institutional coordination, good governance. Principles of the Charter of Educating Cities: 1, 5, 6, Summary The Camargo Educating City is a project started in 2006 to bring together local educational initiatives. To carry it out, all the local education agents were called to forums and assemblies to look at the education situation in the municipality, and the conclusion reached was that there needed to be a more thorough analysis of the reality of local education.

The most important conclusions of the analysis were: -education agents do not know about the initiatives being run by the other education agents; -the lack of coordination between the various local education initiatives. -the lack of networks to facilitate inter-project connections; and -many organisations were unaware of the Opening of the exhibition “1st Meeting of Camargo Educating City “ educational value of their own initiatives.

Using the analysis as a starting point, an Action Plan was drawn up involving a number of working groups that would last four years.

The group focused on the weaknesses highlighted here above was known as: Knowledge, coordination, transversality and acknowledgment of local education initiatives. Other areas focused on educational innovation, organisational aspects of educational institutions, aspects of methodology used and so on.

The intention of the programme is to provide a central focus and interconnections for those educative initiatives already running, complementing them with some activities that are not offered but for which there is deemed a need.

Objectives - To identify local education agents, both qualitatively and quantitatively. - To publicise and inform about the municipality’s existing education initiatives. - To promote citizen participation in the evaluation and decision-making involved in the municipality’s education. - To create meeting spaces for local education agents where they can discuss, learn about and share their experiences.

- To plan coordinated activities and programmes among local education agents particularly between formal and non-formal education. - To encourage coordination with other programmes, departments, organisations and so on, particularly with Local Agenda 21, because of certain similarities in terms of objectives. - To create elements, events, principles and so on which can serve as hubs where numerous different local education agents cross each other. 1

Methodology A dynamic, action-research methodological model is used that feeds back on itself and allows for ongoing correction of processes. Creative resources are used and citizen participation is fostered.

Activities:

In successive phases different activities have been carried along this line of action under the title “Connections of Complicity”, the following of which are of special note:

- Listing and Guide to Educational Resources: an exhaustive study was carried out in order to make a list of all the educational activities, both formal and non-formal, in the municipality. The list was then used to write up and publish the Guide to Educational Resources, a document compiled and distributed to publicise all the local educational initiatives.

- The Camargo Educating City Meeting: in November 2008 a meeting was organised with the title “Show and share results, open new doors in a collective project”. 80% of the local education agents (schools, cultural, sports and social associations and municipal departments involved in educational activities: culture, environment, sports, social services, local police, etc.) took part to present their initiatives. The meeting lasted a week, and included exhibitions, themed round tables, lectures, workshops and so on, in which more than 2,000 people participated directly.

- Under the title of “Seed Sowing”, a number of education-related initiatives and events have been run over the four years, and shared with the population. These include: the Shared Book, which is a book that is taken around the municipality, in which citizens have been writing a common history; the Collective Seed -Sowing Poem Book which is an intergenerational creative space, an open book of poems created in different environments, which currently holds around 300 poems, and the Camargo Diary which is updated daily on the municipality The Shared Book website, and published in hard copy once a month.

- Camargo Connects Meeting: the continuing aim of learning about and connecting up the network of local initiatives gave rise in October 2010 to the “Camargo Connects” meeting, in collaboration with Local Agenda 21, somewhere for social and education agents to exhibit and share their initiatives, thoughts and Construction of the collective sculpture during the ideas. A collective sculpture Meeting “Camargo Connects” construction was made in the form of a net.

- Other initiatives: the coordination of all the intercultural actions run in 2010 in the municipality, coinciding with the International Year for the Rapprochement of Cultures and the pilot initiative “Open Classroom” in order to strengthen the open environment as an education resource and to create a specific teaching unit.

Social and Camargo has a population of 32,000, and urban context covers 36 km2. It has 4 km of coastline, eight districts, a densely populated city centre of 18,000 of the inhabitants concentrated into two districts with the rest distributed among the other six, three of which are predominantly rural.

The initiative is aimed at all organisations, institutions and social collectives that provide Views of Camargo educational services for the general public.

Assessment To monitor and assess the results of the initiative, a group of indicators have been taken into consideration:

-People/organisations participating in the events: a high level of participation and growing involvement in most initiatives and events. -The number of initiatives that have been coordinated for joint implementation: slow but steady progress and growth. -The increase in the level of coordination between education initiatives in municipal departments. -A large number of educative actions have been agreed by the different municipal departments. -Communication between the municipal educative agents improved acceptably. -Increase in the social perception of the implementation of the program, which was lacking in the first phase and has been high in the final phase.

Evaluation is particularly high with regard to the directing and awareness of citizen participation and the feeling that they are beginning to be connected through a budding network.

Strengths: -The growing complicity between the municipality’s education agents regarding the running of Camargo Educating City programme activities; they have confirmed the benefits of working together. -The general public comes to the programme’s centre as a local place where they can ask questions, spend some time in the library and so on.

Weaknesses: -Resistance to getting past the pre-existent “compartmentalized” model on the part of certain organisations and education agents. -The limited human resources and materials to develop certain activities.

Future proposals: -To continue to participate as much as possible, and to encourage the complicity and synergy of all education agents to build the Camargo Educating City common project and to create a network of local education organisations, providing an organic structure. -The project has a number of areas needing more detailed work as the basic guidelines have been drawn up. -The Action Plan for the next four years is already being drawn up.

Contact Organisation: Ayuntamiento de Camargo (Camargo City Council) Contact: Mr Santiago Canales Arronte Department of Education - Coordinator of Camargo Educating City and the Local Agenda 21 Email: [email protected] Phone: +34 660485355 / +34 942328290

Focus Experience # 4

Title Childhood, Art and Languages An artistic education project from Lyon

Basic data City: Lyon Country: France Number of inhabitants: 465.000 Topics: Art and humanities, social welfare, culture and leisure and personal development Principles of the Charter of Educating Cities: 1, 2, 4, 5, 10, 16, 17

Summary Lyon City Council‟s conviction that artistic and cultural education can be an incentive for children‟s learning process led to the creation in 2002 of the „Childhood, Art and Languages‟ project, in collaboration with the Ministries of Education and Culture. There are three aims:

1) to coordinate a network of innovative educational and artistic practices, inviting artists to do residencies in nursery schools; 2) to develop resources for artistic and cultural education; and 3) to encourage research on art and early childhood.

The term “residency” indicates that the artist stays in a school for a long period of time. This enables the pupils to get a close look at the artist‟s discipline, be it theatre, dance, music, plastic arts, circus, photography or any other. The artist brings the symbolic, creative, imaginary dimension of the craftsman to the school, which is made available to the pupils and developed alongside the school‟s adults. Music workshop The residencies last two to three years, in nursery schools (children form 2 to 6 years old) in socially, culturally and economically vulnerable areas.

To carry out this experience, artists and specialized territorial agents from the nursery schools (ATSEM in French) work in collaboration with district inspectors, education advisors and cultural centres from Lyon (the House of Dance, the Music Conservatory, the Art Museum, the Contemporary Art Museum, the National Art School and so on.)

Objectives -To initiate children into art and culture through participation in a creative process by an artist. -To offer an alternative to traditional learning methods, stimulating the children‟s sensitivity, imagination, curiosity, creativity, self-perception and the perception of the others. -To work on other aspects of learning in class (language, coexistence, corporal expression, discovery of the world and so on) through work done with the artist in the workshop. -To think about professional practices and new pedagogical currents.

Methodology Normally the artists do workshops with pupils, but the form their interventions take can vary. Their objective is not limited to putting artistic techniques across but also includes the creation of an artistic universe (a story, symbols, objects, movements, practices and so on.)

The project‟s objectives are suited to the nursery school, but the system allows to build, through collaboration between all the parties involved (teachers, artist and the ATSEM agents) an ambitious artistic and cultural project that feeds into the development and learning of the pupils. Pedagogical practices undergo progressive changes.

During September, the school‟s educational team and the artist design the Ear-telephone project together. Over the academic year, the artist attends the school for three or four half-days a week, twenty weeks of the school year. The residency can be extended to three years, if both parties agree.

As well as the activities carried out at the school, there are also meetings and visits (to museums, shows, libraries, getting to know the city and so on). During the year, training and reflection courses are also offered. Cups in the nature

Establishing an agreement between school/artist and one or more cultural institutions in the city means that the artist‟s discipline can be gone into in more depth and also to cross different artistic disciplines.

Throughout the school year, the teachers are monitored and supported by the National Institute of Evaluation of Education (IEN in French) of districts and by the teaching advisors. They work together on educational proposals adapted to these new artistic and cultural times.

A team of investigators from Lyon University has for years been observing and analysing artists‟ residencies in nursery schools, and every year brings out reports for consultation in the Childhood, Arts and Languages Project and on the website (www.eal.lyon.fr).

In the school year 2011-2012 the experience was renewed for the eighth time and the intention is to keep developing it through the establishment of relationships that help run artistic and cultural education projects across Europe. The “cARTable d‟Europe” Comenius Regio program puts together the project Childhood, Art and Languages and the Dramatic Centre of Wallonia for Children and Youth (La Louvière - Belgium) from 2011 to 2013.

Social and Lyon is the capital of the Rhône-Alpes region, and covers 47.87 km2. It has a urban context population of 465,000, of which 36,000 are foreigners. The city has always taken in immigrants from the Mediterranean countries, Europe, Asia, North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa. The unemployment rate is 7.8%.

Lyon is an outstanding example of a city dedicated to culture and creativity that Old Town of Lyon vibrates to the rhythm of an artistic life UNESCO World Heritage supported by a number of different teams and cultural events: the House of Dance, the Dance Biennial and the Contemporary Art Biennial, the Art Museum and so on.

The experience is applied in nursery schools in the city‟s high-priority areas.

Assessment - There is evidence of a good working dynamic in the schools.

- The children become immersed in a cultural world through a new system of learning.

Strengths:

- The duration of the artist‟s residency: three years for one artistic team in one nursery school. - The establishment of collaborations with Open air activities cultural teams. - Observation and assessment of the experience by a research team.

Future proposals:

-To share the experience of artists‟ residencies in children‟s education with other similar centres across Europe. -To continue to disseminate the progress of the experience through the collection “Embarquement immédiat!” (paper and electronic bilingual edition).

Presentation of the Project Childhood, Art and Languages (in French) Resources http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xggiuh_enfance-arts-et-langage_creation Publication “Embarquement immédiat” (in English and French) http://en.calameo.com/read/000777068e8d991671726

Contact Organisation: Mairie de Lyon (Lyon City Council) Contact: Ms. Christine Bolze Director of the project Childhood, Art and Languages Email: [email protected] Phone: + 33 4 78 38 62 10 Web : http://www.eal.lyon.fr

You can consult more than 1.000 Educating Experiences in the website of the Educating Cities International Documents Databank (BIDCE): http://w10.bcn.es/APPS/edubidce/pubPortadaAc.do

Focus Experience # 5

Title The Bitgoeul Senior Health Town A health project for the Gwangju senior citizens

Basic data City: Gwangju Country: Republic of Korea Number of inhabitants: 1.460.000 Topics: culture and leisure, health and sports, personal development, weltare Principles of the Charter of Educating Cities: 1, 2, 4, 10, 11, 14, 15

Gwangju Metropolitan City has an aging society, with those over 65 years old accounting Summary for 9.1% (132,915) of the total population (1,460,000). It is forecasted to become an aged- dominated society by 2018 and a super-aged society by 2026. To deal with social problems related to the fast growth of the senior population, the City Council of Gwangju created the Bitgoeul Senior Health Town in which elderly people are able to receive quality medical treatment and enjoy recreation, sports and leisure as well.

Dedicated to helping seniors to live a happy and wholesome life, this facility is regarded as an effective measure to prevent geriatric disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease, as well as to mitigate the government's health care burden. For this reason, it is increasingly attracting worldwide attention.

Objectives -To provide welfare, culture, sports and medical facilities to the elderly. -To promote a healthy life. -To foster social relationships and to enrich quality of life.

Methodology The Bitgoeul Senior Health Town has three differentiated spaces: the Welfare Center, the Cultural Center and the Sports Center. Each building has two stories. A total of 163 classes are offered per term, beginning in September 2009.

The Welfare Center consists of a physical therapy clinic, an emergency room, a counselling office, a billiard room and ample space for sport activities, such as dancing. Dance workshop

The Culture Center contains a natural therapy room, an art and play therapy room, a calligraphy room, a language laboratory, a music hall, a karaoke, a craft room, a janggi and baduk room and a performance hall.

The Sports Center is equipped with a swimming pool, an ondol room for yoga and exercise in general, a fitness space, a multipurpose gymnasium, a multimedia hall, a circular track, a table tennis court and an indoor jogging track. The “measurement” room carries out body composition and physical strength tests and assists people in finding systematic exercise programs that fit their needs. A golf course was recently opened in April 2010. The Restaurant and Spa Building Hall includes a restaurant, a spa and a beauty salon.

People aged 65 and above are admitted to the swimming pool for a fee of Euros 1.3 (Won 2,000) per day. Lessons are also available for a Euros 19.50 (Won 30,000) monthly fee. Opening hours are between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. The free fitness facility opens from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The indoor jogging track covering a surface area of 1,140m2 can be used free of charge from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The elastic urethane- coated floor is helpful in protecting ankles and knees. Play therapy room

Approximately 400-500 people use the Sports Center each day. People over 65 years old are entitled to use most of the sport facilities at no or low cost and are welcome to join programs that take place at the Welfare Center and the Culture Center.

During the first month after its opening approximately 100,000 people visited the Bitgoeul. On average nearly 4,000 people visit this facility every day. Utilized as a significant venue for a wide array of events, it is also conducive to promoting unity and harmony among community members.

Social networks in collaboration with hospitals, colleges and the silver industry facilitate the supply of volunteers. In addition, for retirees who are willing to work, it provides the opportunity to participate in the program’s management.

Gwangju is a South Korean city located in the southwest Social and of the country. The city has 1,460,000 inhabitants and a 2 urban context surface area of 501.36 km .

The Bitgoeul Senior Health Town is located in a residential area near the shopping district and is very convenient to reach by public transport. Thus, this seniors’ town ensures easy access for elderly users and offers a comfortable, independent environment.

The Bitgoeul Senior Health Town is an ideal complex for Aerial View of Gwangju Assessment elderly people who wish to receive the benefits of lifelong learning, recreation, sport and cultural activities. Various educational and cultural opportunities enhance their mental and physical well-being and foster a sense of belonging and fellowship; these involvements broaden the scope of their abilities and enrich their quality of life.

Senior clubhouses and resident centers of Gwangju were not able to accommodate the growing number of senior citizens and satisfy their intellectual needs as well. Dance workshop Thanks to the Bitgoeul Center their diversified needs and expectations are being met. The Bitgoeul Center is striving to become Korea's largest senior care facility.

Future proposals:

-To respond to the needs of an aging society, the Gwangju City Council is developing a new senior-friendly hall in the Bitgoeul, which is nowadays opened temporary and that will be completed in August 2012. This space has more than two hundred senior-friendly products which the elderly can experience personally (electronic sink, training machine for preventing Alzheimer’s disease, measuring instrument of blood vessel, etc.). -Another senior complex is under construction in the northern part of Gwangju to better serve senior citizens.

Contact Organisation: Gwangju Metropolitan City Contact: Ms. Kim Myeong-shin Human Resources Development Division—Creativity City Policy Planning Email: [email protected] Phone: +82 62 613 2372 Web: http://eng.gjcity.net

Focus Experience # 6

Title “Social Culture” A youth voluntary Programme from Cascais

Basic data City: Cascais Country: Portugal Number of inhabitants: 205,113 Topics: Welfare, associationism and participation, culture and leisure, civics and coexistence and personal development. Principles of the Charter of Educating Cities: 1, 4, 5, 9, 17, 20 Summary The “Social Culture” Programme, promoted by the Division of Youth and Knowledge of the Cascais City Council, is a summer volunteer programme that tries to offer alternatives to fill the free time of young people (between 15 and 25 years old) living in the municipality, and which contributes to their personal development.

The programme is rolled out jointly by the City Council and different non-profit entities in the municipality.

The areas of action of the programme are as follows: environment, social support, heritage sites, civil protection and socio-cultural awakening.

Objectives -To promote the healthy use of free time of young people during summer vacation, fostering their personal development. -To bring young people closer to local realities and provide them contact with the working world. -To foster community spirit, mutual aid and solidarity. -To support non-profit entities of the city or those working there, to promote the feasibility of their creative projects and foster youth involvement. Methodology The programme takes from June to September over three different shifts, of one month each and 25 hours per week, aimed at young people from 15 to 25 years old who live in the municipality of Cascais.

They are offered different projects in the action areas mentioned above, which provide a range of options so that the young people can choose the project Volunteers coordinate leisure that they most identify with. activities for children

The selection of young people is made jointly by the participating entity and the Division of Youth and Knowledge of the Cascais City Council. The latter is in charge of the selection of projects of the participating entities.

The criteria established for the selection of the projects and the young people are as follows: diversity of Volunteers participating in a projects, number of young people City Council Festival involved, relevance of the project to the community, impact on training of young people in civic values, etc. The participants receive Euros 10 daily to cover the costs arising from their participation in the programme, as well as a certificate of participation.

Some of the activities are:

-Accompanying the elderly on their Interview with volunteers walks and visits to gardens, museums, etc., as well as organising recreational activities for them (table games, cinema, teas, etc.). -Collaborating as monitors at summer camp for children and participating in the different activities that are carried out there: environment, recreation, art, etc. -Attending to people who visit the city’s museums. -Participating in the preservation of Volunteers provide information about the city’s heritage by doing field work. cultural activities -Collaborating on gardening activities with children and youth with physical or mental handicaps. -Organising information and documentation of different entities (filing, inputting data, digitalisation of documents, etc.). -Collaborating in cleaning up graffiti and children’s parks, as well as park and garden maintenance. Volunteers organise traditional Through the experience, the Cascais games activities City Council stimulates evaluation initiatives and project follow up.

Entities involved:

-The Cascais City Council and its districts. -Non-profit entities: social solidarity institutions, NGOs, sports clubs, youth associations, schools, hospitals and health centres, etc. Workshop on Portuguese traditional games

Social and The municipality of Cascais is located urban context in the greater metropolitan area of Lisbon, where most of the country’s population is located. It has 205,113 inhabitants and a population density of 1,943 inhab./km2.

It is divided into 6 districts (freguesias).

50% of the population is made up of young people (from 15 to 34 years Old Town of Cascais — Photo: Osvaldo Gago old). Assessment In 2010, 185 young people participated in a total of 35 projects linked mainly to the areas of socio-cultural activities and sport, followed by social solidarity. Furthermore, other areas of intervention were also dealt with such as heritage sites and safety, which led, in 2011, to the introduction of projects in the areas of heritage sites and civil protection.

The participation of young people in the programme was deemed very positive by the entities, who were asked for an evaluation of the work by the young people that included parameters such as: assiduity, effectiveness, initiative, motivation, punctuality and sociability.

In order to improve the programme, the participating entities were also asked for an evaluation on dissemination, the assignment of tasks to the young people, the working hours and follow up. Based on this evaluation the project was reset for 2011. The suggestions were as follows:

- having an information session addressed to the young people selected in order to inform them of the programme, the participating entities and the activities to be carried out.

- to make the programme longer, give out prizes to the best work and make the programme more dynamic.

In 2011, 525 young people registered and 56 entities joined the project, which shows its positive impact.

Resources Presentation of the Project (in Portuguese) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0Ehwmad_vs Interview with the volunteers (in Portuguese) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovBRpSG5r30

Contact Organisation: Câmara Municipal de Cascais (City Council of Cascais) Contact: Ms Carla Cristina Gonçalves Henriques Ferreira Division of Youth and Knowledge Email: [email protected] Phone: +351 21 481 59 10 Website: http://www.cm-cascais.pt

You can consult more than 1.000 Educating Experiences in the website of the Educating Cities International Documents Databank (BIDCE): http://w10.bcn.es/APPS/edubidce/pubPortadaAc.do International Association of Educating Cities www.edcities.org

Focus Experience # 7

Title Inclusion Drivers Programme A volunteering initiative which promotes social inclusion of disabled citizens of Montevideo Basic data City: Montevideo Country: Uruguay Number of inhabitants: 1,325,958 Topics: Associationism and participation, civics and coexistence, culture and leisure, health and sports, lifelong learning, social welfare, and personal development Principles of the Charter of Educating Cities: 1, 2, 4, 5, 9, 14, 16, 17, 20

Summary The disabled have historically been excluded from the major lines of public policy, and the number of cases in which a transversal action following an inclusion-based perspective have been very limited. Different causes are behind this situation, including the orientation of “special” focussed policies “for minorities” and groups of disabled persons and the creation of a predominant culture of invisibility of the issue.

It is obvious that a change in direction that puts into practice the important principles of the Convention of Rights of the Disabled and fosters the full use of these rights is both necessary and possible.

Another feature is the concept of the participation of citizens in the process of construction and roll out of social changes. Specifically, in the area of disabilities, awareness plays a great role in generating a process of cultural change. The awareness of the social actants is fundamental to incorporating this issue into daily life, no matter in what area.

Thus a working process has been carried out with young volunteers motivated around this specific issue, capable of playing a leading role in the process of making the population, the authorities and public and private institutions aware of the issue.

In the training of these young people we deal with issues relating to disability, awareness proposals, adapted inclusive recreational and sport resources and aspects inherent Volunteers teach sign language in the processes of planning events, organisation and evaluation.

The objective is for these groups to act as multipliers of their knowledge and spread the perspective of inclusion, through awareness proposals. At the end of the annual work process, the City Council of Montevideo recognises the individuals who have played an active role in this area.

Objectives -To make the issue of disability more visible in society . -To train groups of drivers in disabled issues awareness. -To include the concept of disability in the social life of communities. -To make the population, institutions and authorities aware of this issue. -To create groups of young volunteers who develop an active citizenry in line with the policies of the City Council. -To develop a new concept (paradigm) for volunteering: construction of active citizens collaborating with government bodies. -To instill the concept of inclusion in society, with a special emphasis in the disabled and their rights. Methodology The general methodology of the program has two movements or components that mutually feed each other: the dynamics of groups and intervention activities.

The group dynamics constitute the moment of creation of the strategies for dealing with the issues. Work is based on the characteristics of the context in which action will be taken: the needs of the group are determined, the topics of interest are dealt with through training workshops, the activities are planned and tasks and roles distributed, in relation to each intervention. It is crucial to the action of the groups to identify and define the objectives Awareness workshop depending on context and the target community.

The intervention activities are carried out in different community and institutional environments. Here we basically seek the active participation of people in awareness activities, games and sports. For example, the participants have the chance to experience the sensations of getting around with the canes of the blind, move around in wheel-chairs or use sign language. They also play and do sport with adaptations, in which people with and without disabilities participate jointly.

During the first year of implementation, 2009, the experience began as a pilot project, with the creation of an initial group of volunteers that made it possible to roll out approximately 20 interventions in Montevideo and in some other departments around the country, such as Salto and Canelones. This first phase brought forth a positive, pertinent evaluation of the project.

In 2010 we sought to multiply the experience with other groups by setting up more working groups and beginning new awareness and visibility initiatives. Thus, two groups of volunteers were organised, one made up of participants from the previous year including new people, the other beginning from scratch with new volunteers. Throughout 2010 various training workshops were held with the groups and we doubled the number of interventions. In addition to consolidating the proposal, the group created in 2009 was reinforced, a new group was added, and experience multiplication processes were begun in the departments of San José, Canelones and Maldonado.

In 2011, the groups to which more young people were added were maintained and awareness and training processes were begun with various groups, in order to foster greater inclusion of groups into the program.

Social and Montevideo is the political capital of Uruguay. The city has approximately urban context 1,300,000 inhabitants; 1,973,000 inhabitants if you take into account the entire metropolitan area. The city is divided into 59 neighborhoods. The experience takes place mainly in the department of Montevideo, but the impact of the groups transcends these limits.

The areas of intervention of the program are broad and diverse and include neighbourhood initiatives, Independence Square of Montevideo Photo: Martin St-Amant - Wikipedia such as festivals, fairs, recreational - CC-BY-SA-3.0 events as well as educational centres, institutions events of public and private bodies. The groups are made up of young people from both genders, with and without disabilities. Their action is aimed at the society as a whole, adapting the forms of intervention to children, youth and adults.

Assessment This volunteer-based experience is the first at the national level to deal with the issue of disability based on a process of awareness and visibility. Based on the start-up of this innovative form of participation of young volunteers, certain changes have been noted:

In the young participants in the groups: -Creative-participation: active participation of the young people is facilitated in the creation, carrying out, and evaluation of the impact of the different awareness initiatives. -Analysis of scopes and limitations: stimulation of analysis and identification of individual and collective knowledge on the issue of disability. -Identification of the necessary Beach activities knowledge to be included: the specific issues to be included as new knowledge are defined collectively. -Significant learning process and its transfer: the knowledge on the issue is significantly improved, allowing for the young people to be able to act as drivers of the inclusion process in the most diverse environments. -Critical reflection: critical analysis and reflection is stimulated and fostered on the causes of the situations dealt with.

In the daily context, made up of: -Re-signification of the role of young people: the role of the young people acquires a new leadership based on the knowledge acquired, the experiences lived and the proactive attitude assumed. -Transfer of concepts: the perception of the young people in general is transformed, positively impacting and incorporating the perspective of inclusion in the respective insertion areas. -Re-signification of disability: a positive change in the perspective of some of the environments in which the young people act on a daily basis has been perceived, either because the issue has begun to be seen in a way more centred on people and not on the stigma of disability.

Incorporation of the perspective of inclusion in the communities, institutions and programs with which we have worked: In many of the working environments in which we have intervened, the latter have begun to progressively take into account the people with disabilities in different communities and initiatives have been developed that contemplate their aspirations and foster inclusion.

Inclusion of the issue in the City Council: A similar effect to the above has been seen in relation to the perception of some offices and departments in the City Council, and we have also observed a positive evaluation by the different working teams and motivation to include modifications of procedures and measures aiming at putting a greater emphasis on the perspective of the rights of the disabled.

From “myths” to the “new realities”, a change in our regard: An important aspect of note is that in many community and academic environments, the issue of disability has been treated as something “reserved for specialists”, which has contributed in part to experts being the only ones to be entrusted to act on this issue. The innovative experience of grouping young people with a collaboration-based Wheelchair basketball match attitude, initiative and motivation, has allowed us to roll out a process of acquisition of the basic skills for collaborating on “changing our regard” that our society is beginning to experience in relation to the issue of disability. The social focus of the issue has allowed us to begin individual and social processes, capable of showing that the skills for change are generated and undertaken collectively, through awareness and participation, amongst broad sectors and communities in society. Boccia workshop

Resources Short documentary on the project (in Spanish) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SBjFQVXL-k

Contact Organisation: Intendencia Municipal de Montevideo (Montevideo City Council) Secretary of Social Management of Disability Contact: Mr Federico Lezama Executive Coordinator Email: [email protected] Phone: +598 2 1950 2036 Web : http://www.montevideo.gub.uy

Focus Experience # 8

Title United for Your Public Space Promotion of citizen participation in the regeneration of Zapopan public space Basic data City: Zapopan Country: México Number of inhabitants: 1,243,538 Topics: associationism and participation, welfare, civics and coexistence, culture and leisure, health and sport and urban development. Principles of the Charter of Educating Cities: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 16, 17, 20 Summary Public space fulfils a function of social cohesion, communication and tolerance in a community. However, in different areas of the city these spaces have deteriorated as a result of various social problems, such as a lack of safety, violence, drug-trafficking or drug use, etc.

In order to recuperate our public spaces and decrease crime rates and violence in the city through citizen participation, the Municipal Government of Zapopan set up Knowing the city by bike in April 2011 a programme called “United for Your Public Space”. Rolled out by the Coordinating Committee for Strategic Programmes and Social Entrepreneurship of the Directorate of Social and Human Development, in coordination with various civic organisations, the programme consists in generating community coexistence in the neighbourhoods through a series of interventions and activities that promote people getting together.

Our working methodology is as follows: 1. Study of the perception of public space on the part of the community. 2. Designing workshops or events to stimulate interest in taking back public spaces. 3. Establishment of a working plan shared by organisations in civil society and the municipal government for the organization of events or workshops. 4. Follow up of the use of public space by the community.

The educative impact expected from the experience is linked to encouraging the participation of citizens of all ages in the neighbourhoods of the municipality and the construction of a citizenry that is more committed to pushing forward the creation of a more humane, healthy, inclusive and just city.

Objectives - To boost and develop new social dynamics in public spaces that have become run down throughout the municipality. - To promote public space as a basis for community development, reinforcing the feeling of belonging and resolving social problems in a community. - To work with the neighbourhoods in order to jointly develop solutions to the problems that they are experiencing and reinforce their strengths. - To work with the different internal departments of the municipal government on the different needs of the communities in relation to their public spaces. - To follow up the establishment of leaderships and groups of citizens of public spaces. - To design manuals and materials that promote links for working with the people in the neighbourhoods. 1

Methodology Phases of the project:

1. The “United for Your Public Space” programme is disseminated to the organisations in civil society which are invited to collaborate by taking their campaigns, contents, activities, interventions and/or materials to the neighbourhoods. The municipal government coordinates the activities and encourages the emergence of citizen initiatives.

At this time 10 citizen organizations are participating and working on issues such as the environment, human rights, mobility, citizen participation or peace, to wit: Greenpeace, Amnesty International, Jalisco Ecology Group, Citizen Proposal Movement, Rescue Guadalajara Foundation, CITA Arquitectura, Mi Bici-o, Integral University Push, Many for Peace and Tree Network.

2. An initial walk is taken with the residents of the neighbourhoods, in which the neighbourhood and its situation are shown to the institutions.

3. Various educating, creative activities and interventions are designed that can encourage community coexistence. Some examples are:

a) “Block” (Cuadra): awareness workshop for taking back public spaces. Thanks to the collaboration of a group of young town planners, a diagnosis is made of the condition of public spaces in the neighbourhoods and the most importance spaces are identified in order to improve them with the collaboration of the residents through interventions and activities that respect the identity of each neighbourhood.

b) “Open Air Cinema”: showing films on a gigantic screen in public spaces of the participating neighbourhoods. In order to generate a cross-generational encounter, the films selected are addressed to all audiences and transmit family values.

c) “Feet on My Street”: walks to identify and recognise the potential and weaknesses of public spaces, urban trees, exhibitions of information-photographs with pedagogical contents, etc.

Open air cinema by night d) “Pedalling through My Neighbourhood”: bicycle routes in order to encourage the use of this means of transportation and physical exercise. The bicycles are loaned out by the municipal government and the routes include visits to emblematic public spaces and information on the origin of the buildings in the area.

e) “Free Parks”: travelling theme parks. Abandoned municipal spaces are located in order to transform them with the support and collaboration of the residents, turning them into spaces designed by the same residents. The activities are designed for ¿How would you like this street to be? each block: for example: on one block activities are carried out for children that foster and recoup Mexican traditions: traditional games, such as hopscotch, raffles, etc., while in another street, activities are carried out for adults: dancing, crafts, exchange of professions, etc.; and in another street there are activities for young people: sports tournaments, urban art, or graffiti competitions, music band competitions, etc.

f) Plays, dance class, artistic interventions, etc. A new use of the street

Social and Zapopan has a population of 1,243,538 inhabitants (according to statistics from the National Statistics and Geography Institute of Mexico, 2010) and is the municipality urban context with the highest GDP per capita and Human Development Index in the state of Jalisco. It is part of the greater metropolitan area of Guadalajara, the second most populated area in the country. Its main economic sectors are services, industry and agriculture and fishing.

The “United for Your Public Space” programme is addressed mainly to the middle and lower-middle class neighbourhoods, located in different parts of the municipality. At this time the experience focuses on 20 neighbourhoods, with a potential impact on 100,000 inhabitants. Assessment The “United for Your Public Space” programme is making changes to the neighbourhoods, generating community and consolidating links of trust and solidarity amongst residents. It is also fostering an attitude of collaboration for transforming the neighbourhoods and public spaces.

Of special note is the solid alliance with organisations in civil society that are participating, since they are continuing to carry out their activities on a permanent basis and plan to adopt new neighbourhoods.

The level of citizen participation has increased notably; the activities and interventions have managed to bring together a large number of residents in their public spaces. The constant debate on the ideal neighbourhood desired by residents has generated very solid proposals that have impacted and will continue to impact the neighbourhoods positively. An example of this is the proposal of the residents of “San Isidro Ejidal” to pedestrianize a street, given the lack of community meeting spaces. This project has been adopted and will be carried Awareness workshop out thanks to the initiatives of individuals and the citizenry, as they are the ones who will provide the final work project and the economic resources to build it.

The main proposal for the future is for the initiative to be welcomed and adopted by other organisations in civil society in order to expand its impact and ensure continuity. We will to establish a strong alliance with private initiative, the media and universities, one of the agreements of this alliance must be, without a doubt, the recuperation of public Citizens participating in project activities spaces in our neighbourhoods.

Resources Video on the Initiative “Pedalling through My Neighbourhood” (in Spanish) http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xo7ak6_pedaleando-mi-colonia_news

Contact Organisation: City Council of Zapopan Contact: Ms Claudia Wvedeliza Domínguez Sánchez Division of Education — Director Email: [email protected] Phone: +52 3338182200 Ext: 3873 o 3893 Website: http://www.zapopan.gob.mx

Focus Experience # 9

Title Castello Alto Project Citizen participation in the transformation of this neighbourhood of Castelfiorentino

Basic data City: Castelfiorentino Country: Italy Number of inhabitants: 17991 Topics: associationism and participation, welfare, civics and coexistence, culture and leisure, personal development, lifelong learning and health and sport. Principles of the Charter of Educating Cities: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 16, 17, 18, 20

Summary In the Castello Alto area, the historical centre of Castelfiorentino, the population has been generally dissatisfied of late, and there have also been several altercations. The Castello Alto project has arisen from the desire of the City Council of Castelfiorentino to set up a common strategy by creating synergies between the activities of different local associations and the citizenry, in order to carry out a social transformation of this city district.

The Kappaerre Association, a social welfare body fostering citizen participation, has taken charge of creating and rolling out the project, as well as coordinating the local associations involved and the informal groups of citizens who also participate in the project. Arch of Entry to the Castello Alto Neighbourhood

The Castello Alto area, which is inhabited by a large percentage of immigrant population, has different features when compared to the rest of the city. Between 2006 and 2008 the number of immigrants in this area reached 40%, a very high percentage compared to the national average. The old town is very densely populated and has become a multi-cultural, heterogeneous reality, with different ways of looking at public space and social relations, and, accordingly, an intervention was called for in order to prevent possible social instability.

The main goals of this project were to provide services and opportunities and foster the social integration of immigrants and minimize social conflicts. In the Castello Alto area a sense of disappointment and alienation was appreciated, especially amongst the local elderly, due to the multi-ethnic transformation of the neighbourhood. Based on the idea that the path to inclusion and social integration must be based on cultural exchange, it was necessary to create points of encounter and collaboration that facilitate cross-cultural dialogue on social norms and the shared use of public spaces.

Objectives The main objective was to set up an experimental intervention of citizen participation in the Castello Alto area that would involve the different social actants there (institutions, social services, associations, informal groups of citizens, companies, shops, etc.) in order to foster the integration of the immigrant population and improve the peaceful coexistence of different cultures, in addition to creating a co- participatory intervention committee to back up the actions of the experience and raise funds to carry out different activities.

Specific objectives: -To educate the population about civic responsibility and respect for public space and heritage, and to instil a feeling of community and solidarity, in order to promote social inclusion of all persons. -To make the community responsible for the process of social hosting and integration of people that are culturally, ethnically, socially and physically different. -To improve and increase citizen participation in the management and use of the city’s public spaces in order to make them places for recreation, in which people can gather. -To transform the Castello Alto area into an active citizen space for collaboration amongst different social actants, in order to create a bridge with the city and thus avoid isolation becoming degradation. -To transform the district into a city resource, from the social, cultural, economic and development points of view. Methodology The methodology used is based, on the one hand, on the acquisition of life skills, which promote personal and social well-being and are necessary for facing up to problems, and, on the other, on active participation of the citizenry, stimulating their critical attitude, independence, self-management and responsibility.

Some of the activities included in the programme:

1. Let’s Get Carried away by Sport! (Transportiamoci!):

This project is designed to coordinate all the sport organisations in Castelfiorentino managed by the Centre for Childhood, Adolescence and Family. The main goal is to bring sport closer to the children of the Castello Alto area and ensure that they gather other children outside their social environment, while fostering, at the same time, a healthy lifestyle. On the swimming pool 2. Cross-cultural study space:

Educators and volunteers, aided by cultural mediators, provide support to Arab mothers so that they can help their children with their homework. Moreover, this is a meeting place to deal with issues relating to the education of their children, and, at the same time, to work on self-sufficiency, through the learning of Italian and knowledge of the different municipal services.

3. Recreation and meeting place:

This is a premises of the City Council assigned to the residents of the Castello Alto district, refurbished with the help of the residents in the neighbourhood, including children. It is made up of three different spaces, in which different activities are carried out, that change based on the suggestions of children and youth. Educators and volunteers help out with the activities. Families and educators also meet here, which helps everyone to get to know each Refurbishing the recreation space other.

4. Neighbourhood dinners:

The purpose of this initiative is to develop a greater sense of community feeling in the neighbourhood and bring locals and immigrants, youth and adults, closer together. This idea arose from the wish of children to jointly organize a dinner with people in the neighbourhood. The first dinner took place in 2011 and was held in a small garden where kids normally play. The dinner was prepared jointly by the entire neighbourhood, including children, Preparing the community dinner educators, tradespeople and volunteer associations.

5. Local crafts workshops:

Through this initiative and thanks to the involvement of local crafts people, techniques and trades linked to local traditions have been taught. Workshops are carried out so that children and young people can work with different materials. The first workshop took place in 2011, led by specialized crafts people making nativity scenes and showing people how to model clay. The second workshop will be on wood- working for making games as well as furniture for the places the City Council has provided for the project.

6. Neighbourhood committee:

The purpose of this body, which is still being organised, will be to coordinate all the entities collaborating on the organisation of the activities: social, educative, sport, youth, cultural, commercial and volunteer bodies, as well as people participating individually. Social and Located in the hills of Tuscany, in the urban context province of Florence, Castelfiorentino has a population of 17,991 inhabitants (2011 stats). It has a population density of 260 inhabitants/km2. The city forms part of the Empolese Valdelsa conurbation area, together with ten other municipalities.

The population by age group breaks down as follows: 0 to 18 years old: 16,2%, 19 to 60: 53.5%, and people over 60: 30.2%.

Castelfiorentino general view © Sailko In January 2009 the city had a total of 1,998 immigrants, 753 of which were from Albania, 479 from Morocco and 238 from China. With regards to the population under 18, 20.99% were born abroad or are second generation. These statistics show that in Castelfiorentino, 1 out of every 5 people represents a new culture and a different ethnic group. This is most evident in the Castello Alto district since it houses, in a concentrated way, many immigrant families. In this multi-cultural area a wide-variety of lifestyles can be found.

In the past the city’s economy was characterised by agriculture and livestock: fruit, meat, milk products. Good road transportation routes with nearby cities (Florence, Pisa, Sienna, etc.) facilitated the transport of products easily to market. Other commercialized products are: wine, cereals, tobacco and oil.

At this time, amongst its new economic resources, Castelfiorentino has a large number of small and medium-sized companies producing clothing, footwear, furniture, construction materials and engineering services.

Assessment A general improvement has been detected in the relations between immigrant and local children.

Of special note is the involvement of certain crafts people, who, on their own initiative and in a disinterested manner, organize workshops for the children and young people, without charge.

Strengths:

- Increase in respect for the law. - Capacity for self-management of the meeting space provided by the City Council. - Re-establishment of public order in the area. - Increase in citizen participation: children, youth, families and neighbourhood residents. Showing handicraft

Weaknesses:

- There are few economic, cultural and training- related resources in order to give continuity to the project. - The meeting place provided by the City Council is not big enough for all the children and young people.

Future projects:

- To diversify the activities by age groups. - To create a research and documentation centre with the collaboration of different public and private agents. - There is interest on the part of other cities in the Empolese Valdelsa conurbation area, where they have also detected a certain dissatisfaction amongst the population of some neighbourhoods, Community dinner in rolling out an educative, social process based on the Castello Alto model.

Contact Organisation: City Council of Castelfiorentino (Florence, FI) Centre for Childhood, Adolescence and Family (CIAF) Contact: Ms Rosa Emilia González Coordinator of CIAF— Bureau of Educating City Email: [email protected] Phone: +39 0571629674 Website: http://www.comune.castelfiorentino.fi.it

Focus Experience # 10

Title Beauty Salons for Preventing Domestic Violence in Caguas Basic data City: Caguas Country: Puerto Rico Number of inhabitants: 142,769 Topics: women participation, gender equity, violence prevention, welfare, civics and coexistence, personal development and lifelong learning Principles of the Charter of Educating Cities: 1, 2, 4, 9, 14, 17, 19, 20 Summary The Services for Integral Development of Women Programme (SIDWP) is a unit of the Department of Citizen Services of the City Council of Caguas, whose mission is to provide the optimal quality of life to women in Caguas. The SIDWP includes different projects designed with the participation of the citizenry, addressed to promoting the integral development of the female population. One of these projects is the “Beauty Salons for Preventing Domestic Violence”, which began in 2009 and aimed at supporting the reduction and eradication of domestic violence, considered one of the main obstacles that women have to face across the country in order to achieve well-being.

The project arose from queries made of small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) involved in the beauty care of women.

The consultations made at the beauty salons evidenced: - between 75% and 80% of the customers are women. - 95% of the owners are women. - 98% of the salons queried indicated that they had customers who suffered from domestic violence. - 70% of the establishments indicated that they had incidents of domestic violence right in their salons. - 85% of the owners pointed out that they did not know what to do to prevent or handle situations of The Mayor of Caguas, Mr. William domestic violence at work. Miranda Torres handing over diplomas to the owners of beauty salons which participated in the 1st edition of the Based on this information, a socio-educative project Project intervention was designed in conjunction with the SMEs, which is carried out while the customers of these establishments receive beauty care.

Amongst the achievements of the Project, of special note are: a) the staff of the beauty salons show an interest in developing a policy of zero tolerance of domestic violence at their shops, b) they have become spokespeople and collaborators since they refer women who are victims of domestic violence to the municipal services which Presentation of the Project to some deal with this issue, and of the beauty salon owners’ c) other beauty salons have contacted them because they are interested in the experience. 1

Objectives -To promote the participation of small and medium-sized companies in initiatives for the reduction and eradication of domestic violence in the city. - To increase the identification of the victims of domestic violence or those at risk of becoming victims, by providing guidance at the beauty salons and their referrals by the owners to the municipal specialised services. - To promote the implementation of Protocol on management of domestic violence at the workplaces, as per the Act 54 on the Intervention against Domestic Violence of the Free Associated State of Puerto Rico. - To publicise the specialized services of the municipal government to the victims of domestic violence. - To foster citizen participation in the action plans for city safety.

Methodology The “Beauty Salons for Preventing Domestic Violence” Project uses models that promote citizen participation in order to identify solutions and strategies that deal with this social challenge. For several years the City Council of Caguas has used the “democratic governance” model (2008), to roll out all the city’s strategic plans. The SIDWP, as part of the municipal government, uses this focus to promote the participation of all the social sectors in the search for solutions. This is the reason for the inclusion of the business sector of the city in the reduction and eventual eradication of domestic violence.

As part of the process of contacting and identifying the beauty salons, the people in charge of the Project made visits to the salon owners. At a joint meeting a folder with educational support material to be distributed at the salons is given to the owners. Furthermore, the owners participate in a Protocol workshop on domestic violence in the workplace, in which issues such as: basic concepts, victim profile, aggressor profile, effects, danger indicators, and support and protection services offered under law are dealt. The owners can call the people in charge of the Project whenever they have doubts and detect a situation of violence.

At the beauty salons different awareness activities can be carried out. The format of each activity is determined through a visit to the salon by the Workshop on domestic violence personnel working for the Project and in concert with the owner or manager. There is also an evaluation made on domestic violence situations at the salon, in order to take into account the areas to strengthen through workshops and educational interventions.

Activities carried out at the beauty salons:

- Forum Theatre: a one-person play is put on to promote the participation of the customers of the beauty salons in this theatre exercise, making the public an active part of the situation recreated. Dialoguing while getting the hair cut - Generating Topics: dialogues focus on the transformation of cultural models that are oppressive to women and which constitute a hindrance to seeking help. - Cine Forum: situational videos are viewed with the customers in order to reflect on the issue and apply strategies to daily life in order to prevent domestic violence.

The recognition of citizen-company-government collaboration has stimulated the interest of other beauty establishments to join the initiative. Cine forum on a beauty saloon

Thanks to these strategies, potential victims of domestic violence have been identified, and safety plans and emotional support interventions have been developed. On the other hand, the Project has generated a lot of collaboration and camaraderie amongst the participating establishments who work towards the same common goal even though they are competitors.

Moreover, the SIDWP has alliances with different social sectors in the city, which are also at the service of this project: shelters for abused women, legal advisory programmes, and a specialized domestic violence unit of the State Police, faith-based organisations, together with residents of other community organisations, and individual citizens who offer volunteer services. Social and Caguas is an autonomous municipality in the centre- east region of Puerto Rico. It has a surface area of urban context 152 km2 and a population of 142,893 inhabitants, 52% of which are women. The city is divided into 11 neighbourhoods, 4 of which are involved in the initiative. 35,383 women reside in them.

This initiative is addressed to the prevention of domestic violence and dealing with its consequences for women from the age of 15 and up Aerial view of Caguas who live in the city of Caguas.

Assessment The more relevant assessment indicators of the Project are: - Increase in the number of beauty salons and customers that are participating in the interventions. -The identification of customers referred to the specialised services to deal with the situation of domestic violence. - The implementation at the beauty salons of a business policy of zero tolerance of domestic violence.

Strengths: - The development of socio-educative interventions to prevent domestic violence in non- traditional situations, such as beauty salons, which facilitate greater scope of possible participants who in other ways would not be possible to receive guidance. - The inclusion of small and medium-sized companies in social projects as agents of change in relation to a pressing social problem in the country. - The willingness and wish of the owners of the beauty salons to support projects of interest to the community. - Although the incidents of domestic violence have not been fully eradicated, this Project together with others of the SIDWP have managed to reduce the murder rate related to domestic violence to zero in our city. This is a very encouraging sign given the daily reality of Puerto Rico. - To adjust the socio-educative intervention to the dynamics of a non-traditional scenario and meet its goal.

Future projects: - To obtain financing in order to expand the Project geographically and to increase the team of facilitators in order to reach more women. -To use the spaces of the beauty salons to deal with other issues that affect the welfare of women. - To share the Project with other municipalities that can replicate this successful initiative.

Contact Organization: City Council of Caguas Contact: Ms Aida Yvette González Santiago Secretary of Human Development Email: [email protected] [email protected] Phone: + 1 7877042020 Web : http://www.caguas.gov.pr

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