Community Matera meets Edgeryders
After introducing the web community of Matera and the inspiring presentation from the youngsters in Profumo di Svolta, we identified 5 challenges and split into groups to discuss each:
Matera challenge #1: bring social innovation in small towns under 10K inhabitants
Matera challenge #2: how to keep the @unmonastery alive to prevent squatting/vandalizing before February 1st
Matera challenge #3: how to manage a mixed online/offline interaction in communities.
Matera challenge #4: help the lovely Profumo di Svolta develop more projects
This is a summary of the discussion groups in Challenge #2.
Keeping the space alive means
- occupying the space so it can’t be squatted by vandals.
- consideration of hosting people, clear tasks, weekly self-organized activities (make shared values and basic rules of conduct clearly available!).
- responding to concerns of locals: a lot of local cultural and political associations who have to pay for the space, and this would be offered for free!
- Importance to gain local recognition of the space as cultural centre, wherin the unmonastery takes place as a project.
How could this be done? What kind of strategies & activities?
- organize workshops to present unMonasterian's proposals (especially in video) and give a sense of openness of the process
- give the unMonastery space an umbrella name (more comprehensive) - strategic considerations: basically making it clear that the unMonastery is only one of the projects for a space dedicated to the local community first and foremost!
- Idea: what about moment of coaching, inviting similar initiatives that share their concepts, experiences and cultural ideas. For example asking the conservatory and local bands whether they need space to rehearsal.
- highlight the importance of selection process and precaution regarding the handing out of keys etc.
- Question about tourists and wifi usage: meeting place for tourists to exchange.
- Space as a room for creativity: name for space vs. name for projects taking place in there
- Cooperation with other neighbouring initiatives (Fucine dell'Eco, Casa Netural, future House of Design), exchanging interests and sharing capacity not becoming another cultural tribe, overlapping and creating rivalries --> peacemakers
Hosting what?
- List of what is meaningful needs of the people – local community
- Municipality stores proposals of local initiatives like Profumo di Svolta
- Local artists allowed to use the space
- Suggestions of carrying something over into the period from February in order to establish constant cultural value for the local people
- Proposal to reach out into schools, trying to get the message out to the young people, idea of offering open school: informatics classes, English lessons, yoga --> getting in contact with the 8 kids which left their names on the paper
- Problem : making the openness of the space clear to everyone that enters it – space not only unmonastery
- Importance to identify local advisors that have the contacts
- Interconnection between interest groups
- Applications by artists carried out through Skype conferences
- The unMonastery could gain more acceptance among locals by being uncool, not trying to communicate the PERFECT image of experts
- Differentiate between HOSTS/ carers of the space, unmonasterians, lote participants for events, and locals using the space - different roles which help create a better understanding of the use of the public space
- Subdivision of volunteering platform where local people – Task force that operates mainly locally and hosts the resources: could be Edgeryders. unMon visiting members and especially people in the local civil society who take leadership in organising events
Follow up discussion - 2 priorities, in the words of Rossella Tarantino:
- the space must be renovated - Rita O in charge; problem is that there won’t be heating throughout the winter;
The space belongs to the municipality and hasn’t been committed to anything before February 2014 -> Matera2019 needs permission to use it prior;
- to build the furniture.
! make citizens aware that there is a space which could be used by the local community, but also for public purposes
- timeline: 13 november 1st step of the European Capital of Culture evaluation. Matera2019 Committee is speaking in front of the jury at the Italian Ministry of Culture. The answer if Matera is shortlisted or not is going to arrive maximum one week later. 17-18 november Regional elections. Person responsible in the Municipality is running for Regional Council so there is going to be a span of time until we find new persons.
*MT2019 platform: change initial page “why a community” / create the shared calendar / write rules for good use of the unmonastery / find a new name in a shared way
