19/11/2023 – CoNECT Team hosted the second meeting setting the stage for what will be known as the URBOTECA Fellowship 2024.
Our common vision? We aim to discover together the themes of public interest relevant to the scale of neighborhoods through participatory diagnosis of public spaces and facilities. In this way we bring relevant community initiatives to the attention of authorities for a better distribution of public resources. We want to demonstrate the qualities of a participatory public interest process and promote the adoption of a permanent tool through which public authorities provide constant resources for the collection and reflection of local community hypotheses.
This meeting was focused on setting a more tangible framework for the Fellowship.
The local hosts are real catalysts for change - to help us achieve our mission. Institutions such as Civic Initiative Groups, The Institute as the organization promoting the creative neighborhood idea or Masca Theater coordinator who is willing to understand how to engage with the inhabitants from a highly dense neighborhood are just a few examples of places where these common interest activities could take place more.
We've adopted the term "situations" to describe the unique combination of spaces and the intentions of the hosts that are already going toward the common interest in that area.
Our invitation for future fellows extends beyond the conventional training program: we seek anthropologists, architects/urban planners/engineers/geographers, visual/performative artists.
Teams will consist of at least three students enrolled in bachelor’s and master’s degrees, but also PhDs programs or even not enrolled at all in any educational program, but willing to engage with knowledge on processes that search for common interest and community cohesion at neighborhood level.
We established that the journey should begin with an intimate understanding of our public spaces and facilities through a participatory diagnosis. By engaging directly with these areas, we aim to bring the most pertinent community-level initiatives into the spotlight, ensuring that, in the future, public resources are allocated more effectively and following more closely the PUBLIC’s visions and perceptions.
Storytelling methods and artistic techniques will be used for enriching the visibility of these intiatives and their SITUATIONS.
This journey of urban and community exploration is more than a series of meetings; it is an invitation to collaborate, to learn from each other, and to actively participate in designing the future of our neighborhoods. Each participant - from anthropologists to architects, from artists to residents - will bring a unique perspective, enriching the process and the final outcomes.
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