About the porject

Acting Communities – Active Community Involvement
EFOP-1.3.1-15-2016-00001

This priority project of the European Union was launched at 16 September 2016 by the consortium set up for the cooperation of the Hungarian Open Air Museum – Museum Education and Methodology Centre, the NMI Institute for Culture Nonprofit Ltd. and the National Széchényi Library.

The overall objectives of the project – accomplished by the national centres of museums, community cultural centres and libraries – are to increase the social activity, the community involvement, furthermore to advance the opening of the cultural institutions as well as to improve the equal opportunities by the means of community development.
The project – with the special tools of cultural institutions – helps to enhance the relationships between local governments, their cultural institutions and the local citizens; and also to establish more active local communities which can activate the local society.
The consortium partners provide continuous professional support to accomplish community development and to strengthen the social cohesion. The reached institutions, organizations and their professionals become capable to activate the local cultural communities and to organize volunteer networks by the new skills received from the project.

This priority project, which has been supported with 3 billion HUF by the Human Resources Development Operational Program, was completed its first two years with outstanding results.

In the first year (2017) we
• established the network of the culture-focused community development mentors
• completed the long-needed methodological guides, training materials for culture-focused
community development
• published special editions of professional periodicals
• organized one-day professional training days in different counties
• launched an annual event, called the Week of Communities

In the second year (2018), based on the former results, we
• organized conferences and training for professionals of culture and public administration
• Helped and contributed to the success of a nationwide pilot program that presented 25 adaptable
good practices
• Launched foreign and inland study trips
• issued new publications
Our mentor colleagues took part in the researches of the project and mentored the winners of the
TOP tenders.
In this publication, we would like to introduce the result of the second year (from September 2017
till September 2018), furthermore, the manifold tasks and the ongoing activities of the Project.

 

Project Promoter (Leader of the Consortium):

Hungarian Open Air Museum – Museum Education and Methodology Centre (Hungarian abbreviation: SZNM-MOKK)

Consortium Members:

  • National Institute for Culture Non-profit Ltd. (Hungarian abbreviation: NMI)
  • National Széchényi Library (Hungarian abbreviation: OSZK)

Comprehensive Goals

We would like to increase the social activity and community engagement of the local citizens, furthermore, we want to improve the cooperation of the local governments, cultural institutions with the civil population of the countryside in order to ameliorate the culture of collaboration.

Aims of the Project

With the special means of cultural institutions, we give continuous professional and methodological assistance to the cultural institutes and/or civil organizations of settlements in order to foster the social cohesion and community development.

Elements of the Project

Preparation: feasibility study, public procurement procedure, legal procedure

Project Management: 1 project manager, 1 chief financial officer, 1 project assistant

Professional Implementation:

  • Improving an online management information and monitoring system;
  • Elaborating the cultural institutions’ selection criteria;
  • Drawing up methodological improvements;
  • Trainings for the cultural community developer mentors;
  • Organizing and operating the cultural community developer mentors’ network;
  • Improving the cooperation of cultural institutions;
  • Developing an online application, based on the idea of gamification;
  • Organizing field trips and professional workshops;
  • Preparing cultural institutions for participatory operation;
  • Sensitizing the representatives of the settlements;
  • Monitoring, researching and developing;
  • Communication and dissemination;

Horizontal Activities: we keep the horizontal demands and all the environmental and equal opportunity requirements.

Information, Publicity: We meet our informational and publicity commitments.

Budget of the Project: EFOP 1. Financial support of the priority project (100%): 3 billion HUF (gross)

Scheduling of the Project:

Start of the realization:   16 September 2016

Planned closure:            15 September 2019

Results of the Project

Indicator:

360 local communities attended by mentors

Planned Professional Results:

  • Spreading methodological developments in 360 settlements or parts of settlements;
  • Linking 72 community developer mentors – members of the mentors’ network – with settlements or parts of settlements;
  • Convincing 54 cultural institutions to introduce the participatory operational method;
  • Educating 420 professionals of cultural institutions in different kind of community development trainings.