ΠΡΟΓΡΑΜΜΑ URBAN FURROWS

Urban Furrows

Introduction to Urban Furrows

Marta Gregorčič, PhD, head of the Urban Furrows programme "Now, after six months of intense work in the field, and  cooperation with dozens of institutions, organisations  and groups, Urban Furrows is not merely a name  representing a tight-knit group of colleagues, but also  represents scores of citizens and communities from  Slovenske Gorice and other rural parts of Maribor. On  a daily basis they are realising something which was  unimaginable only a few months ago." A strained crossroads of social, ecological, economic and cultural ideas, positivist views on a more efficient, flexible, and competitive society, inconsistent and unsustainable policies, and the lack of any kind of long-term vision for the development of society – all of these factors have led to the situation we now face in Slovenia: an economic, financial, energy, environmental and food crisis. Since Slovenia´s position is not enviable in comparison to the other European countries, the Urban Furrows programme was established so that, besides keeping the public informed, it first and foremost also develops concrete examples of good practice in terms of alternative and autonomous production, specifically in those aspects of life which are a prerequisite for a tolerant, mutually cooperative, and creative society. On one hand, we have focused on strengthening a culture of cohabitation, on the other, we have aimed to preserve our cultural heritage which, in our opinion, inevitably includes biotic diversity. In January, 2011, without any pompous announcements, we launched a two-year program: in cooperation with local and district communities, educational and social institutions, and, most importantly, with dedicated creators from Maribor, we will establish examples of good practice to empower communities. In less than half a year, with the intense cooperation of five research groups, we have expanded our activities to include cooperation with over a thousand children, parents, various ethnic groups, experts, youth, farmers, workers, homeless people, Roma, handicapped people, and those who feel they have no future. The affirmation of the oppressed and dehumanised, or those who, despite their capabilities and competency, are unable to make a living, takes place through attempts to construct new kinds of subjectivities, which we establish through emancipatory processes, such as the creation communities, cooperation, mutuality, solidarity, and dignity. The Urban Furrows programme is composed of an active and highly qualified research team of expert researchers in the fields of sociology, anthropology, social work, ecology, agronomy, law, traffic sciences, and the visual arts. We base our perspective on the theory of social ecology, which explains why environmental questions cannot be analysed or solved without first confronting the fundamental contradictions in the mechanisms behind modern society. It is these mechanisms which are ripping apart the fabric of society and, consequentially, destroying our natural environment. In our work, we use the method of militant research, which characteristically takes on a creative, affirmative and dynamic role. This typical for potencia (creative power) and it is the reason we work “with” people and not “for” them. These are principles which strive towards greater heterogeneity, totality, horizontality, autonomy, spontaneity, and intuition. In comparison with the rest of Europe, Slovenia has the lowest level of fruit and vegetable self-sufficiency. This is compounded by the fact that for the last twenty years smaller traditional farms have been steadily dying out and there has been a significant reduction in biotic diversity. What´s more, every year Slovenia loses seven hectares of arable land, and all of these problems are contributing to an exponential increase in the number of health risks. Urban Furrows´ answer to all of this is to establish the project Sustainable Local Supply in cooperation with educational and social institutions in the district community of Tezno, and with communities of small traditional farmers from the outskirts of Maribor. With concrete ties between the local community and the city, we wish to shorten the distance from the farm to the fork, lower medical costs associated with inexpensive food, which currently comes from the cheapest European mega-markets, and to empower communities which, until now, have been ignored. Concurrently, we are putting together a seed library to collect, breed and increase the variety of autochthonous species, but most of all to establish distribution systems and help seasonal food with high biotic value to find its way back onto our plates. Using the many European success stories as examples, we will set up alternative community gardens in Borova Vas, immediately next to a large concentration of apartment blocks. In schools and kindergartens we will create permaculture, butterfly, and fruit gardens to enrich the learning process and re-establish contact with the natural environment. As for the highest level of unemployment in Slovenia´s history, the majority of Maribor´s construction companies filing for bankruptcy, and the abuse of migrant workers, the Rizom Group, a research team of experts and construction workers, is looking for answers and alternatives by uncovering cases systemic discrimination. With various projects (such as Free PC, or 0 $ laptop) they seek to establish a new subjectivity for African migrants, so that they can promote their own culture and become a creative part of the city. The Street Counselling Cafe consists of a team of social workers that provide counselling and representation in the field and in person as an answer to the problem of concealed homelessness. They are also looking for additional and systemic solutions for youth exposed to domestic violence, alcoholism, or drugs. While doing research with the Roma community three directions were established: first, literary work was to shed light on arranged weddings and the role of young girls and women in Roma families from the time of their migration to Maribor up to the present day; second, with the preparation of a Roma dictionary Roma language classes would be held so that it would be used by youth and children; finally, in the apartment blocks of Poljane, where there is a high concentration of Roma families dealing with social problems, the Ethnomobile project will provide special programs to empower young girls and women, educational workshops for children, and music therapy. The Teleport project – a cyclist and pedestrian friendly community, with regular weekly bicycle repair shops, Critical Mass, bicycle parades, and plans for social enterprises, is already taking steps to combat “the raging cars” in the city, calling attention to the safety of pedestrians and cyclists in the streets. I was invited by the programme director to join the European Capital of Culture project in October of 2010. In the first month I established a complete concept for the programme. In the second month I searched for key personnel with a wealth of experience. Now, after six months of intense work in the field, and cooperation with dozens of institutions, organisations and groups, Urban Furrows is not merely a name representing a tight-knit group of colleagues, but also represents scores of citizens and communities from Slovenske Gorice and other rural parts of Maribor. On a daily basis they are realising something which was unimaginable only a few months ago. Now we stand before the task of further strengthening our current activities with international cooperation.

Rizom working group

Modern national and international migration politics  "The Rizom group is therefore not a non-government  organisation or humanitarian institution, nor is it a  service or collective of social strategists. It does not  work for people; it works with them."  The Rizom group is interested in the multifaceted question of modern policies – national and international – concerning migration, and the people most affected by them. As members of the group we work mostly in the field. We have conversations with migrant workers in single person residences, with refugees in the Integration House, and with immigrants from Africa and Iran, who are walking along Maribor´s streets. We examine whether or not the aforementioned policies have been carried out in their specific living circumstances. Since the key guidelines for Urban Furrows as a whole are empowerment and the principle of sustainability, we debate and develop ideas on the potentials of long-term projects, sets or groups of activities, which would become independent in the future. This is done at regular weekly “meetings” with some of the migrants, who are an integral part of the Rizom group. The Rizom group is therefore not a non-government organisation or humanitarian institution, nor is it a service or collective of social strategists. It does not work for people; it works with them. This is how we ensure the sustainability of project, which came to be in the process mentioned above, since it is the people who will be taking the initiative, and not some organisation or another. Currently we are developing two project: Free PC (0 $ Laptop) and African Village. The first is the contextual remodelling of a project called Zero dollar Laptop, which is a known case of good practice abroad. In the course of an active and informal educational process, participants learn the basics of open-source systems and obtain the skills necessary to use a laptop on one that has been donated for this purpose. At the end of the course they become the owners of the laptops they used. Since this provides them with autonomous access to the digital world, this is where their affirmation begins. In connection with the project, the Centre of Digital Nomadism will be created. It will be a digital support platform for all future or en route migrants to Maribor, and will be run by an interested participant from the Free PC project. The African Village project encompasses an assortment of supportive socio-educational and artistic activities, which will serve to inform the local region about Africa. It will also represent its own unique contribution to the variety of the local region and to the development of the culture of coexistence. Rizom working group coordinator: Tomaž Gregorc, BA social anthropology and cultural science Coworkers: Tina Rajšter, Petra Sevčnikar, Urška Breznik, Tapiwa Chapo, James Passy, Faysal Sashi Warsame, workers migrants and many others.

Street Counselling Cafe

Homelessness "With a project titled Street Counselling Cafe we are  working right in the field with the homeless: we are  looking for a way to gain access to social services,  and through representation we are abolishing  systemic discrimination; we are informing, and advising." For many years, homelessness in Slovenia has been heavily stereotyped. Researchers and homeless people in Ljubljana have made great progress in terms of good practice – six years ago they organised themselves into the Kings of the Street Association. They developed their own unique methodology of active work, with which they established a number of social, educational, artistic, and sporting activities. Today everyone knows the Kings of the Street from their monthly newspaper, the University under the Stars, the Theatre of the Oppressed, programmes for housing and re-employment, a day-centre, a used item shop, international football tournaments, and guest residencies. Working closely with the Kings of the Street, the research group of social workers and psychologists which formed in the context of Urban Furrows will also attempt to make use of these positive examples in Maribor for the empowerment of individuals and groups. With a project titled Street Counselling Cafe we are working right in the field with the homeless: we are looking for a way to gain access to social services, and through representation we are abolishing systemic discrimination; we are informing, and advising. In the future we hope to transfer this concept of work to a specific location, a kind of open format cafe and tea house, where different marginalised groups, not only the homeless, but also youth, women, victims of violence, migrants, and others, will be able to find all the answers to the institutional and other barriers which they face. Special attention will be given to concealed homelessness, something faced by families who, because of high unemployment, have found themselves in serious social distress. However, this also affects youth who, due to domestic violence, have been subjected to institutional solutions until their 18th year, after which they are left to the streets, without suitable employment or stipends for studies, and also often without social or financial aid. Group coordinator: Simona Mauko In cooperation with: Mirjana Lahovnik, Simona Ratajc, Anita Rifl, Lidija Kraner, The Maribor Centre for Social Work, Caritas, The Kings of the Street Association, The Youth Crisis Centre, The Maribor Youth House, and a number of other organisations.

Sustainable Local Supply

Ecologycal part of the project "Because the so called »green revolution« in agriculture  was based on fossil fuels and agrichemical substance  produced from oil, repeated solarisation in farming  has become imperative for the survival of mankind."  Since the end of the twentieth century, the world has been facing increasingly difficult problems to ensure safe, healthy and sufficient food for the world´s population. Due to rapid population growth, the fatal connection of food production with oil, the threat of climate change, and the destruction of fertile land, we will be forced to shift to more sustainably oriented local food production, based on solar energy. Since the so called “green revolution” in agriculture was based on fossil fuels and the agrochemical substances produced from them, the renewed solarisation of farming has become a developmental imperative for the survival of mankind. During this inevitable transition it is necessary to provide everyone with the proper information and options in regarding the types of local food supply choices available, and to establish a model of good practice which will be useful for other areas as well. With the Sustainable Local Food Supply pilot project, the Urban Furrows research group will organise, establish and promote the first integral attempt at creating a sustainable local supply with the aim of remaining completely independent and successful even after the conclusion of the European Capital of Culture programme. With the pilot project we will reorganise the food chain of certain institutions in Tezno based on the principles sustainability, safety, health and cooperation. The way food is consumed has an exceptionally powerful effect on the health of the population, the organisation of economic subjects, and especially on the introduction of sustainable and ecological methods of food production. Everyone in the food chain must cooperate in order to achieve a sustainably oriented and safe nutritional system. Rizom working group coordinator: Matej Zonta Coworkers : Anton Komat, Milojka Fekonja, Mateja Koler, Nika Škof, Denis Ploj, Marjan Skalicky, Marko Klemenčič, Faculty of Law, Green Central, High School of Catering and Tourism Celje, local kindergartens and elementary schools, the elderly home in Tezno, and many other institutions.

Teleport

A Cyclist and Pedestrian Friendly Community Everyday bicycle rides or errands done on foot can be important generators of sustainable development, creativity, economic independence, healthy lifestyle, quality of living, solidarity, connection, a sense of belonging, responsibility, and personal satisfaction among members of the community. Communities where cars are the main forms of transportation face many problems, such as traffic jams, noise, pollution, poverty, accidents, disease, fear, obsession with safety, xenophobia, intolerance and more. Solving these problems is time consuming and expensive. Just recognising these problems requires an enormous investment of time, not to mention what it takes to actually deal with them. According to the number of inhabitants, financial capabilities, the number of trained specialists, experience, and driving etiquette, Maribor is far behind the successful stories of Seville, Copenhagen, Paris, Vancouver and others. However, we also have to take into account the fact that there are thousands of cities like Maribor around the world, and these cities will have to find their own ways of achieving some form of sustainable mobility – successful cases can only serve to provide examples and motivation. Maribor´s recipe for success will almost certainly have to include a combination of serious political support, suitable budgets, qualified experts, bold initiatives, persistent non-governmental organisations, and determination in order to carry out such drastic changes. Within the context of the European Capital of Culture and the Urban Furrows programme, the Teleport project will develop and establish a supportive environment for the future development of community cycling programmes. Similarly, we are interested in discovering how to exchange the automotive trend for one of sustainable mobility. Our aim is to gradually create the conditions in which people will choose daily cycling or walking more often. Above all, the challenge will be to transform Maribor into a cyclist and pedestrian friendly city, which is also suitable and safe for other more vulnerable elements on the streets. Our team will encourage a new culture of mobility and bring new meaning to the everyday routine of overcoming the dimensions of time and space. Working group coordinator: Josip Rotar In cooperation with: Aleksandra Gantar, Anja Koželj, Blanka Kefer, Kamile Medzevičiute, Matej Pehnec, Matej Jarc, Beno Mesarec, Božidar Ipavic, Marko Klemenčič, Robert Veselko, žiga Pavlovič Cooperating organizations: Maribor Cyclists' Network, University of Maribor, Municipality of Maribor, Maribor Agency for Development, Maribor Institute for Tourism, Udarnik Institute, Mars Institute, University of Maribor Student Organization, Student Housing Tenants' Council of the University of Maribor and others