Social Inclusion Week in ESN Rijeka
What is social inclusion?
According to Collins Dictionary, social inclusion is “the act of making all groups of people within a society feel valued and important” (Collins Dictionary, 2023). Bearing in mind the importance of such an idea, ESN aims to promote and raise awareness of the role of social inclusion of vulnerable groups of people. For this reason, ESN Rijeka organized events with the goal of giving the Erasmus students of Rijeka an opportunity to get a better grasp of social inclusion by watching, thinking, discussing and by interacting, expressing, acting.
The ESN Rijeka section opened the Social Inclusion Week on November 20th, and it lasted until December 1st. During the two weeks, volunteers of ESN Rijeka took it upon themselves to present the Erasmus students of Rijeka with events related to social inclusion. Events that were planned out involved a Movie Night that included watching and discussing movies that depicted marginalized groups, an Expressive Art Activity with people who have lesser opportunities, as well as a Cultural Diversity Fair, and a Charity Fundraiser. Although a lot of thought and planning went into the events, the latter two were not realized due to technical difficulties. The two realized events were a success, as the Erasmus students were happy with taking part in them.
The Movie Night took place on November 26th, in the film culture institution Art-kino in Rijeka (Art-kino, 2023). The films selected for the event were a part of the 2023 Student Film Festival, the first Croatian international film festival for exclusively student and debutant films (STIFF, 2023). The event was realized through collaboration with Art-kino, Filmaktiv Association and SKC who made sure there were special spots for the Erasmus students at the event. Moreover, Filmaktiv Association went the extra mile by allowing the ESN volunteers to watch the movies beforehand, which allowed them to prepare discussion questions.
The selection of the movies of the social inclusion character was called Tremors and it included the following films: No Hearts in Stock, Lights, The Repair Shop, and Of Kisses and Capes. The films depicted marginalized groups like gender and sexuality minorities, women as a disadvantaged group and disabled people. After the movies, the ESN volunteers organized a relaxed discussion about the problems portrayed on the screen. The Erasmus students enjoyed having a safe space to share their thoughts and impressions, and the insight that they gained from the films. They were encouraged to voice their ideas by verbally responding to questions, and by writing their reflections down on a paper.
The students’ responses demonstrated obvious interest in the movies and what they illustrated. For instance, one of the students concluded that the representation of diversity in movies, TV shows and media, such as The Repair Shop, is important because it shows people that they are not alone and gives them hope that they will find themselves someday. Another student noted that how minorities are represented also matters, as misrepresentation can lead to prejudice against certain groups. When it comes to analysing the movie Lights, a student found it as an allegory of discrimination and went on to conclude that in the society that we live in “there is always a distinction between one group that overpowers other groups”. A sign of the success of the event was the Erasmus students’ plea to get an opportunity to participate in such an event again in the future.
The Expressive Art Activity was organized on November 29th, and it focused on bringing together the DIP organization proteges and Erasmus students, with the main objective being that of promoting social inclusion of young people with psychosocial and intellectual disabilities. DIP (Society for Research and Support) is a non-profit organization aimed at improving the community, mainly by working with vulnerable social groups of children and young people “with fewer opportunities” (DIP, 2023). The event included three types of collaborative activities: an Art, a Motor (Dance) and an Emotional Words (Drama) Activity, in which Erasmus students were paired with a DIP protege.
The Art Activity resulted in the creation of a picture book that thematized social inclusion. It thus showed a display of the celebration of differences and placed the emphasis on uniqueness. Both the DIP proteges as well as the Erasmus students were given freedom in expressing themselves through a written word or a drawing, while the Erasmus students also assisted the DIP proteges when it was necessary.
The execution of the Motor (Dance) Activity was as such that each participant showed a body movement or a facial expression to their partner, which was then mirrored by the latter. What made the activity stand out from the other two was the possibility of expressing oneself through free movement where both pairs were equal in their abilities and interests. Since the activity made it possible for the participants to spontaneously dance, act and jump around, it does not come as a surprise that they particularly enjoyed it.
As part of the Emotional Words Activity, the participants were asked to express an emotion by saying a neutral word (like a sock, a cat, a table) and acting in accordance with the given emotion. To fulfil the task, the participants had to rely on their imagination and think, for instance, of a dirty sock, which helped them say the word “sock” with disgust. While the activity helped the Erasmus students learn a new word or two in Croatian, it was beneficial for the DIP proteges as well, as they were given a chance to practice expressing emotions.
Both of the above-described events worked in favour of the idea behind the Social Inclusion Week. While the first event raised awareness of the difficulties and struggles faced by marginalized groups by watching movies that problematized just that, as well as with an open follow-up discussion, the second event gave the Erasmus students a chance to meet psychosocially challenged individuals and connect with them through a collaborative workshop. The importance of such events lies – not only in the fact that they are extremely rewarding for an individual experience – but also in the fact that they create possibilities for marginalized groups through raising awareness or through direct involvement in the society.
Written by: Marijana Gašparović, Ivana Jelenčić, Eva Sajko
Photos by: Sanja Prodan, Noela Baća
Sources:
Collins Dictionary - Social Inclusion