A Healthy society
In
2011 when AGORA was inaugurated it had a simple mission of "providing an
outlet for creative community involvement through education, dissemination and
production of arts and culture". Later in 2012 we developed the
Development Matrix which undertakes two parallel programs "Arts for
economic development and Arts for social development". The main core
objectives of these two programs are poverty alleviation, youth empowerment,
enhancing innovation and creativity and strengthening identities.
The
work tying these two programs together started with a small project with 6
women from Alexandria. The project was called Calligraph, and was funded by the
British Council. The objectives of the project were three fold; community
level, artists' level and participants level. 200 art pieces where created and
displayed in two exhibitions in Alexandria and Cairo. Calligraph had a
significant impact where nearly 50% of the participants have a reliable source
of income now. Artists involved took a significant step in their career and
moved forward.
Building
on the results of Calligraph we conceptualized Green Crafts to
multiply the impact and work this time with 60 women and children from rural
communities in Alexandria; 10 times the number of participants in Calligraph.
The
project and the generous support of the Prince Claus Fund have built the
capacity of the organization in terms of exploring disadvantaged communities
and accessing the impact of artistic interventions in such communities. Green
Crafts have shed light on theoretical issues we considered in our matrix, where
it provided evidence for several of the matrix's assumptions.
The
feedback from the participants was astonishing in terms of social and
economical impact on them. Participants emphasized the enlightenment and the
educational dimension of the project, as well as its economical benefit. Some
have already started their own projects and some are using the skill just for
leisure time and others have taught their children.
Green
Crafts have set the milestone for a bigger step. AGORA is looking forward to a
nationwide project that would help alleviate poverty and develop the society
through arts.
Stay Tuned!
