Variety Fair
Start date: Sep 15, 2014,
End date: Dec 14, 2014
PROJECT
FINISHED
"Variety fair” is a project which aim was to combat homophobia and intolerance while promoting sexual diversity through thehuman rights education. The overall objective was to combat homophobia and discrimination based on sexual orientation andgender identity in the European Union as it is an important EU benchmark of the Europe 2020 Strategy.This project wanted to give the voice to the youngsters and make them more aware about the role of the mass media spreadingincorrect stereotypes about LGBT people. VARIETY FAIR! means the quality or state of being diverse, that's why this was avisual project, a method of raising awareness regarding the vulnerability of the LGBT people, which foresees to present manydifferent kinds of communication material through art, photography, drawings, video, internet tools or advertisements, created bythe participants and made real in a final public exhibition.In order to produce this material the project foresaw the following activities:- activities of dialogue, exchange of personal realities in terms of discrimination against LGBT people. Group discussion.Workshops will be made thanks to different tools such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Charter ofFundamental Rights of the European Union, through videos and articles on the current situation of LGBT rights in the differentmass media;- Think Tank, used as a dynamic group through which ties and common points are generated to facilitate the emergence of newideas to work with; to find the specific needs of the violation of the rights of LGBT people; to take action, and to constitute aninformal space to promote collaboration, cooperation and respect;- laboratory of creativity allowed the preparation of the material for the show "Variety Fair" such a posters, photographs, videos,sculptures or handcrafts, etc with the support of a facilitator, youth workers and a video-maker. The participants was also invitedto know the reality of the LGBT people in our community through the visit to the LGBT centres of Palermo;- open show VARIETY FAIR. The participants prepared and presented their works in a public exhibition within our localcommunity in order to give visibility and voice to them against the homophobic speech.Transversal activities of dialogue, discussion and reflection among participants, were proposed by the facilitator to initiate newways of thinking or dialogue among the participants.Duration of the project:The project lasted 3 months between planning, preparation, implementation and evaluation of the activities. The exchangelasted 6 days excluding 2 days for the travel time. There were 4 countries involved and 20 participants (included one groupleader for country).The objectives of the project were:° to guide young people across sexual diversity and gender identity through non-formal education tools;° to go further human rights defending legal equality and social respect towards affective-sexual diversity;° to adress lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual issues in different social and multicultural contexts;° to identify, sensitize and denounce diverse types of sexual discrimination;° to increase the awareness concerning governments and mass media influences and actions on grounds of sexual orientationand gender identity;° to provide the necessary devices for campaigning in the field of LGBT rights using communication and creativity tools;° to equip young people with the necessary competences to recognise and re-act against such human rights violations in theirlocal communities.The exchange stimulated young people to believe more in themselves, to explore new situations, to meet new people and to becurious about the international LGBT context and how is addressed in a local environment and above all, to motivate them to actagainst discrimination and build their own criteria. This project contributed in claiming equal rights and in putting an end todiscrimination, which is also foreseen in European Law (Directive 2000/78/EC). The participants were encouraged to know eachdiscrimination, which is also foreseen in European Law (Directive 2000/78/EC). The participants were encouraged to know eachother using non-formal education supported by a facilitator. The exchange allowed them to meet peers of another sexualorientation, to have fun and to learn together!