HEART OF EUROPE, “HE-ART”

HEART VALUES AND THE PROJECT HEART OF EUROPE, “HE-ART”

Association Theatre Kolenc (Društvo Gledališče Kolenc) In cooperation with Association GEOSS, Litija Municipality, and Family Theatre Kolenc (Družinsko Gledališče Kolenc) is leading Heart of Europe, HE-ART since January 1. 2018.

 

PROJECT ORIGIN

Heart of Europe, project HE-ART, has actually been forming for as long as the project GEOSS has operated – the project of the centre of the heart of Slovenia – since the year 1981.

The builders of GEOSS have dedicated themselves to being led by the thought, taken from the poem Zdravljica, the hearty toast of our greatest poet France Prešeren, with which he toast all nations that want to live in peace, unity and connectedness. In the year 1991, after Slovenia’s independence this part became the national anthem that connects in friendship, and heartily enlightens us, all of us, on a personal, national, and international level.

GEOSS MISSION STATEMENT

The project has its source in the mission of GEOSS, transferring the symbolic Slovenian heart values of the central point of the heart of Slovenia. Just as the mission of GEOSS was shaped in 1981 by the leading builders of this project: the instigator Jože Dernovšek and the author Peter Svetik. They wanted to create a point that would, through self-discovery and self-acceptance, ensure connecting, friendship, compassion, and interpersonal acceptance of all people, regardless of their differences, ways of thinking and belonging. The international spreading of the project in 2012 with the International Friendship Day a Crow’s Flight to Freedom was set up by Anka Kolenc.

THE PROJECT HEART OF EUROPE

  • Project partner organizations from seven countries are cooperating in this project. Aside from Slovenia these are: Italy, France, Albania, Bulgaria, Sweden, Spain, and Greece.
  • Duration of the project: 1. 1. 2018 to 31. 12. 2019.
  • Project funding: 150.000 € (financed by the Education, Culture and Audio-visual Executive Agency (EACEA).
  • The purpose of the project is international cooperation and creating and establishing the permanent network of Heart Points with the attributes that have their source in the noble mission of GEOSS. At each of the meetings, a Heart Point, like GEOSS in Slovenia is going to be established.
  • Each International cultural Heart Point is going to be a creative centre, where members are going to conceive, develop, shape, and execute cultural events. Events are going to, along with introducing cultural heritage, also promote heart values like acceptance of differences, understanding, humaneness, friendship and solidarity, heartfelt connecting with the retention of one’s own identity, compassion, and long-term survival on Earth – on personal, national, and international level.
  • With the network HE-ART, an example of cultural tourism is going to be set up, and with it, the pulse of a Heart Point – that is going to work for the local community, the motherland, and for international cooperation and connecting. Among others, we are going to address the problems of the youth, unemployment, globalisation, immigration, and stigmatization of immigrants, European citizenship, Euroscepticism, and other problems that permeate life today.

ACTIVITIES BEFORE THE FIRST EVENT IN SLOVENIA

In this period of time we have acquainted ourselves closer with our partners whilst preparing the essential documentation, because with the exception of France and Italy, we have not yet cooperated with these partners. They have prepared the documentation, that was going to enable co-financing and fluid work: communication and financial plans, they have coordinated the dates of our group events in each country which is going to strengthen visibility, and alongside that they have made an event timetable by months that is going to enable them to not miss any of the planned tasks. During that time they have also signed the Partnership Agreements with which they obligated themselves that out Heart Points are going to run permanently, that is, also after the funds for their start-up have been used up. Because the funds are limited by the large number of the participating partner organizations, they have also made haste with the travel plans and have in large part arranged the transportations to 6 future European Heart Points, with two Heart Points not being planned to getting visited. In this time there is ongoing communication with the lecturers that are familiar with the basic problems of the workings of EU.