New European Bauhaus Prizes 2023

Initiative category

Identify the award category for which this initiative is being submitted
Prioritising the places and people that need it the most

Email user
mvmiljana@gu.ni.rs

Basic information
Initiative title
YOUTH CENTER NIŠ

Full initiative Title
RECONSTRUCTION, REHABILITATION AND ADAPTATION OF THE BUILDING "TEACHER’S HOME" IN "YOUTH CENTER"

Please provide a short, catchy description of your initiative to be used in communication towards the public.
OUR CITY HAS A LONG HISTORY OF EDUCATION AND RESPECTED LOCAL TEACHER ANASTASIJE PETROVIC, BORN IN 1824., WHO IS IN CHARGE OF ESTABLISHING A TEACHER'S HOME, FOR THE NEEDS OF ACCOMMODATION OF TEACHERS,EDUCATION,CULTURAL NEEDS, DEVELOPED THE NEED TO OPEN A YOUTH CENTER AS A LINK WITH THE TEACHER'S HOME, WHICH WILL BE A PLACE FOR EMOTIONAL, PHYSICAL AND MENTAL SUPPORT, SO IT CAN HELP AND FOSTER CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE TO HAVE AND ATTEIN HIGHEST SUCCESS POSSIBLE AND GET ACTIVE IN THEIR INTERESTS.

What was the geographical scope of your intiative?
Local

Where was your intiative implemented?
Member State(s) and Western Balkans
Serbia

If relevant, insert names of region(s)/municipality(ies) involved
COUNTRY SERBIA,
CITY OF NIS,
MUNICIPALITY MEDIJANA,
ADDRESS-КING STEPHEN THE FIRST CROWNED STREET,
Latitude
43.321513472939586
Longitude
21.90123254018593
POSTAL CODE
18000

Does your initiative address mainly urban or rural issues?
Mainly urban

Does your initiative refer to a physical transformation of the built environment or other types of transformations (hard or soft investments)?
It refers to a physical transformation of the built environment (hard investment)

Has your initiative benefited from EU programmes and/or funds?
No

Has your initiative won an EU prize with a monetary value awarded?
No

Does your initiative has a minimum level of maturity? The minimum level of maturity is exemplified by stakeholder/ initiative promoter commitment to implement the initiative in practice and a clear methodology /approach.
Yes

On whose behalf are you submitting the application?
As a representative of an organization, in partnership with other organisations
If you are submitting this intiative as part of a group, please provide the contact details of the other individuals or organisations
- Name of the organisation(s): Office of the mayor, office of the chief city planner
  Type of organisation: Public authority (European/national/regional/local)
  First name of representative: TANJA
  Last name of representative: OBRADOVIC
  Gender: Female
  Nationality: Serbia
  Function: CHIEF CITY PLANNER
  Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: 7.JULY STREET, NUMBER 2
  Town: NIS
  Postal code: 18000
  Country: Serbia
  Direct Tel: +381 64 8330703
  E-mail: Tanja.obradovic@gu.ni.rs
Social Media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc.)
- URL: https://linkedin.com/in/tanja-obradovic-29289226
In case my initiative is selected as a finalist of the NEB Prizes 2023, I agree to share the name (individual and/or organisation’s), email address, website and social media accounts indicated above with other NEB Prizes finalists. I also agree to publish the name (individual and/or organisation’s), website and social media accounts indicated above next to the public description of my initiative in the channels of the European Commission.
Yes

How did you hear about the New European Bauhaus Prizes?
New European Bauhaus or European Commission websites

Description of the initiative
Please provide a summary of your initiative
Youth center project represents a developmental, inclusive and sustainable project of adaptation, reconstruction and rehabilitation. Teacher, member of Yugoslav Association of Teachers - Anastasije Petrovic, was responsible for the establishment of the Teacher's Home, a facility built in 1933. for the accommodation of children of teachers killed in the First World War. According to the projects of eminent architects in our country, Julijan Djupon, a building was built that represents a protected immovable cultural asset as a cultural monument. The idea was born that the City of Niš, as the owner of the land and building, in cooperation with NGOs, the Office for youth, youth and student organizations, turn the building of the Teacher's Home with a tradition of learning and education for young people in accordance with their needs and aspirations and adapt it to people with disabilities and give them active participation for the first time. The project, which saves such an important building from decay, and creates a center for education, training, and providing assistance to young people, with a large number of workshops, concerts, plays, lectures, as well as outdoor cultural events in a refined and green courtyard. The project was supported by the RS goverment, from which, in addition to the City, the funds were received. The call for tenders for the development of project - technical documentation was preceded by a series of participatory processes - such as meetings with representatives of the Youth Center of Novi Sad, student practice and the inclusion of students in the analysis of the existing facility, a debate on the purpose of the facility with students and youth institutions, a meeting of the mayor with a representative of high school students who presented ideas and problems and who will actively go through the decision - making processes.

Please indicate the main themes of your initiative with 5 key words.
integration

Please indicate the main themes of your initiative with key words
education

Please indicate the main themes of your initiative with key words
sustainability

Please indicate the main themes of your initiative with key words
implementation

Please indicate the main themes of your initiative with key words
a sense of belonging

Please give information about the key objectives of your initiative in terms of sustainability and how these have been/will be met. Please highlight how the initiative can be exemplary in this context.
The partners in this project that initiated the opening Youth center has a special role to play in supporting the personal development of young people. This is done in particular through a participatory and self-determined approach that enables young people to recognise and satisfy their own needs. We want to promote the idea of youth centre in which young people can meet informally (also called open youth work), spend leisure time, receive support through counselling and develop their own ideas. In this way, the young people will be involved in the decision-making process, which will lead to greater participation in projects. We firmly believe that this approach is useful for all young people and that it is a very integrative way of working with them. Our experience is that for young people who find it difficult to adapt to a formal framework (school, vocational training, etc.), participation in informal and non-formal activities can be a step towards a better future or even back to formal education.
In order to work on this, we have ensure sustainable financing, joint recognition and development of quality youth work in order to strengthen youth organisations and their role in integration, participation and education through the exchange of innovative methods and experiences in working with young people. We started by conducting interviews addressed to youth workers, developing a questionnaire aimed at young people and we organised a youth encounter in our city. With the results we want to encourage a discussion on what open youth work is and should be (its methods, tools, meanings and variations). We collected examples of successful open youth work activities and good practices, different models of youth centres, young people’s ideas about what open youth work should achieve and how it should be equipped, as well as scientific studies. The results should be how to improve young people’s competences, supporting them to get active in their interests, environments.

Please give information about the key objectives of your initiative in terms of aesthetics and quality of experience for people (through design, positive emotions and cultural benefits) and how these have been met. Please highlight how the initiative can be exemplary in this context.
We want to give youth the opportunity to take part in recreational and cultural activities or vocational counseling, this center help them develop their physical, social, emotional, and cognitive abilities and to experience achievement, enjoyment, friendship, and recognition, sense of belonging and equality for persons with disabilities. The concept for our Youth center that we want to make is to cause emotion strives to creates products that evoke appropriate emotions in order to create positive experience for the young users and the space that they use. Motion entanglement that can cause them result dynamic relation between human. Transition of spaces are narratively designed according to the emotion potrayed. Transformation of emotion entanglement into design elements we want to use is trough colours transition, wall + floor + celling finishes, lighting selection, forms/shape, building facade, space planning, floor pattern, style design of furniture and wall treatment. In building used to be a library, that now there will be a "literary bakery" that will make money, that the courtyard that will be refined will hold exhibitions, concerts… So it will retain the traditional spirit that there used to be a meeting place for teachers-educators, and now the youth will gather there and create the future.

Please give information about the key objectives of your initiative in terms of inclusion (ranging from accessibility and affordability for all to inclusive governing systems, design for all principles or new societal models) and how these have been met. Please highlight how the initiative can be exemplary in this context.
The concept for our Youth center that we want to make is to cause emotion strives to creates products that evoke appropriate emotions in order to create positive experience for the young users and the space that they use. Motion entanglement that can cause them result dynamic relation between human. Transition of spaces are narratively designed according to the emotion potrayed. Transformation of emotion entanglement into design elements we want to use is trough colours transition, wall + floor + celling finishes, lighting selection, forms/shape, building facade, space planning, floor pattern, style design of furniture and wall treatment. Ofering this concept, we want to connect young people of all ages to reconnect itself and overcome any difficulties and connect as new person with all users of Centre. The purpose is to make our city with idea of opening Youth Centre, to make more livable, resilient, inclusive and enjoyable. And one of most objective that we want to accomplish is to enable access and support for people with disabilities - physical, mental. To have a sense of belonging and equality in every possible sense among the young population.

Please explain the way citizens benefiting from or affected by the initiative and civil society have been/will be involved in the initiative and what has been/will be the impact of this involvement on the initiative
By opening the youth center, we want to provide enormous support to young people and future young generations, so that they have space and opportunities to highlight their interests, talents and successfully overcome the problems they face. In addition to young people, we want to preserve a building that represents a cultural asset in our city, to preserve unique architecture - the Teacher's House was designed in the spirit of eclecticism. Within the center, in addition to many multifunctional facilities, there will also be a bakery, a cafe, where there will be opportunities for employment through the Student Youth Cooperative from Niš. In addition, we want to employ or who wants to volunteer, on psychology studies from the Faculty of Philosophy in order to improve the mental health of young people as much as possible. Centre will be the inspiring place for new young music bands, young composers - where can be spotted, students who wants to explore science…But also, Centre will be still the place for teachers from schools from our city.

Please explain how different stakeholders at various levels (local, regional, national, European) were engaged in the design and implementation of the initiative.
Since the idea was born in NGO Jedi movement, they contacted the office of youth, and from the beginning they had a full support from the Mayor’s office. So we put a invitation in numerios youth organisations. Some of them, like Jedi movement, Elsa, IFMSA Serbia, EESTEC, BEST, AISEC, IAESTE, etc, got the familiarization with the plan for launching the Youth Center, and the way of work and the organization of the working group, we visited the site, the condition of the facility itself, we used the database that all youth organizations have, and we had round tables with the topic of a proposal for a project plan of use space in order to be fully adapted to the needs of youth organizations - it was about the local level. Soon we received an invitation from the city of Novi Sad, the second city in Serbia, to visit their Youth Center and they provided us with unlimited support of all kinds, so we have the support of the youth organization OPENS. Novi Sad proudly held the title of Youth Capital of Europe in 2019 - #OPENS2019! And above that, we have financial support from the Government of Serbia, which allocates funds to us because they recognized the need for such a center in our city.

Please explain which disciplines and/ or knowledge fields were reflected in the design and implementation of your initiative. Please explain how representatives of these different fields interacted with each other, and what the added value of this process was
Youth centre aimed to create a suitable place and atmosphere in order to enable young people to present their achievements, realized their dreams and aspirations, develop their talents and acquaint themselves better in the world of art. Youth also a place to welcomes people with various workshops and artistic groups such as fine arts and ceramic classes, film workshop, theatre groups, dance groups and other specialist form of artistic activity and to create multipurpose gathering place, especially for youth. With our Centre we want be some kind a movement for young people, that they can have more stronger community, where they can prototype new ideas through experiments and science projects. We managed to represent partnership with local communities, government, youth organizations, we wil manage to restore heritage building and build community with young people!

Please highlight the innovative character of the initiative, when compared to mainstream actions in the field of the initiative
Youth center should be facilitie designed to provide a safe, informal and supervised environment for young people, to accommodate unstructured social interaction among different age groups and provide the space to offer more structured activities. By giving youth the opportunity to take part in recreational and cultural activities or vocational counseling, this center help them develop their physical, social, emotional, and cognitive abilities and to experience achievement, enjoyment, friendship, and recognition, sense of belonging and equality for persons with disabilities.
An important aspect to ensure the success of the facility is the space itself. While meeting the durability requirements for a public facility, the furnishings, colors, finishes and surfaces in Youth Center need to promote a sense of ownership and freedom of expression, and have a warm, homelike quality that encourages creative development.

Please describe which elements of your initiative could be replicated or transferred to other places, groups of beneficiaries and contexts. This may involve, for example, aspects of the methodology, technology, processes, products, learnings, etc.
The Youth center will bring together as wide a category of young people as possible - from providing support for global and local problems that young people face - to concrete events and educational workshops that will include vocational high schools, gymnasiums and faculties, because our city has a long history as a University Center. As a city where students come from the entire Nisava district, we want to be a safe zone for all young people, both who were born here and who come to high school or to study. As part of the workshops, we want to encourage students of vocational high schools to make products in order to encourage the spirit of private business and creativity at an early age.

Please describe the methodology or approach used in your initiative.
The problems and disadvantages faced by young people in our city have been going on for decades. Just some of examples:
Youth associations do not have a place where they can meet regularly.
Young people who read books do not have the opportunity to socialize and socialize at regular literary evenings.
Youth bands and plays do not have their own place where they can perform.
The youth does not have an institution where they can get information about all the necessary resources for personal development.
In order to get psychological help, young people have to go to the Health Center and a general practitioner.
The youth does not have an institution where they can get information about all the necessary resources for personal development.
Young people who read books do not have the opportunity to socialize and socialize at regular literary evenings.
That's why we chose a building that children learn about even in elementary school, and which is at the same time a cultural asset.

Please explain what kind of global challenges the initiative addresses by providing local solutions
According to the World Youth Report (2020), there are 1.2 billion young people aged 15 to 24 years, accounting for 16 per cent of the global population. For statistical purposes, the United Nations defines ‘youth’ as persons aged between 15 and 24. However, this definition is not universal. As the experience of being young can vary substantially across the world, between countries and regions, we consider ‘youth’ as a flexible category. One of common problems that face teenagers is anxiety, lack of self-confidence, time management, family conflict, stress, poor self-control, questionable decision-making, internalizing small failures…Children today are under more pressure than ever before. They're bombarded with images and messages from the media, social media, and their peers that can lead to feelings of inadequacy, anxiety, and depression. So that is we want to give them trough this Centre full support as well as offer a space for homework support and life counseling. This will help the youth to attain their highest success possible.

Please detail the scope of progress in the implementation of the initiative. This can include already demonstrated results/outputs related to the chosen Prizes category, and the already achieved benefits from the initiative for direct and indirect beneficiaries. This can also include a development plan of the initiative, with a particular attention to the steps envisaged in the year following the application, and including envisaged results and benefits from the initiative
Funds for the tender for the preparation of project technical documentation - 20% of the investment is financed by the city - the remaining 80% of the funding is from the Government of the RS and will be used for the tender that will be announced for the contractor for the reconstruction, adaptation and rehabilitation of the building.
Dynamics: The tender for the preparation of project technical documentation was announced on January 30, 2023. until February 28, 2023. The deadline for preparing documentation and obtaining a building permit is 90 days. Tender for the contractor - announcement June 1 - end July 1. Start of works - August 1st and completion of works December 1st. After that, I will furnish the building with the deadline for the start of the Center's work in March 2024.

Please provide documents that demonstrate the maturity level of the initiative and commitment to implement the initiative in practice (e.g.: evaluation report, final or mid-term initiative report, certification, publications, building permit, grant agreement, letter of support, partnership agreement, etc.)
PDF
PDF
- pdf-1-13111.pdf
If relevant, please describe how your initiative contributes to developing new competences, especially in the context of the European competence framework on sustainability.
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Please attach at least 6 high resolution images or visual representations of your initiative to your application.
If you would like to upload additional documentation, please upload or write below.
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By submitting your application you confirm that you are the copyright owner of the images provided and that they can be used by the European Commission for the purposes of promoting the New European Bauhaus on all platforms (websites, print, social media and other).
Yes

By ticking this box, you declare that you are not in in one or more of the exclusion situations foreseen under Article 136 of the Financial Regulation.
Yes

By submitting this application, I declare that I am not related to the entities subject to EU restricted measures under Article 29 of the Treaty on the European Union (TEU) and subject to Article 215 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU)1, and entities covered by Commission Guidelines No 2013/C 205/05), which are not eligible to participate in any capacity.
Yes

By ticking this box, you declare that all the information provided in this form is factually correct, that you assume sole liability in the event of a claim relating to the activities carried out in the framework of the contest, that the proposed initiative has not been proposed for the New European Bauhaus Prizes in any other category or strand and that it has not been subject to any type of investigation, which could lead to a financial correction because of irregularities or fraud.
Yes

By submitting your application, you guarantee that you are the author or have the rights to proceed with the application and to authorise the use of the initiative and that you have obtained any necessary consents, licenses or assignments from third parties and included copyright notices when necessary
Yes

By submitting your application, you understand that all the applications that meet the eligibility requirements will be shared for the purposes of the selection processes, and notably published on the secured platform prizes.new-european-bauhaus.eu and for the purposes of the promotion of these on the New European Bauhaus website and/or other European Commission communication channels. In this sense, the applications would be widely available. Applicants should ensure that they present their initiatives, initiative, in such a way that they could be shared without giving rise to intellectual property related concerns. If your submission is selected as one of the finalists, it will additionally be shared for the purpose of the public vote that will take place. The European Union is granted a licence to use and share your application with the general public and the official external experts for the purposes of the selection process, including the voting. The European Union has the right to use the images and visual materials and the description provided in the application for communication purposes related to the contest and beyond. Rights granted comprise the right to store, reproduce, display, publish and communicate or distribute copies in electronic or digital format, including, but not only, through the internet. Unless you have disclosed your name, the European Commission has no obligation to share your name when using or disseminating your contribution to the public. The European Union cannot be held responsible in case any submitted initiative, initiative is found to infringe third party’s rights. The European Union shall be neither responsible for the use that third parties may do of the applications or related content.
Yes

By submitting your application, you acknowledge that you read and understand that the ‘Guide to Applicants’ of the NEB Prizes 2023, available online in the website of the NEB Prizes 2023, is an integral part of this application form and that it must therefore be observed when completing and submitting your application.
Yes