The vital role art can play in supporting economic models oriented towards affirming ethical values
During the first lockdown the project NO CRASH was born. It is an ongoing project that focuses on dignity and safety as indispensable values in every workplace and how they can be implemented through music, dance and architecture (Goal 1-8-10). This project has already given life to an intense awareness-raising campaign that communicates by means of emotions in which the use of video dance helped to reinforce the message. The films were broadcast in over 100 projections.
Cross-border/international
Italy
Other
Thanks to the collaboration with the Nobel Peace Prize Winner Muhammad Yunus and the network of Yunus Centres, our awareness campaign has been spread all over the world. We got selections and prizes also from several Film Festival all over the world.
{Empty}
The Network active up to now:
Sponsorship :
Region Emilia-Romagna, Comune di Bologna, Bologna Unesco City of Music, ANMIL (Associazione Nazionale fra lavoratori Mutilati ed Invalidi sul Lavoro), (National Association for workers maimed and disabled in the work place) and Nazionale Italiana Cantanti (National Association of Italian singers)
Collaboration:
Fondazione del Teatro Comunale di Bologna, (Foundation of the city theatre of Bologna) Nuovo Balletto Classico, (New Classical Ballet) Foundation Aldini Valeriani, Praxis Consulting srl., Projects developed with the support of ART-ER
International Visibility:
Events of the Yunus Centre network, Film Festival, ICE Agency of Los Angeles - Festival SXSW
Visibility in the Region Emilia-Romagna (our Region in Italy):
Emilia-Romagna Festival, Start Cinema (Rocca di Imola), Zed International Festival of Festival Videodance (Bo) Associazione Cinqueminuti ( the 5 minute Association.) Festival Focus 360° (RE), Foundation Cardinale Giacomo Lercaro - Istitutute Veritatis Splendor (BO), Foundation Aldini Valeriani (BO), Ordine degli Psicologi della Regione Emilia-Romagna, (Order of Psychologists of the Emilia Romagna region. Fiera Ambiente Lavoro edition 2021 and 2022 (BO) (Work Environment Fair), Parma International Music Film Festival , Malatesta Short Film Festival (Cesena), (Festival of Work ) 2022 (BO), THINK SAFE! Live, Exchange & Value (RN)
Visibility in other Regions in Italy:
Cro.Me Cronaca e Memoria dello Spettacolo - Fabbrica del Vapore (MI), (Chronicles and memories from the world of performance) Coorpi Danza Persone Territori (MI) Festival of Sustainable Development , Association Danseàvie Corpo Unico (SP), Green Film (TN) Social World Film Festival (official selection ) - Vico Equense (NA), International Festival for Health and Safety on the Work Place (PU), ContemporaneaMENTE- Video contest on the theme of inclusion.(GE) Luci sul Lavoro Montepulciano (SI) (Light on work)
Interviews:
Radio Anmil (n.4), Social World Film Festival, Festival of Sustainable Development – ASVIS Tadà Rtv38 Rock’N’Safe
Mainly urban
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)
No
No
Yes
As an individual
First name: Paola Last name: Samoggia Gender: Female Nationality: Italy Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Viale Carducci 7 Town: bologna Postal code: 40125 Country: Italy Direct Tel:+39 348 342 2039 E-mail:paolasamoggia@gmail.com Website:https://www.paolasamoggia.com/home
The months of silence due to Covid-19 restrictions led us to reflect even more on the VALUES that we want to bring into our art.
We focused on the 23rd article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that "Everyone of working age is entitled to the right to a job, to a fair wage for their work and to join a trade union"; we also referred to the first article of the Italian Constitution, which reads "Italy is a democratic Republic founded on labour".
By collaborating with Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Prof. Muhammad Yunus, we realized that decent work can be a great way out of poverty (Goals 1-8). However, dignity is assured only if work is done in safe conditions (Goal 8-10). In Italy in 2022, 3 people died every day due to fatal accidents on the workplace.
We strongly believe that ART can be a great tool to raise awareness on work-related social issues and we like the idea to give a contribution to such an important project by using an emotional form of communication.
HOW WE DO IT:
I am a music composer, my husband is an architect and a video artist. We have a multimedia production company. We have produced 3 short films on these themes and organized an awareness campaign that included over 100 screenings since June 2020.
Despite the intrinsic difficulties in introducing Goals 1-8-10 of the 2030 Agenda due to the thorny topics they bring forth, we have involved institutions and associations from the world of work, music and dance by screening the short films in universities, foundations, Film Festival, Art Centres, Economic Forums, etc.
Work and its safety are issues that require a lot of commitment as they demand important cultural changes.
The aim of the project is to remind people that WE CANNOT GIVE UP fundamental rights and values.
We have already made people understand the vital role that art can play in conveying messages and supporting the economic models oriented towards affirming ethical values.
art
dignity
safety
work
awareness
Environmental sustainability in the world of cinema is very a complex and recent issue. None of the partners we brought on set had any experience in this field. However, we succeeded to obtain the Green Film Certification, in the last short film. This important certification has allowed us to make all the people involved in the process (over 60) aware if this issue, which we also introduced in all presentations.
Furthermore, the choice of the short film format has allowed us to bring our art to the world without additional costs, greatly reducing the ecological footprint of our work. Although this choice implies giving up live entertainment and its great emotion, it allows art to reach very remote places at a very low cost both in terms of money and environmental resources.
In the events we attended we always asked for some parameters:
. gender equality among speakers (high-ranking jobs in institutions and business in Italy are almost always taken by men)
- no architectural barriers
- free access for the audience.
We believe that the short film screening is a very democratic and economically sustainable format: it makes it possible to create art on the grounds of models that promote work in a socially inclusive manner without losing the quality of art.
We work on virtual places in which to take the spectator and remind her/him of the values to fight for.
The strategies we used to stimulate the audience empathy were the following:
1.the short films were shot in evocative places with a significant meaning (see photos attached):
- an abandoned factory;
- an inner space (black box) where the work was represented with murals drawn with chalk (to remember that discomfort at work is not "only" physical, but also psychological);
- a real theater for the performance of an orchestra, dancers and singers.
2. we have created different settings also with music and dance:
- NO CRASH has only one male protagonist who works in an abandoned and unhealthy factory. The music is electronic and incorporates sounds that were sampled from a factory of suckers as a basic percussion;
- HOPE has only one female protagonist in an indoor setting: a black box in which she dances. The sounds of a surreal construction site are destroying her mind. The film ends with the sound of the roulette ball, because finding a safe job is a matter of luck even today;
- in DAYDREAM, a group of young women sing the opera and dance; this immerses the spectator in the true story of the beginnings of microcredit. Thus, Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus' dream of segregating poverty in museums through decent work becomes music and dance. The Italian art of the opera has been recalled in support of an engaging message of great hope.
The short film proved to be a versatile instrument in awareness raising. The use of video dance in these films helped us to reinforce the message.
We can change hearts and minds.
We can make the problem visible.
We do it because even the smallest action counts.
We cannot simply do nothing.
We cannot remain in our comfort zone and not think about how the vast majority of the world population lives. We are facing a new form of slavery on the horizon with people working with neither rights nor protection ensured. Working without a contract, in dangerous working conditions and with no protection is another word for slavery.
More than anything else, our short films are the story of a human dream that demonstrates that intelligence, sympathy, and imagination can push EACH single person and the whole society to achieve extraordinary goals: "A better world starts with imagination", Muhammad Yunus.
Our projects are for people of all ages and from all walks of life.
We are aiming to build a meeting place for minds through the languages of the opera, the ballet, the acoustic and electronic music. We aim to plant social seeds to allow people to become more active in the world.
In our awareness campaign we have divided the people involved into two types:
- the direct audience
- the indirect audience.
DIRECT AUDIENCE: all those who have watched the short films during the screenings.
We understood that many people had never reflected on the proposed themes before. People tend to believe that, at work, accidents or physical and psychological harassment cannot happen to them. They think that these problems do not concern them. On the other hand, watching our short films and listening to us explaining our work, they understand that it is something that concerns all of us. We can change their perception of reality.
The same thing happens with the Social Business Model proposed by Muhammad Yunus: it is a new way to create business that can offer a more ethically correct alternative to the economic models of the 80s. People should become aware that this model exists because it could be interesting for the development of new activities.
INDIRECT AUDIENCE: the people who work behind the scenes or deal with cultural projects.
We have met many artists who never thought they could make a project on these themes. They were very impressed.
On the social networks of the projects we have also showed the photos of the people who worked in the backstage because they are never introduced to the public. For example, we have published the photo of a pianist as well as the image of the professional who tuned the piano and the porters specialized in transporting pianos, whose role is indispensable before any concert.
The public have no idea of how many people are needed to produce a show, and letting them know is also our responsibility. We have to inform the spectator about these activities/jobs that s/he does may not know yet.
In the creative process of the films we have involved many professionals in the following fields: photography, video making, dance, music, scenography, carpentry and event organization. Approximately 15 people cooperated in the first short film, whereas the third one involved over 60.
The partners who collaborated with us in the Awareness Campaign were the following (more details are available on the website www.nocrash.org):
- the network of Yunus Centers (over 100 world-wide) has given me space in its international events for the presentation of the short films. I was invited to give a lecture on "The vital role art can play in conveying messages and supporting economic models oriented towards affirming ethical values";
- the Film Festivals in which we have participated and with which we have obtained various awards (see the attached photo);
- International events and fairs dealing with technology-oriented topics such as work, safety, psychology and economy; they accepted to screen our short films to support their themes with a more emotional approach;
- Festivals of music, dance, architecture and art: they screened our short films and gave us space to introduce them so that the public was stimulated to reflect on these themes, which greatly interested their Art Directors;
- Universities: in November 2022 we started at the university of Turin with an event in collaboration with the Yunus Center. In February 2023, the University of Bologna will also be hosting an event. For the next few months we have requests from Barcelona (Spain) and Monterrey (Mexico);
- Institutions: in Italy we have collaborated with Municipalities, Regions and National Ministries. We are sponsored by the National Association of Workplace Accident Victims. We collaborate with the Aldini Valeriani Foundation, a renowned foundation for vocational education of young people. We are also working on a project for 2023 with the Museum of Industrial Heritage of the City of Bologna.
Social issues at the workplace are often managed by experts who organize training events and refresher courses that are frequently very difficult to understand for lay people. Our short films, on the other hand, allow people to open up a cross-sector dialogue by suggesting emotional conversation starters and new points of view.
We propose an alternative language directed to people's hearts to get these issues out into the world more easily.
To confirm the effectiveness of this new approach, we can mention the following collaborations:
- we have been asked to shoot the next short film together with some safety consultants: having seen our previous short films, they offered us the opportunity to shoot the new one with the sounds and at the premises of their company. Thus, we will work in a real and non-virtual environment: the staff who operate the machines on a daily basis will be involved in making the sounds of the new short film;
- other consultants have asked us permission to screen the short films during their courses on safety for employees simply to encourage moments of emotional reflection.
- some organizations that work with young people (universities and foundations that deal with training) have asked us for the short films and in-depth material to organize moments of interdisciplinary study (art and economics).
The ground-breaking nature of the project and the thorny - but fundamental - issues it tackles make it all the more difficult to promote and develop the project, also due to the lack of grants to support awareness campaigns of this kind.
There are no initiatives to finance creative production that focus on fostering decent and safe working conditions as a gateway out of poverty.
These are thorny issues to discuss, but which concern all of us, even in the so-called civilized countries.
In Italy Institutions involved in business are not used to financing cultural projects, whereas Institutions involved in the culture sector tend to be skeptical towards these themes because they are not easy to introduce to the public.
We aim to break this wall.
We chose the language of the short film precisely because it can be easily applied/transferred anywhere.
They are not expensive to broadcast; all the public need is a simple TV set, which is available even in less affluent countries.
This is the easiest way to join our Awareness Campaign. Each institution that wants to join can customise the introductory part of the short films as it suits best to illustrate the project.
We also offer visibility to every screening, even the smallest ones, on our social networks.
To support our work, we are also working on:
1) a publication with the University of Bologna with texts by musicologists, economists and art critics to better describe the project (expected publication date: March 2023). At the moment it is planned in Italian and English, but we will soon issue a Spanish and French version as well.
2) We are defining a museum installation with the Industrial Heritage Museum of Bologna that can be easily replicated in other museums with the multimedia contents of the project. We will open this installation to the public at the end of April; after that, the technical sheet will be made available to replicate the installation in public spaces.
The EU support would make easier to propose our project to other national and international museums.
We strongly believe that ART can be a great tool to raise awareness on social issues at the workplace and we aim to give a contribution to such an important project by using an emotional form of communication.
It is very difficult to bring social issues on the screen in an artistic way.
We want to show a path different from communications that are used for fundraising.
We want to get people thinking, we don't want to solicit pity or compassion.
We have done a lot of research, now we can show a new way to communicate.
We have met many artists who never thought they could make a project on these themes. They were very impressed and we are sure that this will have repercussions on their next projects.
Hopefully:
- other artists follow our example by following the path we have created for them to develop new art project
- many event organizers ask us for short films to raise people's awareness using all the material we are producing to facilitate their work
- dancers and singers will be involved in subjects they will never find out in their carrier path. They could learn new path for their future work from the economic world they face in this project.
Economy and art: two worlds that don't communicate each other.
Again a wall to destroy.
In last 10 years we have collected a lot of information and a lot of data on how to make people aware of social issues at the workplace.
We have developed two distinct strands related to Goals 1-8-10 of the 2030 Agenda:
a) the fight against poverty through decent work (1-8)
b) decent work must be done in safety (8-10).
In Italy political support is hard to obtain because this theme is still understood as the "struggle of only one party"; in other words, it has not yet become a General Cultural Value.
Changing the culture of a country is a long and complex process. For this reason, the support of the European Union would have great value for us: it would be a strong sign of sharing the values of a community.
As a matter of fact, these are world-wide issues: everywhere there are jobless people who die of starvation, or are exploited in various physical and psychological ways. Finding a better balance on these issues is important not only for young people, but also for women and those who lose their jobs at an older age.
We aim to set an example, a path that other people may take to support this change.
We are organizing our journey so that it can be easier to share, documented and international.
We can rely on very active support networks that we would gladly make available to others: we believe that these results will have more strength if shared beyond our borders.
With references to the initiatives mentioned above (different stakeholders section), our development plan is as follows:
- on 28 February an event with the University of Bologna with a focus on our topics: "A round table with a musicologist, an economist and an art historian in conversation with the composer Paola Samoggia". A publication will come out of this event with the texts presented (in Italian and English at present; soon available also in Spanish and French);
- on 28 April, an event at the Industrial Heritage Museum of Bologna with the title "There is no 1st May Day without April 28" to link these two important dates: International Workers' Day and World Day for Workers' Health and Safety. On this occasion we will create a multimedia installation that we want to bring to other Italian museums and some large libraries.
The installation will be designed by us to be easily replicable in other contexts, if the distance does not make transportation convenient. The installation will become a banner of values.
. in August 2024, taking advantage of the fact that Muhammad Yunus is the referent for the Paris Olympics for sustainability, we would like to take the installation to the city of Paris. This event will be in collaboration with the Yunus Center in Paris;
- after Paris, we would like to take the installation to other European locations; to do so, we would like to contact the Network of European Museum Organisations (NEMO) that participated in the conference in Lisbon on 23 March 2021 with the title “Museums and Social Responsibility: Participation, Networks and Partnerships” during the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union-
