Our organization rescue and transforms large quantities of urban waste into massive art installations. Beside the art installations we have side activities based on non-formal education methods and upcycling. The main idea of the project is to activate citizens toward environmental protection and raise awareness about climate change, sustainable development, and responsible consumption.
Regional
Portugal
Madeira Island.
It addresses urban-rural linkages
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)
No
No
Yes
As a representative of an organisation
Name of the organisation(s): Teatro Metaphora - Associação de Amigos das Artes Type of organisation: Non-profit organisation First name of representative: José Last name of representative: Rodrigues Gender: Male Nationality: Portugal Function: President Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Travessa da Saraiva, 12 Town: Câmara de Lobos Postal code: 9300-154 Country: Portugal Direct Tel:+351 291 644 531 E-mail:tmetaphora@gmail.com Website:http://teatrometaphora.org/
Green Steps - it is an artistic project in which the community, especially youth, is activated towards environmental protection in an innovative and creative way, by collecting urban waste and transforming it into art pieces. It fosters an interventionist attitude and arouses the curiosity and interest of the entire community in good ecological practices and behaviors. The project strives to make people more responsible, wiser, and sustainable consumers as well as active citizens.
Creativity
Learning
Aesthetic
Community
Cooperation
The artistic environmental missions have impacted thousands of people over the years. GREEN STEPS project also comprehends other environmental activities, using non-formal methods of education. We organize seminars, movie discussions, street campaigns, eco marathons (plogging), and many other activities which have the purpose of activating citizens to be more environmentally friendly. We invite the whole community to be part of the process and they feel inspired by the results of our activities. There is still a lot to be done, however, we feel people are more open to change and to being part of a healthier planet, by fostering the green economy.
GREEN STEPS project activities are a contribution to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Some of our key objectives are:
- To mobilize people to work in teams, reinforcing the values of friendship, cooperation, responsibility, and mutual respect.
- To educate through non-formal methods for the conservation of the environment.
- Strengthening the skills of young people in social and civic areas.
- Enhance the acquisition of environmental knowledge, as well as the critical sense for situations of and active participation in environmental protection actions.
- To increase the knowledge level of the community in topics like global interdependencies (from environmental, cultural, economic, and political approaches); SDG (Sustainable Development Goals); social and global justice; climate change; consumerism and sustainable lifestyle; sustainable development.
- To increase the level of sustainable lifestyles of citizens in general and trigger positive organizational changes.
Our project is based in Madeira island - Portugal, but our works are recognized not only locally but also at the international level. We live in an outermost region, which makes it difficult for us to have access to the latest advanced technologies. However, with a simple idea, we managed to create very impressive artworks that were immediately recognized at the international level. The international community has recognized us as an example and we keep being invited to be present in various seminars, webinars, or other events connected with the circular economy, and a green transition, among other environmental topics. We were invited to make an exhibition abroad, in Amsterdam for the light festival. We also were going to send it to Germany, but we were not able because of the pandemic situation. When we started building the art installations, the local community did not believe in us, and it was hard to get people involved, but after being spread internationally, everyone loved it and contributed somehow to make the project go further. A lot of tourists come to see our street installations, taking photos and spreading them around the globe. Moreover, the project was awarded by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, as well as the European Comission (non-monetary award) with the "European Sustainability Award", in 2019.
If we sum up the whole experience and look back on how we started, we can say that our project grew a lot and our community behaviors and attitude have positively changed. We increased the level of knowledge from the community on topics of climate change; consumerism and sustainable lifestyle and if in the beginning, it was difficult to engage the community to participate and give a hand, now they are more aware of what we do, and why we do it. We already reached our aim and showed the community that our actions can influence the lives of other people and contribute to diminishing the human impact on the environment.
We are a non-profit association whose purpose is to organize cultural and educational activities for the benefit of the community’s development. Our objectives are to develop the social and personal competencies of children, youth, and adults through non-formal education principles. These methods allow greater involvement from the members of the community and a bigger approach to the surrounding reality. The constructions are made over several months, by local volunteers, without any artistic training. During the construction of these street decorations, we have been involving many people, realizing as well that these street art projects are excellent opportunities to promote inclusion and active participation. Participation in our activities is free of charge. Everyone is invited to come and contribute the best way they can. In some specific activities, we provide food and transportation so nobody stays behind for economic or geographical obstacles. It is possible to contribute to the project in different ways and in different stages wherever it is during implementation, dissemination, preparation, etc. People can contribute simply by collecting materials and bringing to the association, by phone calls to call asking friends, family, or someone else who can collect the urban waste. The idea was generated by a group of friends, who wanted to do something out of the box to help our community and environment. The project grew and became international, as during the year we receive international volunteers who come to help in our activities. This way we also give space for intercultural dialogue, a key pillar for inclusion. With the contribution of all volunteers, the local community, and partners, as well as the support of local authorities, we have managed to do notable work.
GREEN STEPS is essentially a community project. We cooperate with local schools, restaurants, hotels, the City Hall, and other non-governmental or governmental environmental entities. Environmental issues are on the public agenda and each member of the community is committed to the process of making individual or collective change. When we began this project, nothing similar had been done in the city center of Câmara de Lobos. When we were collecting urban waste, firstly people didn’t understand what we were doing and we felt some resistance. People in Madeira stick to what is traditional and only when our works were widely spread at international level, the negative feedback we had at local level before the opening was mute after so much compliments from the international community. We changed communities' minds and they learn with us how to reuse materials and give a new life. Now the expectations from locals every year is high, they are curious to see what will be next, to give their hands and support as much as they can. More people are sensitized to our cause and almost no resistance is found when we need support. People involved in the process also teach others what they learned during the process and spread the knowledge among their families, peers, and colleagues. As we involve many young people, conditions were created for the occupation of youth leisure time, diverting them from less healthy ways, such as drug addiction and delinquency, which also benefits the community in the sense that diminishes the numbers of small thefts, mendicancy, etc. By carrying out this project, the community, in general, will be more aware of their role as global citizens and understand the global impact of their actions whether it is on the environment, economy, or society.
This project relies on the collaboration of several local and regional entities, both public and private. The city council provides logistical support, with transport, materials, and tools. It also collaborates by providing human resources that help to put the final work in the streets.
We count on the collaboration of local companies, which support us both with materials and with logistic support. It is important to mention that local businesses value our initiative very much because they realize that art installations bring many tourists to the city and that this boosts the economy.
In an indirect way, we have collaboration through European programs, namely the European Solidarity Corps. Our organization hosts volunteers from different countries, under that programme. These volunteers collaborate in the elaboration of the art installations, over several months. This is an excellent way of interacting with the local community, learning a lot, and contributing to making the city better.
The local community is a key element for the success of this initiative. People are willing to support our work, helping in the way they can.
Our project encompasses different disciplines. From architecture, and design, to craftsmanship, and a strong media component.
The art installation projects are conceived through the collaboration of architects and design students. They work in close contact with the craftsmen and technical teams that guide the volunteers and members of the local community who get involved in the construction of the art installations.
The process also involves journalists, photographers, and filmmakers who report on the realization of the installations as well as on the final results.
The interaction and cooperation between all these sectors are vital to the success of the initiative and are key to making it viable. The scarce financial resources at our disposal are overcome by the voluntary commitment of all these collaborators from different areas.
Because it is not a business or job obligation, people end up dedicating themselves more and better. They like what they do and take pleasure in contributing to a common effort. The collaboration between the various individuals, instead of being competitive, becomes collaborative and a motivating factor for all.
Reusing and upcycling garbage is not a new term, however in the context we live in, Madeira island, initiatives of this kind are exceedingly rare and uncommon. Our works are out of the box and also make people think about environmental problems.
Despite the concept not being new, our artistic installations are unique in the world and nowhere to be found. The constructions are made over several months, by local volunteers and sporadically international ones, without any artistic training. Our project is also innovative in the sense that given the scarcity of opportunities that we face for being from an ultra-peripheric region and as an association with few resources, we manage to create these big artworks by engaging different people/actors from civil society. At the same time, we educate them on environmental issues and sustainable development, giving them the possibility to develop a set of skills that will increase their future opportunities. Our project involves the community, as many people contribute to the art installations construction. Even those who do not participate directly, take part in the process as spectators.
Our project is based on this concept which can be replicated and done everywhere, according to the author’s creativity. Public institutions, schools, NGOs, and other entities of interest in civil society can easily start, step by step, creating projects which involve collecting garbage and giving a new life to it, instead of throwing away.
As we have the skills and people who became specialized in doing the artistic items we produced and still do it, it would be possible to train a special group of multipliers that could transfer their skills to other people and this way enlarge the impact of this project in other regions and countries. We work in partnership with many other organizations across Europe and African countries. As a result of our strong partnerships, we have been receiving many volunteers from other countries that learn with us the techniques and how to create their own projects. Upon their return to their home countries, they are told to conduct local workshops for their communities to maximize their learning outcomes and transfer them to others. Their participation in the Green Steps project has given us an idea of making it global, by searching for international funds that can make us go abroad and teach other people how they can use art to create environmental awareness and at the same time promote social inclusion. For this reason, we believe our project can influence the lives of many people, and replicating it in other regions and/or counties will attain a bigger goal of making people more aware of the issues concerning environmental sustainability.
GREEN STEPS project uses different artistic skills/disciplines to spread its message. We combine volunteering, community, youth, art, and sustainability. We use non-formal education principles as it allows a better approach to reality and promotes active participation of different target groups. GREEN STEPS is essentially a community project. Most of the work is done by young volunteers, with the guidance of the professional team of Teatro Metaphora.
We involve local schools, restaurants, hotels, municipalities, and other non-governmental or governmental environmental entities, who help us collect materials, providing us with some of the necessary tools and scientific knowledge experts in environmental sustainability topics. A group of volunteers collects the materials regularly and prepares them for the art creations. Each installation takes around half a year to be completed and parallel activities which comprise street campaigns, eco-marathons, movie discussions, and creative workshops are organized to increase knowledge in different topics such as the life cycle of products and their implications on the environment, human health, and economy. Videos are produced that show the process and its results as well as information about the impact of the project and its benefits for the environment, society, and the economy.
Activities:
Study visits - to environmental and education entities, nature reserves;
Creative workshops - reuse of materials;
Lectures - with experts in the area of the environment, energy, water, and biodiversity; Clean-Up sessions - waste collection sessions on the beaches, cities, treks, and mountains; Reforestation activities; Street campaigns and educational activities - to raise the community's levels of environmental literacy; Activities in nature - camping, treks, etc. - aiming to bring young people into contact with nature, appealing to the respect for biodiversity;
Artistic project - street art installations reusing urban waste.
GREEN STEPS aims to fight social apathy, as well as the lack of active participation of citizens on environmental issues, and to raise awareness for the more than ever critical sustainability issues. Recognizing the vital role that these topics occupy in European society development and in the whole world, this project brings the community to take responsibility by promoting a dynamic of participation in a collective movement to improve our environment and disseminate new behaviours.
Population growth inevitably leads to an incessant demand for more resources, causing enormous pressure on the planet and not giving it enough time to regenerate. The activities promoted in the scope of our initiative alert people to the need to rethink their lifestyles and try to live in a more sustainable way. Directly or indirectly, the change in behaviour adopted by the participants has a positive influence on the way we deal with our surroundings.
Our initiative promotes the concept of Circular Economy, as it is based on the reduction, reuse, recovery, and recycling of materials and energy. It avoids waste of resources, restores and renews materials and objects, and seeks to demonstrate that economic growth does not necessarily require greater consumption of natural resources.
The project mobilizes the community to work as a team, reinforcing the values of friendship, cooperation, responsibility and mutual respect. At the same time, it increases the acquisition of knowledge about issues related to environmental sustainability, as well as critical vision and active participation in environmental protection actions. Because they are impressive and curious installations, no one remains indifferent. Emotions are always aroused, which may lead to a change in behaviour, especially considering that the community starts to look at the waste with different eyes
In 2019, we won international recognition for all the effort and enthusiasm we have been putting into constructing these art pieces. We were recognized by European Commission and we won “The European Sustainability Award” (a nonmonetary prize). This award had no prize money. In the same year, we received from the hands of the President of the Republic of Portugal a national award, the Gulbenkian Prize for Sustainability, for being considered a reference as an organization that promotes ecological behaviors and raises awareness for sustainable development. Our project was a pioneer in the region and other organizations were inspired by us. In the following years, several organizations have been inspired by our work, therefore adopting new sustainable procedures. We want to carry on our work and reach more and more people, organizations, and communities.
