"Tek Bunkeri" is a facility in Tirana, renovated and transformed by volunteers based on placemaking principals welcoming marginalized communities, groups supporting social causes and 41 Albanian NGOs working on activism in order to have a safe place to gather and rise their voice against injustices and the strengthening of democracy. During 2022 alone, at Tek Bunkeri have been organized 3-4 weekly activities focused on informal education and using art for activism involving 2000 participants.
It refers to a physical transformation of the built environment (hard investment)
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No
Yes
As a representative of an organisation
Name of the organisation(s): Tek Bunkeri Type of organisation: Non-profit organisation First name of representative: Arnen Last name of representative: Sula Gender: Male Nationality: Albania Function: Executive director Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Lagjja nr 1, Rruga Kinemaja, Ndertesa nr 25 Town: Rrogozhine Postal code: 2503 Country: Albania Direct Tel:+355 69 586 2513 E-mail:arnen.sula@tekbunkeri.eu Website:https://tekbunkeri.eu/
"Tek Bunkeri" is a grassroot organization located in Tirana, build to work in the fields of culture and arts, non-formal education, environment, social entrepreneurship, and social inclusion. In the focus of the organization is the empowerment of youth and marginalized communities through creative and community building activities. The organization for many actors in Tirana is considered a network and ecosystem builder, bridging sectors, connecting local and regional peers and European networks.
Tek Bunkeri brings a strong analytical and conceptual approach in the daily work and applies participative, co-creative user centric designs in its projects. The villa where Tek Bunkeri is located was fully renovated in voluntary basis by members of the community and young volunteers, where apart from two offices used by the NGO, all other facilities including a big meeting room, two courtyards, one as a more intimate space used by artists and co-working space and the other more open to the public, also the veranda on the upper floor of the villa, are used for free in the function of vulnerable communities, queer club, young writers club, feminism club, artists, creative and critical thinking club and other non-formal groups fighting social problems. The hub concept is innovative and unique due to its collective effort to voluntarily build a space which fosters the feeling of belonging, direct linkage to the community and lack of other free public spaces in Tirana where everyone can freely express and connect to others. An innovative and unique pillar of the organization is the facilitation and creation of rural-urban linkages of target groups within Albania and peer-exchange and learning formats with international organizations and networks. Albania is currently suffering the freedom of speech, lack of transparency and essentially a truncated democracy, the facility of Tek Bunkeri is a warm house for 41 Albanian NGOs as a safe space to host and promote their initiatives.
Inclusiveness
Sustainability
Artivism
Informal education
Democracy
The very existence of the villa itself is an example of sustainability, considering the rapid urban changes that Tirana is facing where many villas (even cultural monuments) are being demolished to build palaces, the use of a residential villa as a social and cultural center is an example which can be followed by many other villa owners. Tek Bunkeri organization achieves sustainability working on principles of participatory design, co-creation and activism. It includes formats such as World Cafes, Pecha Kuchas, and Fishbowl talks as methods of exchanging experiences and ideas within its space.
The space is unique as it was renovated by 45 volunteers and other community members using placemaking principles by using wood materials, donated furniture and second-hand furnishings. Over the past years, civil society in Albania has often been labeled as affiliated with the ruling political parties. On the other hand, televisions and conspiracy theories play a very big role in changing the public discourse regarding civil society. The creation of this space made it possible for civil society and informal groups to communicate and advocate safely and freely for different causes, improve the creative skills of young people, minorities, members of the marginalized community and create a strong civil society network that develops peer support mechanisms to reinforce their voice for system change within their local and national ecosystems. The organization aims, considering the social and political situation in Albania, working on the emancipation of the society in Albania which will come only through education and culture. Inclusiveness and the support of diversity are the key elements of this initiative which unfortunately are not sufficiently promoted in the democratic Albania nowadays.
Tek Bunkeri aims to promote the feeling of belonging and self-expression in the people who are part of the activities, improve creative skills, as well as increase the interest of especially young people to actively be part of a democratic society. In a strategic way, the project is located in a former residential house, even though as a social and cultural center this environment does not lack any element from what we have at home, including the 100% functional kitchen, bathtub, armchairs and sofas. Starting from the viewing of the outside wall of the facility, u immediately notice the unique style and have the perception of the organization’s approach. The outside wall is painted by local youth and other members of the community in a creative way, noting slogans related to free speech, inclusiveness, and civil rights. Once a month there are organised meetings with the members of the community where they cook collectively. Also, in the facility of the villa, the fruit trees have been preserved as they were, and in this way, in the harvest season, we make jam with the fruits of the trees that we have in the yard, which we use in our activities. Just like in every Albanian house with a yard, there are many grape roots with which we make brandy together with the community.
As an inclusive organization committed to open culture and active citizenship, we adhere to the Berlin Code of Conduct which we adapted to our space and goals. Our primary goal is to be inclusive to the largest number of contributors, with the most varied and diverse backgrounds possible. As such, we are committed to providing a friendly, safe, and welcoming environment for all, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, ability, ethnicity, socioeconomic status and religion (or lack thereof). A supplemental goal of this Code of Conduct is to increase open [source/culture/tech] citizenship by encouraging participants to recognize and strengthen the relationships between our actions and their effects.
The villa in which we settled was designed as a residential house, so there was no design element intended for people with different abilities. After we moved into the space, ramps were built, the doors were widened, the yard was paved, for the access of persons with different abilities. Also, on the ground floor, an intervention was made in the wall, in order to create a toilet with access from outside the house, this intervention was intended especially for people who move in wheelchairs.
To get closer to the neighborhood in which we are located, being a neighborhood where mostly families live, activities for and with children have been organized. A child friendly space has been adapted. Musical activities are frequently organized, also social theaters where the residents of the neighborhood are constantly invited to participate.
In front of the big hall where the activities take place, mainly during the winter, the residents of the neighborhood parked their cars, so together with artists from the community, we created an artistic work, in the form of massive concrete, to prevent illegal parking. Different clubs organize their meetings, such as queer club, young writers club, feminism club, artists, creative and critical thinking club. The facility was made available to groups who have faced injustice from the government by demolishing their houses and leaving them homeless, due to roads construction projects or affairs that the government is doing with oligarch. In our facilities they have organized consecutive meetings to make joint decisions and organize strategies. Activities in our villa are organized for free. A system of coordinating the premises using date and time by groups, individuals and NGOs have been put in place. The selection process is open and all persons/organized groups with a purpose that fits within the mission and vision of Tek Bunkeri and also respect our Code of Conduct are welcome to request the access to to our facilities.
The free and organized facility of Tek Bunkeri has given people, informal groups, and NGOs the opportunity to have a space where they can continue with their activities, which would be impossible to organize in the absence of this facility.
Organizers of civil protests have benefited from our initiative by gathering in our space for planning, drawing banners, and brainstorming ideas. Informal groups organized to participate on the protests of the increase of basket products prices, against gentrification in the 5 Maji neighborhood and the combine, the group against the construction of the Skavice Dam, which support environmental issues. All these grassroots movements focused on transparency and human rights. Informal groups such as Scouts of Tropoje, Scouts of Tirana, LGBTIQ+ community, young architects, Albanian tourism association, Roma community, young music groups, young artists have used the space to organize workshops and promote art and culture.
During 2022, joint activities with 41 other civil society organizations in Albania have been organized in our space. Many of these organizations have used Tek Bunkeri's space for free, to promote their work, to show documentaries, and to organize discussions in the field of discrimination, feminism, human rights, protection of cultural heritage and the environment.
The focus of the initiative is the promotion of human rights though community participation, arts and culture. Throughout the last year numerous meetings were organized with Albanian public figures, anthropologists, linguists, philosophers, professors of various fields, writers, former politically persecuted, artists, art critics, film and theater directors. These meetings were attended by about 2000 people for free. The main goal is promotion of informal education, and the confrontation of young people with experts in different fields to motivate them, to share experiences, to participate in different workshops.
Our initiative is based on principles of participatory design, co-creation and artivism. The initiative was raised for discussion with representatives of local institutions, Civil society actors and a group of Albanian-German volunteers. Different institutions, organizations and informal groups such as Citizen Channel, LGBTIQ+ Alliance, Institute of Studies on Crimes and Consequences of Communism, Political Institute of Humane Studies, Memo Albania, My History, Remember.al, Scout Tirana, Civic Centre, ArtKontakt, Social Contract Institute, Korca Film Festival, Exit.al, Shelter, Scout Tirana, Sahaja Yoga, Right to the City, Empower Society Albania, GO2Albania, Kreo, PPNEA, HBS Tirana, UNAA, Noucmas, Institute of Cultural Anthropology and the Study of Art are our main supporters and are directly involved in the implementation of this initiative. Tek Bunkeri includes formats such as Social Theatre, Femme Salons, Human Library Talks, Fish Bowl Talks and Movie Screenings. A comprehensive series of workshops for citizen journalism and media production, artistic forms of expression and advocacy are combined with a focus on learning games for community building, activism and artivist practices for different public domains. Working for and with vulnerable target groups, topics such as hate speech, systemic discrimination, political participation and further are key to our activities and it is also reflected in the tools and methods applied. By combining these different innovative elements for Albania and the involvement of different actors, Tek Bunkeri nurtures and consolidates the fragmented Albanian creative and civic scene and enables its actors to also function as a resource network for rural peers and smaller communities outside Tirana. To create the urban and rural connection we develop different activities such as the market for artisanal products and organic teas with different actors from the rural areas of Albania, and involvement of regional interested partners.
For the renovation of Tek Bunkeri hub, 45 volunteers with expertise in different fields were engaged such as engineers, architects, painters, interior designers, civil society members, experts that work with people with different abilities, actors, musicians ect. They fully participated in the process expressing and combining their ideas but also working together. Bringing together such a diverse but also compact group of young artist and experts working voluntarily to achieve a common goal for the common good was one of the achievements of this initiative. Their expertise was reflected in the design of the building, facilities for people with different abilities, acoustics ect taking in consideration the purpose of this facility, the activities that were going to be organized and the target groups. They were engaged in painting the interior and exterior, tracking recyclable materials, arranging the furniture, which we collected from various sources of our community members, all the furnishings of the interior of the office are done with the help of the community. The cooperation with young artists during the construction phase by inviting them to contribute to the setting up of the space by expressing themselves through their art resulted in the creation of a strong relationship and full involvement during the organization of weekly activities. From the beginning of their commitment, they not only participated in the activities that we organized, but often they are the creators of the activities and the implementors of their ideas. Together with the various clubs that are part of our organization, we hold continuous meetings in the World Café format in order to get ideas from our community members. So often the topics, the guests, the way of organization comes because of the public hearings we do.
The process followed for the renovation of the building through inclusion and self-expression of volunteers from different groups and communities but also the usage of recycled materials with a specific focus on traditional object makes the initiative innovative. In the local context is a challenge finding free and non-profit spaces or venues for the public which makes them feel part of the initiative creation and additionally address different communities and connects them. A second innovative and unique pillar of Tek Bunkeri is the facilitation and creation of rural-urban linkages of our target groups within Albania and hybrid peer-exchange and learning formats with international organizations and networks. Many young people from Albania are immigrating to Europe and developed countries, we have put in the center of attention people who have decided to stay and contribute to their country, increasing the capacities, sharing experiences, and supporting these groups in various areas of active life. The access that is given by Tek Bunkeri, though our initiative to communities which are not easily accepted by the society, to organize meetings, share their ideas, be part of a larger public which makes them feel accepted and valued for what they offer is also essential in a country such as Albania.
Our innovative idea for the creation of joint spaces renovated by volunteer forces with an artistic view can be replicated in small cities in Albania where a lot of young people could gather, share ideas and finding innovative solutions to challenge migration from small towns and making meaningful contributions to its communities. Our initiative's spectrum of activities is quite broad and encompasses feminism, human rights, discrimination, marginalized communities, injustices, transparency, and accountability of the government to the people, therefore our approach is easily adaptable to diverse settings in different Albanian cities. As a result of our work, citizens can now advocate for their rights and better comprehend the impact of government actions on their lives. Our community has grown by doing and learning. We believe that the information and skills gained by our participants will benefit Albanian society as a whole, and will motivate more citizens to get actively involved in civic activities. The MitOst toolkit "Tools for Citizens" is an important tool that helps solve problems, establish communication, plan events, and organize ourselves in an inclusive manner. The toolkit provides individuals with practical tools, step-by-step instructions, and inspiring tales to help them understand the current state of their communities, identify potential solutions, and implement projects. Community members have been trained to be trainers of the "Tools for Citizens" toolbox, and they would be delighted to share their knowledge with others.
Participants can learn how to establish community-based activities and projects using this toolset. They are able to communicate their expertise and raise awareness about how individuals may use the toolkit to make a change in their local community by doing so. As people are able to share their expertise and experiences with other organizations that could benefit from it, a beneficial ripple effect will occur.
The methodology used in the aforementioned initiative is multidimensional and adopts a holistic approach. These characteristics include raising awareness through an evidence-based approach to problem solutions, investing in community outreach programs, and involving stakeholders at all levels. Another critical phase in our strategy is co-creating the work plan with partners and stakeholders, reviewing ideas and potential changes in order to find balance and build persistence. This includes creating quantifiable goals, developing the initiative's strategy and objectives, putting the plan into action, and evaluating the results. Through this methodology, all partners are invited to participate in the process and help shape the initiative. By collaborating in this manner, the initiative establishes a system that respects all those involved and is capable of incorporating ideas from all of its members. In doing so, the program strives to provide long-term effects that benefit everyone and generate a greater sense of stability. This methodology helps the initiative to not only achieve the goals it has set for itself, but also to grow and develop by addressing the needs of its participants and their surrounding environment and fostering a sense of trust between all parties. This level of trust is critical for any program because it ensures that each stakeholder and partner feels valued and that their contributions are being recognized.
A Holistic Multi-methodology for sustainable renovation has also been used from the start of the initiative. It aimed to deal with complexity of the renovation project and the involvement of different volunteers and stakeholders in the design process, to improve group learning and group decision-making, using art and hence make the Tek Bunkeri renovation design process more robust and efficient. Also, to give the feeling of belonging and inclusiveness.
Tek Bunkeri works in the fields of culture and arts, non-formal education, environment, social entrepreneurship, and social inclusion. Our activities focus on empowerment of youth and marginalized communities with a focus on women and girls through creative and community building activities. We consider ourselves as network and ecosystem builders, bridging sectors, connecting local and regional peers and European networks which we are actively part of. We engage cross-sectoral stakeholders and connect target groups with peers and partners from our networks beyond implementation. Our mission is to develop a broad network for local change that enables community members to acquire new skills in peer-learning workshops, and to create sustainable community-based approach on social inclusion. We collaborate with local and national public institutions, civil society, donors, academia and the community to address social, cultural and environmental challenges with a focus on innovative solutions and participatory formats which have co-creation practices at its core. In addition to the activities mentioned above, Tek Bunkeri owns plastic recycling machines, which are used to turn plastic waste into household furniture such as lampshades, flowerpots, fruit holders, baskets, etc. These products are produced by collecting plastic from members of our community, and the machines are also used to train and educate young people about environmental issues. In this regard Tek Bunkeri contributes to the following UN SDG goals: Goal nr 4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. Goal nr 5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. Goal nr 8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all Goal nr 10. Reduce inequality and Goal nr 16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development.
Around 2000 people had free access in the facilities of Tek Bunkeri during 2022 to organize meeting among formal and non-formal groups and participate in different activities organized by Tek Bunkeri. The format of open clubs for different communities and target groups are key activities promoting self-organization, active participation and creative learning in a safe space which gives the feeling of belonging. 719 people have participated during 2022 in the Clubs for Queer Culture, Feminism and female empowerment, Young Writers and literary arts, Critical and Creative Thinking and Music. Artivism 4 all is a comprehensive series of thematic and consecutive workshops and trainings for target groups and CSOs equipping them in playful and participatory learning journeys with technical and soft skills of different artivist and creative tools, such as social theatre, StreetArt, Painting & Design, Digital and online Artivism, Creative Media productions, Podcasting and Creative Crafts. In the framework of Activism for All 20 trainings were organized with different actresses from Tirana and other rural cities of Albania. Activities have resulted in the engagement and improved skills of 289 participants.
Citizen journalism and advocacy skills are deemed crucial by Tek Bunkeri to address policy makers, international networks, and media to shape public discourses. Workshops on citizen journalism, trainings and Human Libraries have been organized, improving basic skills of investigation, narration, journalistic writing and engaging marginalized community members and individuals in creating their stories. 60 people improved their skills by participating in 10 activities during 2022. 70 Weekly and monthly formats of events of spoken word, music, critical cinema with talks, exhibitions, femme salons, theatre and fish bowl talks have been organized in 2022 with the participation of 1840 people.
