EMPATHEAST 2019

EMPATHEAST 2019

In a world of radicalizing polarities, the “urgent change our system needs”, has become the new routine in any perspective, a random everyday “urgency”. In EMPATHEAST 2019 we created space for the untold to be told, experienced, shared. And for everyone to become a peace navigator in time of chaos and disillusion. The experience changed the idea of radicalization - because we do need radical good.

Radical transparency. Radical stand behind the values that are threatened. Radical art. Radical love.

EMPATHEAST is the annual international forum for empathydriven social change of Ideas Factory Association (Sofia, Bulgaria).

Its 4th edition in 2019 (1-3 November) attracted the local community spirit for a mindful social change in the city of Plovdiv and mixed it with the wide perspectives of changemakers from around the world. The profoundly instigating topic of EMPATHEAST 2019 was Radical imagination: emergency exits from a messed-up world.

The forum gathered around 300 people during the 3-days of its unfolding. It completely transformed 3 well-known public spaces in Plovdiv – Central Post Office, The House of Science and Technics and the building of Total Sport & Squash.

Lecture panel A rich lecture panel with speakers from Bulgaria, India, Italy, Hungary and UK filled the 1st day of the forum. They covered a wide spectrum of topics and choices that determine our daily lives both as creators and consumers – the potential of art as a radical community force, alternative lifestyle in Bulgarian villages, creative writing as an activist’ action, how to deal with the power relations in cultural work and working solutions to energy poverty.

Lecturers Among the lecturers were Istvan Sczakats (a director of AltArt Foundation and Fabrica de Pensule in Cluj (Romania)), Jason Nardy – a Chairman of the Board of one the biggest networks for solidarity economy in the world – RIPESS (Italy), Will Buckingham and Hannah Stevens (Wind&Bones) - sociallyengaged writers from UK who travel the world an teach storytelling for social change and Vera Petkanchin – a social entrepreneur from Junior Achievement (Bulgaria).

World Cafe

One of the boldest impacts of the forum was the transformation of The Central Post Office in Plovdiv. It hosted half-day long World cafะต discussion about the bright opportunities for the future of Bulgarian villages. Young local people, elderly from villages throughout Bulgaria and representatives of NGOs and institutions discussed together strategic and practical solutions to existing problems of the rural areas in Bulgaria. A rural think-tank has been started from the participants of the World cafe.

At the background of the discussion there was the photo exhibition of Mariya Angelova called Barefoot love. It narrated the love stories of elderly couples from villages that are part of Baba Residence initiative.

Workshops Drum circle, workshops on activist creative writing, on inclusive (and utopian) architecture, on how to organize local women circle for mutual empowerment (with Ekaterina Karavelova Academy) and many discussions on feministic topics, media freedom, 2 documentary screenings about the cultural heritage and liveliness of different Bulgarian villages and a concert of the Chilean revolutionary band La Chakra were part of the meaningful content of the progamme.

All of them created opportunities for like-minded people to network and form new creative collaborations on local level.

CATAPULT

CATAPULT was the heart of EMPATHEAST’s programme.

It’s was a public fundraising initiative for brave ideas of young social and cultural entrepreneurs for the well-being of diverse Bulgarian villages. The young people used to live in villages in Vidin region in 2019 as participants of Baba Residence initiative of Ideas Factory.

From the ideas presented ,most widely recognized was the one of an annual festival bringing into visibility the cultural heritage of Koshava village by the Danube river – with its brass orchestra, fish culinary specialties and legends.

ideasfactorybg.org empatheast.org EMPATHEAST