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PROJECT

SUMMARY

Uzina involves local people coming together to identify and work on issues that matter most to them. Everything we do or initiate is based upon a community-led approach. We are trying to address mutual concerns in programs of combined action.

Uzina is dynamic, intense, vibrant, and a little loud.

    The activities and events that occur in the center are run by different people for different audiences. The range of events reflects local needs and may be delivered by locals, other organizations, volunteers, etc. We make use of good ideas and resources by utilizing the potential of individuals in this community.
    We’re continuously fostering an environment of acceptance and compassion. This is a space where individuals, especially youngsters, can fully be/explore themselves through discussions, by challenging thoughts, and activities that encourage interdisciplinary learning. 

We aim to:

  • Empower participants

  • Create a safe space for the local community to govern their own wishes & needs

  • Community building

  • Create a culture where you can experiment and express yourself freely

  • Offer new experiences

  • Equal respect & treatment of individuals beyond identity markers 

  • Whole Community mobilization

WHY A SOCIAL CENTER?

The idea of social space is rooted in the idea of the commons- rather than a resource, the commons is a process, a set of social relations by which a group of people shares responsibility for a particular space. The city or the neighborhood should be seen as a commons: a social system with a dedicated community that owns and manages the city or the neighborhood according to inclusive values. Working on sustainable and social food systems, democratic data commons, energy cooperatives, and other solidarity networks, we can reclaim the Right to the City.

 

With the threat of social unrest, environmental collapse, anxiety, and distrust, the city is the frontline of a battle against exploitative and extractive systems. Public space is increasingly being sold off, and the very city that’s supposed to belong to all people- is slowly becoming a very foreign land that we’ve come to stumble upon. Simultaneously, the city is also where home, inspiration, and action stand.

 

Human beings are social beings and public spaces have always been the stage of interaction, socialization and representation of a society as well as of a culture (Carmona, Heath, Oc, & Tiesdell, 2010).

 

Tirana is abundant in cafes, bars, clubs and restaurants, but has a lack of alternative spaces where youngsters (but not exclusively) can gather and hang...without having to pay for a drink. Exactly what Tirana needs is a social center. A socio-cultural center isn’t strictly defined by us, we are a space that takes its function based upon the projects and events that take place.

 

Being and feeling as a part of such a collective inevitably forces you to perceive your reality through a critical lens of manmade systems, implicit rules and constructs that control our lives today. It’s an environment that is constantly challenging our perception of the world as our different understandings of how things should be done continuously clash. At Uzina we focus on what it means to have collective responsibility, how to make decisions that satisfy a big group, how to have real conversations, creating a chain of shared knowledge, staying true to our values, pursuing truth, managing very complex group dynamics, creating a safe space and empowering youngsters.

 

Most importantly, we are constantly having meetings and organizing events in order for this system to be sustainable otherwise it can fall under the trap of simply remaining a romantic underestimation of a bunch of idealists. Being part of such a collective, you cannot be on autopilot anymore as one’s commitment to the social center requires active participation and responsibility. 

 

Through Uzina we are aiming that we offer a space that satisfies our collective needs, starting from the need to belong, and the need to have a collective identity. Throughout the past year we have formed a identity that has been the foundation of the work we do. We hope that through Uzina we can offer an environment that promotes a healthy and safe culture, and an attractive place to be and grow as a human in the midst of the city chaos.

 

Such a public space can lead to critical thinking, dialogue, and overall wellbeing!

 

”We do not find essential nor predetermined communities without internal debate and contradictions. Rather, communities’ potentialities are found in their ability to generate new social bonds and, to some extent, to have some impact beyond their immediate social environment. Their aim is to expand themselves, from the plot to the neighborhood, and from the neighborhood to the whole city.” - Bru Laín Escandell

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