Social Atelier

Social alienation, a democratic deficit, and resistance towards individuals and groups that citizens recognise as 'others' are some of the challenges of contemporary society. These issues are exacerbated when there is no physical space that fosters joint reflection and critical action for the benefit of the community.

Social Atelier is the response to these challenges, it serves as a community centre for building active and inclusive communities in collaboration with local citizens. The aim is to empower citizens to become part of the solution to recognised challenges, while also providing vulnerable groups with activities co-created by dialogue between experts, practitioners, and citizens.

The stakeholders involved include the Social Atelier team, partners, experts, citizens, and vulnerable groups representatives. Participants are engaged at four levels, depending on their participatory capacity and willingness. They may act as users, consultative co-creators, collaboration partners, or as individuals with supported initiatives and ideas.

During its first 16 months, Social Atelier had over 2,500 visits and hosted more than 200 activities with over 30 organisers participating. Through youth, retirees, and teacher volunteer clubs, the project has encouraged greater community engagement from citizens. The project has provided support groups for women and refugees to promote long-term empowerment and community integration.

Social Atelier purports that working with citizens, which encourages involvement at different levels (in innovative activities based on assessed needs and dialogue with citizens, as well as the creation of a focal point in the community that gathers these activities), is a good practice example, applicable in different environments and contexts.