- New alliances
Get involved fall in love is a methodology, which uses co-creation of art installations and gamification models as tool to spread the idea that citizens are active participants and authors of the cities of the future, not just audience. Collaborating, they can generate, and realize ideas, cooperate creating together innovative but simple and sustainable solutions, synchronized with new needs, and shape a brighter vision for development driven by love and affection to their cities.
The pilot project - Get involved fall in love with Varna was realized during 2017 in European Youth Capital Varna, Bulgaria. The philosophy is based on creation of deeper emotional bond between people and their city and provocation to be active part into the urban development processes. The cities of the future would be reflection of the processes in the community and the change in the environment starts with change of the mindsets. The change is starting inside out – from the heart.
Love! The strongest motivation to change, to grow, to thrive. We instigated the participants to open all their senses and rediscover the hidden beauty of one forgotten part of the historic heart of the seaside city of Varna – Talyana. And only with love, not with apathy or anger, the pain of disappearing heritage can be transformed into a will for positive change. The revitalization of the urban space become possible when there are enough passionate and dedicated people in it.
Create! We created in our minds the vision of Talyana, but every big plan can be realized only by small steps in the right direction. That was the message that we sent with ten art installations which counted on involved people to be completed. Each of them tells a different story and shows different way how to collaborate and contribute to our city. They are metaphors of the key process that is forthcoming to happen in the urban development in order to make the brighter vision possible.
Share! Based on collaboration and collective wisdom principles developed games made even the smallest kids active participants into the process of idea generation. Change of the urban roles made the dialog about tough issues as historical preservation, walkability, urban spaces, more constructive. Openness and readiness to share is the way of overcoming the fear of being invisible or unworthy in your own city.
Involve! The most important ingredient into the cities are their people, their ambitions and dreams. People united by shared values, united by their intrinsic motivation to belong to certain community, to leave their impact and contribute, to develop both themselves and the space around them. That was the most important part – to involve the right people and to inspire them to act, to change, to thrive, to fall in love with their city again and again, building synergic connection with it.
