Kazimierz, a once neglected historic Jewish quarter of Cracow, turned into a fashionable tourist destination in the 1990s. Tenants were evicted and flats were converted into pubs, restaurants and cafes. Approximately 30,000 people had left Kazimierz by 2012. Council tenants were relocated to other districts of the city. Lower income families and individuals fell victim to social exclusion as they could not cope financially or mentally with the change and certainly could not benefit from the gentrification of Kazimierz. The result was a strong social stratification.
The 'Umbrella' Social Prevention and Education Centre observed that children and youth from financially challenged families in Kazimierz were likely to adopt a 'street' lifestyle, i.e. they would spend a lot of time in public spaces, in gates, yards, shopping malls and would absorb negative social patterns from their families and neighbours, commit crimes and take to drugs.
The project aimed at promoting cultural institutions and their agendas to local socially vulnerable children and youth, increasing their public participation and generally integrating the local community.
The project enabled young residents of Kazimierz engage with local organisations and institutions in local regeneration projects while getting better integrated into the community and gaining social skills of using local cultural provision.
During the project, Isaac 5 Centre in Cracow offered a range of activities and workshops for children and youth. Regular social work was conducted in the field with a view to changing the beneficiaries' predicament. An interactive workshop was conducted by the Ethnographic Museum.
The project involved socially vulnerable children and young people in the Kazimierz and Podgórze districts of Cracow.
The project partner, the Ethnographic Museum in Cracow, was responsible for designing and delivering the interactive workshop and regenerating the Issac 5 Centre and public spaces in Kazimierz.