Creating Society with Dance
Donation protected
Hi All,
My name is Erduan Xhaferi I'm the Director and Choreographer of Society Dance Academy based in London.
Society Dance Academy is a collection of enthusiastic individuals who work together to create a society passionate
about all forms of Street and Hip Hop dance. We firmly believes that if we focus on developing the young generation, creatively and socially, it will have an impact on them and others, for a better future.
MY STORY
Creating Society with Dance project was created in 2015 with one agenda on my mind and that was to help and give young people of Albania from all backgrounds a chance to have access to more opportunities.
With the incredible help from Jayne Connell and the whole of Interstate Team a draft copy of the project was created by them which allowed me to work on and create the final draft.
With no contacts to the Albanian government officials or Foundations I started to reach out to various organisations.
My first outreach was to the Albanian embassy here in London to ensure I get an invite and present this project to them with the possibility to send me in the right direction closer to making this project become a reality. Unfortunately it didn't work out that way and it was going to be a lot harder than I thought to achieve this vision. I received no correspondence from the Albanian embassy. I then decided to contact local and regional members of charities, foundations and organisations in Albania which I received a number of replies but nothing serious with no progress of achieving the goal. Months have passed and I was still in the same position when I started with no new contacts or a step closer but I was determent to make it happen no matter how long it will take me. I soon got talking to a person which was the Director of an organisation In Albania which I was introduced by a close friend of mine. I discussed my project vision with him and if he can possibly send me in the right direction or put me in contact with any government officials. He thought the idea was great and he offered to help and get me in contact with the right people. Nearly a month past and I didn't hear back from him until I noticed a flyer being advertised on social media for an event organised by his organisations. The event had a number of elements from my project which I discussed with him in discretion. I was shocked and disappointed to find out but I didn't let it affect me as my vision was original and organic and it was designed to benefit communities and not an organisation.
Months passed and I was at a family gathering and I was discussing my project progress with a family friend and informing him that I had no luck getting my project proposal read or get in touch with an organisation and was finding it hard to achieve this mission.
Surprisingly he informed me he had a close friend that works in the government in Albania and possibly can help me.
This was amazing, few days later he put us in contact and I sent my Project proposal to him and was informed he will get this to an organisation that might be interested. A week past and I received the news I been waiting for, The director of Multidisciplinary Arts Movement Ema Andrea is very interested in working together, she is also happy to apply for funding as an NGO organisation from Albania. This was amazing news as having a limited company being based in London I was restricted on applying for funding abroad, having an actual NGO based in Albania support this project and also was willing to apply for funding on my behalf was incredible. This news was overwhelming and a massive relief as I was finally getting my project seen and a big possibility of the project taking place and being funded.
Ema Andrea the director of M.A.M was keen on supporting Creating Society with Dance project as she saw the impact it will have to the young people in Albania and was more than happy to stand behind the believe and vision of the project. With Ema’s contacts in the in the government she managed to gain us numerous in-kind support from organisations and government official's which would allow us full access of the use of facilities of major venues, locations within the capitals open space, in-kind support from local authorities, volunteers from local community groups, equipment and first Aiders from the capitals University of Sports in Tirana. They all backed the project and supported the project. This was unbelievable, receiving all this support to being so close to making this a reality was absolutely amazing and a dream come true.
We now had to focus on applying for funding therefore I worked closely with Adonis Hoxha & Albjon Bogdani two members of Ema Andrea's team for a number of months on the submission of the application for the International Fund for Cultural Diversity from UNESCO. We was applying for a bid to receive support and funding for the duration of 18 months project and will continue on after the project finishes.
On April 2016 we submitted our application with the various in-kind supporting letters and backing of organisations, government authorities for a chance to receive the funding from UNESCO.
Due to the great response and feedback from government officials I was invited by the Council of Tirana (Bashkia Tiranes) to attend Albania in the summer of 2016 for a week to work on little project with no funding available apart from travel expense, Food and hotel. I decided to take this on as this was part of a greater cause. I'm a strong believer in helping others and giving back especially when it comes to using my knowledge and passion in what I love doing to help and inspire others. The project was to work with young people of Tirana to create a performance piece which would be performed at a number of events including a annual event called Marathone e Kenges which takes places in various cities in the Balkans throughout the summer holidays. The main performance I was invited to work on was to be held at Fier City a televised event to the national public with performances from well known national Artists and musician. A small advertising campaign was put on social media before we arrived, considering this was a small campaign and only was put out a week prior we arrived It had a great impact and received a high volume of interest from young dancers in the region wanting to be part of this project, we also had interest from young people in cities nearby which wanted to be part of this project considering their annual house hold income was very low and having no money to afford to travel but was willing to walk two hours there and back just to attend rehearsals and be part of this project was amazing.
The dedication, hunger and passion of these young people that was involved in this project was mind blowing, they put so much hard work into everything without ever complaining and always having a positive attitude. All their hard work paid off and the results were outstanding as they put on an amazing performance which was absolutely rewarding to witness and be part of. For the majority of these young people it was an inspirational moment which they never thought they would be given and an opportunity to be part of a something great and perform in front of thousands of spectators which also was being televised to millions of viewers nationally and not only that but to also receive an encore for their performance which was overwhelming to experience and amazing to have been part of.
This is exactly what I love about what I do and it had a big impact on me especially after spending 6-7 hours daily for a week with them all and getting to know them was an amazing experience. They shared their stories with us, their love and passion they have for dance and also hearing from some that I was the reason why they started dancing after seeing me on Albanian's got Talent in 2010 inspired them to start dancing which was moving and inspirational to hear. Experiencing and witnessing this made me want to give more and push further by giving them more opportunities and help provide creative platforms so that they can continue to be inspired. This is exactly the reason why I choose to start Creating Society with dance project to be able to give them an opportunity to unite and share their passion and love for dance.
The Mission
To facilitate a FREE culture development dance project which will unite communities using dance as a tool to encourage interaction, Social integration, social equality, gender equality and freedom of expression amongst the young generation of Tirana/Albania. The aim & purpose of this project is to invite a total of 1500-2000 young people aged between 10-25 years of age from various community groups and minority groups to participate in the FREE Society Dance Camp which will run daily for 4-5 weeks in the summer holidays, by providing two to three workshops daily for the length of two hours for each workshop taught by professional Choreographers & Mentors which are know and respected world wide, we aim to cater for 200-300 young people each day.
Our Belief
We will help increase the likelihood of young people from different community groups taking part in the arts, irrespective of where they live or what minority group,Gender, Social education or financial circumstances. In addressing these priorities we seek to increase attendance and participation by supporting the public to help shape local arts by increasing choice and opportunities for young people to experience and be inspired.
We believe it can help improve quality of life for individuals and their communities by illustrating the positive side that Hip Hop culture has to offer and use dance as a tool to inspire, motivate and unite young people whiles focusing on youth development, diversity, promoting physical, mental well- being and provide opportunities for them to channel their energy and creativity with a positive behavior in safe and family environment.
The Project Delivery
The dance workshops will add tremendous positive value to national development and cooperation work for the benefits of girls, boys, women and men by strengthening community activities and providing positive resources that will have a significant impact across a range of communities which will be beneficial for the present and future of Tirana where the community actitvites are not efficent and lacks in community projects due no funding for youth projects and a major division in ethnic groups,minority groups which are excluded from various social actitvites. We aim to Provide awareness of gender equality and diversity in the daily workshops which we will build social integration by braking down stereotypical barriers, fostering the global cross culture knowledge and understanding of young people. By developing individual and group solving skills, learning concepts and understanding subjects, linking movement and activities to academic themes enabling practitioners to draw upon young peoples deep-rooted bodily-kinaesthetic intelligence.
Creating Society with dance project will be a unique experience for the young people of Tirana to participate and interact with other cultures as part of personal development, removing stereotypes, empowering social inclusion and peace building. This will improve quality of life under cultural mediated conditions of freedom and prevail a human language consisting of categories of creativity and of productivity.
THE VISION
We want to Celebrate diversity and work to achieve the creative potential in all young people attending the workshops by training and supporting each individual regardless of ethnicity, gender, disability, age, sexual orientation or religion.
CONTRIBUTIONS & SUPPORT
- Contribution of the facilities/Venue with sound system and lighting system provided by Palace of Sports "Asllan Rusi" daily for the duration of the projectwhich is located in the city centre.
The support from the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Albania, they will provide project implementation by facilitating in the interaction with youth organisations and cultural associations that are part of the institution's extensive network of partners.
- In-kind support by making available to us the usage of the open-air premises of the Prime Minister's Office Compound supported by the Centre for Open Dialogue under the auspices of the Prime Minster's Office.
Partnership & Collaboration with the State Agency for the Protection of Children's Rights which will ensure wide outreach and participation of young people from Minority communities and marginalized groups.
They will provide extensive network of non-govermental organisations and association from vulnerbale communities both in Tirana and nationwide.
The commitment and support from The Muncipality of Tirana which will be providing in-kind support in the project activities and access to open public spaces in the central part of the capital city Tirana.
The support of the University of Sports Tirana (UST) which have guranteed the access for the use of the facilities and will be supplying qualified first aiders and officers which also will provide training program on first aid to the participants in the intensive teachers training development program.
ANNOUNCEMENT
In April 2017 the anncoucment for the funding was published on the UNESCO website and unfortunately with all the supporting letters and backing of all authorities and organisation in Albania and the documentations, presentation and proffessionalism displayed in our application for the fund we was unsuccessful.
WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT!!!
We strongly believe Creating Society with dance will have a great impact on young people and their communities in Albania and therefor we are reaching out for your support to help us achieve our mission.
We are aiming to achieve this goal with your help and support .Your support is key in making this project come alive and therefore we highly appreciate your support on this mission.
Would you consider to join us achieve our mission which is to raise £20,000 to help cover all the teachers & mentors cost which includes their flights and accommodation for the duration of their stay during the project.
All donations will be going towards bringing the tutors and mentors to Albania. All other costs and needs for the project are being covered by in-kind support from organisations and authorities in Albania.
Come & join us create society with dance and give young people of Albania and the neighboring countires a chance to be inspired.
We thank you in advance for your support! Your kindness is greatly appreciated .
My name is Erduan Xhaferi I'm the Director and Choreographer of Society Dance Academy based in London.
Society Dance Academy is a collection of enthusiastic individuals who work together to create a society passionate
about all forms of Street and Hip Hop dance. We firmly believes that if we focus on developing the young generation, creatively and socially, it will have an impact on them and others, for a better future.
MY STORY
Creating Society with Dance project was created in 2015 with one agenda on my mind and that was to help and give young people of Albania from all backgrounds a chance to have access to more opportunities.
With the incredible help from Jayne Connell and the whole of Interstate Team a draft copy of the project was created by them which allowed me to work on and create the final draft.
With no contacts to the Albanian government officials or Foundations I started to reach out to various organisations.
My first outreach was to the Albanian embassy here in London to ensure I get an invite and present this project to them with the possibility to send me in the right direction closer to making this project become a reality. Unfortunately it didn't work out that way and it was going to be a lot harder than I thought to achieve this vision. I received no correspondence from the Albanian embassy. I then decided to contact local and regional members of charities, foundations and organisations in Albania which I received a number of replies but nothing serious with no progress of achieving the goal. Months have passed and I was still in the same position when I started with no new contacts or a step closer but I was determent to make it happen no matter how long it will take me. I soon got talking to a person which was the Director of an organisation In Albania which I was introduced by a close friend of mine. I discussed my project vision with him and if he can possibly send me in the right direction or put me in contact with any government officials. He thought the idea was great and he offered to help and get me in contact with the right people. Nearly a month past and I didn't hear back from him until I noticed a flyer being advertised on social media for an event organised by his organisations. The event had a number of elements from my project which I discussed with him in discretion. I was shocked and disappointed to find out but I didn't let it affect me as my vision was original and organic and it was designed to benefit communities and not an organisation.
Months passed and I was at a family gathering and I was discussing my project progress with a family friend and informing him that I had no luck getting my project proposal read or get in touch with an organisation and was finding it hard to achieve this mission.
Surprisingly he informed me he had a close friend that works in the government in Albania and possibly can help me.
This was amazing, few days later he put us in contact and I sent my Project proposal to him and was informed he will get this to an organisation that might be interested. A week past and I received the news I been waiting for, The director of Multidisciplinary Arts Movement Ema Andrea is very interested in working together, she is also happy to apply for funding as an NGO organisation from Albania. This was amazing news as having a limited company being based in London I was restricted on applying for funding abroad, having an actual NGO based in Albania support this project and also was willing to apply for funding on my behalf was incredible. This news was overwhelming and a massive relief as I was finally getting my project seen and a big possibility of the project taking place and being funded.
Ema Andrea the director of M.A.M was keen on supporting Creating Society with Dance project as she saw the impact it will have to the young people in Albania and was more than happy to stand behind the believe and vision of the project. With Ema’s contacts in the in the government she managed to gain us numerous in-kind support from organisations and government official's which would allow us full access of the use of facilities of major venues, locations within the capitals open space, in-kind support from local authorities, volunteers from local community groups, equipment and first Aiders from the capitals University of Sports in Tirana. They all backed the project and supported the project. This was unbelievable, receiving all this support to being so close to making this a reality was absolutely amazing and a dream come true.
We now had to focus on applying for funding therefore I worked closely with Adonis Hoxha & Albjon Bogdani two members of Ema Andrea's team for a number of months on the submission of the application for the International Fund for Cultural Diversity from UNESCO. We was applying for a bid to receive support and funding for the duration of 18 months project and will continue on after the project finishes.
On April 2016 we submitted our application with the various in-kind supporting letters and backing of organisations, government authorities for a chance to receive the funding from UNESCO.
Due to the great response and feedback from government officials I was invited by the Council of Tirana (Bashkia Tiranes) to attend Albania in the summer of 2016 for a week to work on little project with no funding available apart from travel expense, Food and hotel. I decided to take this on as this was part of a greater cause. I'm a strong believer in helping others and giving back especially when it comes to using my knowledge and passion in what I love doing to help and inspire others. The project was to work with young people of Tirana to create a performance piece which would be performed at a number of events including a annual event called Marathone e Kenges which takes places in various cities in the Balkans throughout the summer holidays. The main performance I was invited to work on was to be held at Fier City a televised event to the national public with performances from well known national Artists and musician. A small advertising campaign was put on social media before we arrived, considering this was a small campaign and only was put out a week prior we arrived It had a great impact and received a high volume of interest from young dancers in the region wanting to be part of this project, we also had interest from young people in cities nearby which wanted to be part of this project considering their annual house hold income was very low and having no money to afford to travel but was willing to walk two hours there and back just to attend rehearsals and be part of this project was amazing.
The dedication, hunger and passion of these young people that was involved in this project was mind blowing, they put so much hard work into everything without ever complaining and always having a positive attitude. All their hard work paid off and the results were outstanding as they put on an amazing performance which was absolutely rewarding to witness and be part of. For the majority of these young people it was an inspirational moment which they never thought they would be given and an opportunity to be part of a something great and perform in front of thousands of spectators which also was being televised to millions of viewers nationally and not only that but to also receive an encore for their performance which was overwhelming to experience and amazing to have been part of.
This is exactly what I love about what I do and it had a big impact on me especially after spending 6-7 hours daily for a week with them all and getting to know them was an amazing experience. They shared their stories with us, their love and passion they have for dance and also hearing from some that I was the reason why they started dancing after seeing me on Albanian's got Talent in 2010 inspired them to start dancing which was moving and inspirational to hear. Experiencing and witnessing this made me want to give more and push further by giving them more opportunities and help provide creative platforms so that they can continue to be inspired. This is exactly the reason why I choose to start Creating Society with dance project to be able to give them an opportunity to unite and share their passion and love for dance.
The Mission
To facilitate a FREE culture development dance project which will unite communities using dance as a tool to encourage interaction, Social integration, social equality, gender equality and freedom of expression amongst the young generation of Tirana/Albania. The aim & purpose of this project is to invite a total of 1500-2000 young people aged between 10-25 years of age from various community groups and minority groups to participate in the FREE Society Dance Camp which will run daily for 4-5 weeks in the summer holidays, by providing two to three workshops daily for the length of two hours for each workshop taught by professional Choreographers & Mentors which are know and respected world wide, we aim to cater for 200-300 young people each day.
Our Belief
We will help increase the likelihood of young people from different community groups taking part in the arts, irrespective of where they live or what minority group,Gender, Social education or financial circumstances. In addressing these priorities we seek to increase attendance and participation by supporting the public to help shape local arts by increasing choice and opportunities for young people to experience and be inspired.
We believe it can help improve quality of life for individuals and their communities by illustrating the positive side that Hip Hop culture has to offer and use dance as a tool to inspire, motivate and unite young people whiles focusing on youth development, diversity, promoting physical, mental well- being and provide opportunities for them to channel their energy and creativity with a positive behavior in safe and family environment.
The Project Delivery
The dance workshops will add tremendous positive value to national development and cooperation work for the benefits of girls, boys, women and men by strengthening community activities and providing positive resources that will have a significant impact across a range of communities which will be beneficial for the present and future of Tirana where the community actitvites are not efficent and lacks in community projects due no funding for youth projects and a major division in ethnic groups,minority groups which are excluded from various social actitvites. We aim to Provide awareness of gender equality and diversity in the daily workshops which we will build social integration by braking down stereotypical barriers, fostering the global cross culture knowledge and understanding of young people. By developing individual and group solving skills, learning concepts and understanding subjects, linking movement and activities to academic themes enabling practitioners to draw upon young peoples deep-rooted bodily-kinaesthetic intelligence.
Creating Society with dance project will be a unique experience for the young people of Tirana to participate and interact with other cultures as part of personal development, removing stereotypes, empowering social inclusion and peace building. This will improve quality of life under cultural mediated conditions of freedom and prevail a human language consisting of categories of creativity and of productivity.
THE VISION
We want to Celebrate diversity and work to achieve the creative potential in all young people attending the workshops by training and supporting each individual regardless of ethnicity, gender, disability, age, sexual orientation or religion.
CONTRIBUTIONS & SUPPORT
- Contribution of the facilities/Venue with sound system and lighting system provided by Palace of Sports "Asllan Rusi" daily for the duration of the projectwhich is located in the city centre.
The support from the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Albania, they will provide project implementation by facilitating in the interaction with youth organisations and cultural associations that are part of the institution's extensive network of partners.
- In-kind support by making available to us the usage of the open-air premises of the Prime Minister's Office Compound supported by the Centre for Open Dialogue under the auspices of the Prime Minster's Office.
Partnership & Collaboration with the State Agency for the Protection of Children's Rights which will ensure wide outreach and participation of young people from Minority communities and marginalized groups.
They will provide extensive network of non-govermental organisations and association from vulnerbale communities both in Tirana and nationwide.
The commitment and support from The Muncipality of Tirana which will be providing in-kind support in the project activities and access to open public spaces in the central part of the capital city Tirana.
The support of the University of Sports Tirana (UST) which have guranteed the access for the use of the facilities and will be supplying qualified first aiders and officers which also will provide training program on first aid to the participants in the intensive teachers training development program.
ANNOUNCEMENT
In April 2017 the anncoucment for the funding was published on the UNESCO website and unfortunately with all the supporting letters and backing of all authorities and organisation in Albania and the documentations, presentation and proffessionalism displayed in our application for the fund we was unsuccessful.
WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT!!!
We strongly believe Creating Society with dance will have a great impact on young people and their communities in Albania and therefor we are reaching out for your support to help us achieve our mission.
We are aiming to achieve this goal with your help and support .Your support is key in making this project come alive and therefore we highly appreciate your support on this mission.
Would you consider to join us achieve our mission which is to raise £20,000 to help cover all the teachers & mentors cost which includes their flights and accommodation for the duration of their stay during the project.
All donations will be going towards bringing the tutors and mentors to Albania. All other costs and needs for the project are being covered by in-kind support from organisations and authorities in Albania.
Come & join us create society with dance and give young people of Albania and the neighboring countires a chance to be inspired.
We thank you in advance for your support! Your kindness is greatly appreciated .
Organizer
Erduan Xhaferi
Organizer