OPEN SPACES IS A HUNGARIAN NETWORK THAT BRINGS TOGETHER INDEPENDENT COMMUNITY SPACES WITH CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS.
Who are we?
The Open Spaces Network (Szabad Terek Hálózata) was established in 2017 to broaden the shrinking spaces of civil society in Hungary.
Our coalition works for a more open and more democratic society where people are not just free to be themselves, but they help each other, and are active citizens who build a solidarity-based, socially inclusive and sustainable society.
The goal of the network is to create more and more open spaces
- which cater to the needs of a diverse audience,
- provide an independent platform for important topics that affect society and make it possible for people to express critical views or stand up for social justice,
- host or organize events of subcultural, or non-mainstream art.
Our vision: We envision a civil society, in which NGOs are strong, independent and operate their community spaces freely.
Our mission: In order to achieve this vision, the network:
· changes mindsets, so that more and more people realize that they are free
· strengthens its own operations (operationally and financially) and involves more members
· effectively shares knowledge within the network and attracts necessary knowledge from outside
· motivates and supports its members to collaborate at different levels and between levels
· gives its members a sense of community and security
· puts emphasis on and provides platform for the representation of socially important themes and the need for alternative culture to be given adequate space
Who are our members?
Currently we have a membership of 60 organizations, including nationwide NGOs, local NGOs community spaces, art groups and independent media outlets. Our members come from 9 Hungarian cities: Debrecen, Nyíregyháza, Szeged, Pécs, Zalaegerszeg, Szombathely, Kecskemét, Miskolc and Budapest.
What do we do?
Our aim is to increase cohesion and generate fruitful cooperation between our members. Therefore, we inspire and support them to create projects together that promote our common values. Such projects have important intellectual and/or artistic assets as outcomes, such as for example: a literary festival, a zine publication about LGBTQ artists, a community garden project or a legal rights training for disadvantaged kids.
We also have activities that we regularly do every year together with our members, in order to raise awareness about our work and the causes important to us. Therefore, each year
· we organize an Open Spaces stage in the Bánkitó Festival, a festival of underground music and culture
· we organize a national Climate Week event series in order to raise attention to the problems and possible solutions of climate change
· we participate in the Verzio International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival by organizing screenings and side events in the countryside.
How do we operate?
Our network’s operated by Marom Klub Egyesület, which is an association based in Budapest. Our main donor is currently the CIVITATES Foundation. We are also continuously looking for opportunities to expand our funding streams.
In case you would like to know more details about our work please contact us at: info@szabadterek.hu
