DZMP (Society of Allies for Soft Landing)

DZMP (Society of Allies for Soft Landing) was founded by a group of young people, who were tired of the apathy of cultural events for youth and of general insensitivity for distress of other people. We are active in the areas of youth culture, non-formal education, contemporary art, ecology, social and humanitarian activities. In the last 20 years we have especially focused on the projects of the field of media education, film, video and multimedia. We are performing various activities on the local, national, and international level with the aim to stimulate active participation of young people through different forms of media. One of our main activities is our regular youth video production, in which youngsters film and publish their own different short movies, documentaries and TV reportages. These feature different youth projects, cultural events, portrait of some young artists and activists - topics that are mostly ignored in “mainstream” media. Our contribution is therefore providing that kind of information to other youngsters and the wider population. It is very important that articles, beside being published on Internet, could be shown at public screenings, festivals... All the year round we organize different courses for work in media field, from weekend workshops to summer film camps. Every year we organise international film festival, whose main focus is promoting films of young authors. We encourage these activities also by organising the projections of films, made by young authors and organising workshops through the network of youth centres and clubs all over Slovenia. We actively collaborate with various international organisations and networks. In Krško we set up our own multimedia studio. Every day we open our door to young movie makers, local, from other Slovenian cities and to those who are coming from abroad. In this sense we are among Slovenian pioneers, and due to that fact, it's years already when we gain a recognition and respectability. In the last years our organisation received notable recognition due to successful incorporation of young from vulnerable social groups into our various media projects. Especially films made by young Roma depicting their everyday life were rewarded at film festivals around the globe. DZMP has been chosen many times already as the example of good practice of incorporating of young people with less opportunities into public life. Krško is a small town (7,200 inhabitants) in the east of Slovenia. In the 80's one of the fastest growing cities in Slovenia was hit by the crisis in the 90's, when many factories collapsed, mainly due to the loss of the ex-Yu market, which consequently affected high unemployment. To date, the economy has recovered to a large extent, but Krško remains a sleepy town, where young people mostly do not find a job after graduation and consequently move to larger cities. Krško has a museum, cultural center, cinema, library, youth center ... but for a more varied cultural offer it is necessary to get on a train and travel to Ljubljana (1 hour 40 minutes) or across the border to Zagreb (approx. 1 hour). Trains to Ljubljana run almost every hour, to Zagreb a little less often, while local public transport is barely available, so a bicycle is the most suitable for trips to the surrounding area, which can be rented for free at several points around the city. Lovers of nature walks will find unlimited possibilities in the vicinity of Krško. The nearby forest is only a few minutes walk away, which proved especially useful during the epidemic. The city itself is certainly not a reason for selection, volunteers come to us solely for the content of the project.