ASSOCIATION DU CENTRE DE BEAUMOTTE

The Association Centre of Beaumotte is an association of popular education founded in 1979. A Bourgogne Franche-Comté delegation of Solidarités Jeunesses network, the association serves as an alternative ground for meeting people from different cultures, generations and social backgrounds and have social and collective transformation as one of its main aims. It strongly supports the action of fighting against exclusion by removing social and cultural barriers through a living environment which allows people live and perform daily activities together. In order to make it possible the association relies on volunteering and volunteers’ participation in all its actions. Having chosen popular education as its pedagogical basis the association tries to offer a secure and dynamic framework allowing everybody to develop their own capacities to act. The association participates as well in local and economic development of the territory where it resides. Project and activities: The association, being a living environment, an international hosting centre, a space for workshops, trainings and professional integration programme, carries out the following actions: Hosting and social and educational assistance of minors and adult young people, who have family, social, professional or emotional problems, for a duration of several days up to several years (the association works in a partnership with the child welfare service (ASE), judiciary structures, medical social services etc… Individual or group short-term hosting in order to get acquainted with the functioning of the centre and participate in public works; Social and professional assistance via professional integration programme (ACI) for excluded people. Thus, we offer the people having difficulties in finding an employment a job contract up to 24 months; Organisation of international workcamps for adults and adolescents; Hosting of French and international volunteers. The activities (called in French “chantier” – public, construction works) take place on a daily basis at the centre site or in nearby communes. The different work teams which consist of various social and cultural groups (employees of the professional integration programme, adolescents, volunteers) are assisted and supervised by the association staff members. These activities offer an experience of life and a joint action giving place for a dialogue and a participative democracy. It allows to overcome prejudices and to establish a space for social diversity. The participants start learn about themselves by « doing together ». «Chantier» can be of various types: Renovation of small heritage in the department of Haute Saône (particularly in Pays des 7 Rivières); Maintenance of green space at the centre’s site or in nearby communes; Renovation works and maintenance of the centre’s living quarters; Biological gardening; House management activities (collective cooking, shopping etc.) Furthermore, the association Centre of Beaumotte attributes importance to the notions of sharing and co-creation of knowledge and thus organizes workshops aimed at raising awareness and trainings which take into consideration individual needs and current ecological and social issues: Food, local and ecological cuisine; Production of cleaning, hygiene and beauty products; Raising awareness of gender and the campaign against sexual abuse and harassment; Fight against intercultural discrimination; Friendly communication and conflict management; French as a foreign language; Teaching basic skills (French, maths, informatics etc.) The association Centre of Beaumotte acknowledges such difference as wealth and attributes the same value to all people.