Asociación DAFI

Diverse Actions for Inclusion (DAFI) is a newly created NGO, which gathers activists, trainers and youth workers around the topic of inclusion to empower people to stand up for their rights and/or be allies to those less privileged. Our mission is to cherish diversity, promote dialogue and raise awareness among our societies to eliminate any type of violence and deconstruct social concepts which reinforce power relations. How? Through art, education (mainly non formal) and creative communication. We believe that we need to adapt better to the current challenges. Therefore, we want to stand for environmental sustainability and apply firstly internal policies and reduce the environmental impact of our work. Having inclusion as one of our core values, we aim to make it sexy, make it important and relevant not only in theory, but in practice. Apart from doing our best to be a role model for others, we want to be the amplifier of voices of those with less privileges, tackle topics such as microaggressions, subtle acts of exclusion and make visible forms of exclusion which we are often not aware of, as a first step to eradicate them. Our approach to inclusion is intersectional and transversal, taking as a starting point issues we consider invisible and urgent to deal with such as mental health, aesthetic violence and fatphobia, LGBTQI+ and finally stand up for the rights of young people for the fair employment and active participation. Adapting to the fast-changing world and post-COVID digital transformation we plan to use art and creative digital communication to outreach to a wide audience and encourage them to take action. We believe that creative communication is essential to promote our values and raise awareness on the social issues we stand for. Among our core values are inclusion, equality, respect and solidarity. We strongly believe in the power of participation, therefore we want to amplify the voices of young people and be a space and support for young people to implement their own initiatives, as well as actively participate in the life and governance of the organisation. We want to build an organisation which can be a model to follow and inspire other associations. DAFI strongly believes in good governance, and we commit to follow the principles of transparency, coherence with our values and believing in social change, good communication, unity and mutual support. We want to live our values and therefore we stand for equal and just treatment of all the members and beneficiaries of the organisation, taking care of the physical and mental health of all the people. Objectives: · Sensitising civil society, with main focus on young people for the creation of agents of equality and inclusion. · Expand opportunities for disadvantaged people, with the main focus on those belonging to the most excluded groups: migrants, racialized groups, minor ethnicities, LGBTI people, unemployed young women, people with non-normative bodies, people with mental health conditions, rural areas and religious diversity. · Empower and encourage leadership in young people and vulnerable groups. · Promote and value an inclusive society. · Encourage social innovation in the third sector to contribute to the continuous improvement of intervention processes and methodologies. · To value environmental, social and technological responsibility. · To broaden the artistic and cultural framework as a tool for social work. DAFI is an association created in 2023, so it does not yet have much experience or regular activities. The members have a lot of experience on a personal level in cooperating together and implementing awareness raising activities and youth work in general. Our HOW we want to work is based on 5 types of actions: RAISING AWARENESS – focusing mainly on the groups and discrimination types which are not very visible and/or conscious as a first step to reach inclusion for all. EDUCATE – focusing mainly on non-formal education (NFE) and free access to high quality content to empower people to stand up and/or be allies for inclusion. CREATE – both the content and opportunities for participation for all, with the special focus on the collectives with less privileges. We will create content to bring creative solutions for the pressing social issues. ACTIVE PARTICIPATION – in the actions of the local and international community that correspond to the NGO's goals, and encourage teamwork and networking. SUPPORT – other entities and collectives with our experience in the field of inclusion, diversity, arts and creative communication. Offer space and support for young people to develop their own initiatives. Aga Byrczek (president) – Youth worker active since 2003, free-lance expert, trainer and author, covering different positions: trainer, project designer and coordinator, volunteer coach and finance manager. She holds a master in political science from the University of Wroclaw and she could be described as an observer of political and educational trends especially related to interculturality, diversity, inclusion, human rights and global education. Her articles are collected in the “Youth work in Practice” blog (https://youthworkerblog.wordpress.com/). Aga is also a learning freak and loves designing and experimenting new NFE activities on international and local level. She brings an expertise in organisational and project management, youth work, and inclusion with the special focus on microaggressions and fatphobia. Joy Vazquez (board member) – passionate about culture, music and art in general. Throughout the last 5 years has had the opportunity to travel for work, see the world and live in different places in Spain and Belgium. Cooperating hand in hand in different local associations and working in an Intercultural NGO, she developed activities and courses for young people favouring social inclusion through erasmus+ projects and non-formal education. Her special focus is mental health and LGBTQ+ rights. José Sánchez (board member) – passionate about creative communication for social change, works as a graphic designer and develops communication strategies. He has in his portfolio a development of the raising awareness campaign to cherish diversity in Lorca, Spain. He is experienced in the designs of the manuals and other publications related to youth work. He have implemented a few youth exchanges and participated in the trainings for youth workers.