What is the secret to the community-building power of folk dance? – the aim is to increase the efficiency of civil organizations based on positive examples.

This October, a project will begin, which will assess the community-building and retention power of cultural activities and folk dance. The project has received EU funding as a result of a joint application by civil organizations from three countries. This program became necessary after the “Step into the Neighbor’s Shoes” partnership-building meeting, held in Tata in June last year, where the organizations realized that they were struggling with similar issues, namely low membership numbers and ongoing difficulties in retaining existing members. During the discussions at the event organized by the Tempus Public Foundation, representatives from Hungary’s Fóti Közszolgáltató Nonprofit Kft., Serbia’s Flow-E.R. Environmental Association, and Romania’s Ér Hangja Association found that they had not yet found a solution to this issue affecting youth civil organizations.

The development of the project was primarily motivated by the positive examples of folk dance cultural associations, which were mentioned by several as role models. The question arose: what are they doing better than other civil organizations? As a result, the Erasmus+ project titled “Let There Be Dance! – Assessing the Community-Building and Retention Power of Folk Dance and Adapting Its Methods for Youth Civil Organizations to Enhance Capacity Building” was born. This project aims to find a solution to the issues mentioned above and to map and widely spread effective methods that contribute to the success of folk dance cultural associations.

As part of the project, the organizers will create a methodological publication and a video collection to help improve the capacity and operational effectiveness of youth civil organizations. They will focus on involving disadvantaged youth in European-level collaborations and emphasize the importance of active social participation by young people.

The “Let There Be Dance!” international project is supported by the Erasmus+ program.