The project entitled ”Include, Not Exclude” – Social Inclusion, 21. Century Challenge is initiated by Plakart – Association of Graphic Designers in collaboration with Equality.
This project was consisting of 3 – phases including poster – competition and Off-town workshops as final phase, in which best 7 poster – authors were invited to the region of Prespa and Ohrid, and alongside their mentors, experts in the field of graphic design and visual communication from Macedonia, Switzerland, held 10-days workshops. Posters created at the workshops, as well as posters that took part in the initial competition, were exhibited at vernissage and included in specially produced catalog within the 12. edition of Skopje Poster Festival.
Agenda 2020 (EU Programme) and Programme of Action of the World Summit for Social Development and Sustainable Goals for Development (UN Programme) are only small portion of the strategies that tackle issues of/or related to social inclusion in which people with disabilities and their needs are accordingly addressed and consequently include strong commitments against their marginalisation.
The Poster, as one of the most important media in the history of humanity, has had firm influence on raising awareness and uncompromising impact in creating changes, historical turning – points. It is a strong media tool, that Plakart and Skopje Poster Festival has raised and promoted more than a decade, both in the homeland and worldwide.
Winners of the contest “Inclusion, Not Exclusion” are: Denis Nesmeyanov (RUS), Ece Batur (TUR), Eduardo Ribeiro (POR), Luka Prstojevic (SRB), Stefan Simonovski (MKD), Teodora Mladenovska (MKD), Klaudia Zablocka (POL), Gina Park (POL).
As an announcement for the exhibition of the competition’s finalists, children from the Special Primary School “Idnina” (“Future”) were drawing using different techniques, in order to raise awareness of their equal role in society. The project “Inclusion Not Exclusion” organized with the support of the Embassy of Switzerland in Skopje, will have its finale with a series of exhibitions compiled from the award-winning works of the finalists and complemented by all the other works created by the winners during the workshop in Prespa. And as part of the workshops in Prespa, the mentors, together with the participants / winners visited the Community Service Center in Resen, where together with children aged 5 to 15 years they drew, sang and hung out.
Within the project a campaign was initiated to promote the rights of marginalized groups in which an NGO activists took part, such as Antonio Mihajlov, representing the Subversive Front – Association for Sexual and Gender Minorities, Emma Ananievska – pianist and person with visual impairment and Sibel Bajram, representing Association of Roma Women “Lacho Dive”.
The project was supported by the Embassy of Switzerland in Macedonia.
Winning posters
Teodora Mladenovska, MKD Gina Park, POR Luka Prstojevic, SRB
