For the last year and a half, Platform for Lazareti and Youth Center in Dubrovnik were working on establishing community centers based on the civil-public partnership. It was at the same time hard work on bettering the communication and decision-making protocols and processes between the NGOs associated with the platforms but also hard work in building trust and relationship with the representatives of the City of Dubrovnik. For now, both of the cases are successful examples, and a part of it is due to the knowledge they've received during the „Active NGOs“ project and collaboration with the URBACT lead and ad-hoc experts. Ana Cvjetkovic from the Platform for Lazareti tells us about the main goals, accomplishments, and obstacles and gives us an invaluable insight in what is one of the most intense processes of organizational development and decision-making.
Platform for Lazareti is an unofficial advocacy association consisted of 5 NGOs residing and/or working in Lazareti (NGO Deša, Student Theatre Lero, Audiovisual Center Dubrovnik, NGO Luža and Art Workshop Lazareti) dedicated to developing the idea of Lazareti as a horizontally integrated social-cultural center open to the local community. They have been influencing local and national cultural policies and working on strengthening the civil scene in Dubrovnik for the last 30 years. During the last year and a half, they have been working on the Platform for Lazareti Regulations to make their collaboration more efficient and official, but also to help them open up their spaces to other users. At the same time, it was an ideal beginning of establishing a better collaboration model for Lazareti with the City of Dubrovnik.
Petra: What was the main goal of establishing of the Platform for Lazareti Regulations?
Ana: Except for bettering our internal decision-making process, we wanted to open up the space for Lazareti to other civil actors. Through many years of our work in Lazareti, there has always been a need for mutual borrowing of space among the NGOs in the Platform, but also associations and individuals from outside who wanted to realize their programs in Lazareti. When using the spaces of Art Workshop Lazareti we always had a verbal agreement given to us in good faith which always worked out fine. On the other hand, when we lent out space to the external partners, that wasn't the case. Even though we noted that we wanted to space to be returned in the same way as it was lent out, that was rarely the case. Because of these negative examples which resulted in our loss of trust towards other NGOs or individuals, over time we've moved away from lending our spaces to others. This in return meant that we've rejected some projects that were maybe important for the community development. So to get on the right track, we've established the Platform for Lazareti Regulations which also regulates the conditions under which we lend out our spaces to others.
Petra: What are the main benefits of the Regulations for the Platform and the development of Lazareti as a social-cultural center?
Ana: The introduction of the Regulations establishes clear relations. We know that quality and successful cooperation results from detailed planning and set goals. Mutual respect and communication between the users of the space, the permanent or the external ones, is based on the written form, no matter how much we want to admit it or not. In addition to the ordinance, we will create an infrastructure that will allow us to monitor all activities that take place in Lazareti, which will be useful in the long-term planning of the social-cultural center's directions of development in the future. The regulation is always characterized in these centers as one of the most important documents. Introducing one in the work of Platform for Lazareti will create a basis for more organized use of space in Lazareti, which will again increase the active participation of citizens in the work of the center and allow them to use the spaces for their activities.
Petra: Have you encountered some problems during the development of the Regulations?
Ana: Well, no. After reviewing its final form, I was very content with our hard work. A lot of the mistakes, I think, were avoided because we had an additional input of knowledge gained from the project „Active NGOs“ and the partners, especially from the NGO House in Riga and the centers in Siracusa which generously shared their experiences and Regulations with us.
Petra: And when it comes to communication and collaboration with the City of Dubrovnik, how did it go?
Ana: the City of Dubrovnik is the owner of the Lazareti Complex and in 2019 they've signed a contract with the public company „Dubrovnik Heritage“ for the governance of the Lazareti and program development for the rest of the buildings in the complex not included under the contract with the Platform for Lazareti. During the „Active NGOs“ project and a similar project we're a partner of as a Platform, we had a chance to sit down and talk about the Regulations and possible collaboration model with the representatives of the „Dubrovnik Heritage“. At first, there was a passive approach to collaboration coming from both sides, but when we included them in the making of the Regulations, that has changed. I think our experience and knowledge will help them in making their Regulations. However, there is a long way to go but it's a good start when it comes to establishing a collaboration model for the entire Lazareti Complex.
Petra: What does the future bring for Lazareti and its Platform?
Ana: Well, this COVID situation is influencing my vision of the future meaning it's not so bright. But, this is the time that the Regulation is most needed as well as networking and knowledge exchange between the international partners as it is in the case of the „Active NGOs“. I truly believe that in 2021, after the finalization of the Regulations and it getting a green light by the City of Dubrovnik, we will see good results. Last year, as a Platform, we've set an open call for the other NGOs and citizens of Dubrovnik to apply with their activities and ideas to be held in our spaces. They've shown a great interest in it and it additionally opened up the spaces of Lazareti to the local community and showed us what they need and want from Lazareti.
Petra Marčinko,
ULG coordinator
