The "Non-Formal Summer School" project continues

Student-architects at UPT brought joy to rural students

Student-architects at UPT brought joy to rural students

The Faculty of Architecture and City Planning within Politehnica University Timisoara was this year the partner of Ed Alternative Association, which started in 2013 a new project in the villages of Timis County.

Practically, five years ago, the "Non-Formal Summer School" started in Petroasa Mare (2013 and 2014) and later extended to Criciova, Jdioara and Ciresu (in 2016 and 2017).

This summer, between July 30 and August 4, the volunteers continued the beautiful story at Balint, Bodo, Criciova, Jdioara and Ciresu. In the five villages, multidisciplinary workshops were organized to help the 200 children explore the world around them, starting from their own identity, to their community and beyond.

Based on the experience so far and specifically designed for disadvantaged communities, the Summer School sets the foundation for a new learning model that invites exploration, investigation and socialization. Multidisciplinary workshops - architecture, painting, dancing, creation, sports activities, creative games, and outdoor movie watching - allowed the connection of newly discovered information to the environment, with non-formal education, art and play.

The Faculty of Architecture within Politehnica University Timişoara participated in the summer school with 8 students, coordinated by lect. architect Cristina Povian, PhD. They, together with the teachers from the mentioned localities, designed in the general schools films in which they showed the children what architecture meant, explored interactive games, geometric shapes, and built cardboard boxes on which, together with the small pupils , they painted them. The projected films took the little pupils (some of which have never left their village) all over the world, from the Egyptian pyramids and the Great Wall to the Grand Canyon or the Niagara Falls.