BRIDGES - New perspectives after the lockdown in Croatia

Last winter we worked a lot on planning activities that we could carry out together with local communities to build bridges within our societies. And just as we were about to start preparations for the Nowruz party, the Afro-Croatian Congress and the Choir Festival - we were blocked by Covid-19 and the lockdown. This state caused a lot of inconvenience and fear. We needed time to rethink our plans and work, to reconnect and restructure.

Even though we were in physical distance, we did not create social distance. The online world gave us the opportunity to stay connected. We shared our thoughts in facebook groups, followed dance classes that spontaneously appeared online, took part in online choir rehearsals and the like. We did not stop. That was the most important feeling. Even if the online communication was sometimes overwhelming - it kept us moving.

June brought the old new perspective that revitalized the activities of BRIDGES. We went back to local community meetings, gatherings, activities; but we redesigned some planned activities online again. The bridges between us were never broken, we just found a new way to continue them.

In Croatia we started the month of June with a party of collective Women to Women - where locals, refugees and migrants gathered to celebrate all that was missed during the lockdown. We are currently preparing an event called Refugee Weeks in honour of World Refugee Day. We will combine online and live activities and promotions, which will be presented to the public on 16 June.