As we could learn from a discussion between the mayor, the administration of the city and the participants of the Utopian Cities, Programmed Societies Summer Camp project, one of the central ideas behind the population of Victoria was the specific recruitment of young people. They were supposed to be the centre of society which would enliven and secure the city’s future at the same time. This idea provided the local chemical and arms industry with diligent workers and guaranteed young people a secure employment.
However, the impression we had 70 years after Victoria’s founding broke with the concept of the directed “City of Youth”. The average age was very high, young children had to be looked for and in general it was all pretty abandoned.
But in our eyes, particularly the youth could be the motor and power for any deserted place. Their energy and imagination shape the new future and is crucial for the further development of each city.
We wanted to risk a glimpse to see how the future of Victoria might look like and ask the youth itself about their today’s utopian visions.
At first, it was difficult to establish real contact. Due to our extraordinary role, we were treated as we would be celebrities and everybody knew that we don’t belong here, it was very hard to find open and honest conversations. We had to disconnect from our touristic system in between the Summer Camp to become a small part of the Victorian system in order to understand it from the inside. The way we looked at the city and its citizens got less analytical and more emotional.
We discovered the city of Victoria with honest joy and playful curiosity until this very night where we met a handful of teenagers on the stairs in front of the Casa de Cultura. We connected with them and discovered that nothing really differentiates us.
Through them, we gained a very intimate and personal insight into Victoria’s current Youth Culture. We did not ask for it but we simply joined them everyday and did what they did. The dirty steps in front of the Casa de Cultura turned into our meeting spot and within a very short time we became part of the group ourselves.
This was the start of an exchange between our diverse realities.
Thanks to their individual nature each of them inspired and helped us to develop a fresh and personal perspective on Victoria.
As a result, we collected all our experiences into a Victorian Youth Magazine called “Oraș al tinereții”.
Nevertheless, the biggest achievement of our project and time in Victoria is surely our grown friendship.
As we could learn from a discussion between the mayor, the administration of the city and the participants of the Utopian Cities, Programmed Societies Summer Camp project, one of the central ideas behind the population of Victoria was the specific recruitment of young people. They were supposed to be the centre of society which would enliven and secure the city’s future at the same time. This idea provided the local chemical and arms industry with diligent workers and guaranteed young people a secure employment.
However, the impression we had 70 years after Victoria’s founding broke with the concept of the directed “City of Youth”. The average age was very high, young children had to be looked for and in general it was all pretty abandoned.
But in our eyes, particularly the youth could be the motor and power for any deserted place. Their energy and imagination shape the new future and is crucial for the further development of each city.
We wanted to risk a glimpse to see how the future of Victoria might look like and ask the youth itself about their today’s utopian visions.
At first, it was difficult to establish real contact. Due to our extraordinary role, we were treated as we would be celebrities and everybody knew that we don’t belong here, it was very hard to find open and honest conversations. We had to disconnect from our touristic system in between the Summer Camp to become a small part of the Victorian system in order to understand it from the inside. The way we looked at the city and its citizens got less analytical and more emotional.
We discovered the city of Victoria with honest joy and playful curiosity until this very night where we met a handful of teenagers on the stairs in front of the Casa de Cultura. We connected with them and discovered that nothing really differentiates us.
Through them, we gained a very intimate and personal insight into Victoria’s current Youth Culture. We did not ask for it but we simply joined them everyday and did what they did. The dirty steps in front of the Casa de Cultura turned into our meeting spot and within a very short time we became part of the group ourselves.
This was the start of an exchange between our diverse realities.
Thanks to their individual nature each of them inspired and helped us to develop a fresh and personal perspective on Victoria.
As a result, we collected all our experiences into a Victorian Youth Magazine called “Oraș al tinereții”.
Nevertheless, the biggest achievement of our project and time in Victoria is surely our grown friendship.