March 2023

The Bábonyiérc community of the 4IM project took an active part in spring cleaning The 4IM Bábonyiérc project area's spring litter collection, linked to a change of attitude towards the environment, was a complete success. The members of the Bábonyibérci Self-help Community (BÖK) collected waste selectively to fill all the garbage bags provided by the Miskolc Regional Waste Management (MIREHU) Ltd. It was the BÖK's umpteenth successful community-building action under the 4IM project. The BÖK, formed through the implementation of the 4IM project, joined the city's day of action on 18 March to clean up the Szinva stream that runs through Miskolc. At the call of the BÖK, several families from Bábonyiérc took part in the litter picking, collecting rubbish for several hours on the hillside surrounding the stream. The community members cleaned up the waste at the 6.8-kilometre-long Bábonyibérc section of the Pece stream, which is a branch of the Szinva stream. The Pece stream now has a low flow rate, but it used to run mills, and its destructive power was evident during the great flood of 1878 in Miskolc, which caused the greatest loss of life in Hungary in the 19th century. Prior to the waste collection, Gábor Simon, the transport manager of MIREHU, gave an awareness-raising presentation at the community center of the BÖK, drawing attention to the importance and usefulness of selective waste collection. The lessons learned were applied to the collection of different types of waste by members of the Bábonyiérc community. The March Community litter pick ended with a convivial pizza lunch. Without social cohesion, without setting an example, communities living under different circumstances but forming a group as city dwellers will fall apart, which is why the active stand of the Bábonyibérc people in support of conscious, considerate and careful use of the environment was so important. As a result of community cooperation, the relationship with the people living in the neighboring areas of Bábonyibérc and the surrounding streets will also improve, facilitating cooperation, which is one of the main objectives of the 4IM project. Multi-stakeholder cooperation is key to successfully addressing complex societal challenges such as the integration of vulnerable groups. It was the BÖK's umpteenth successful community-building action. Last year, they repaired stairs, picked up rubbish, cleaned ditches, planted flowers in the public square, and by renovating the interior and exterior of it, they created the first community center in Bábonyiérc. The fence and the area around the building were cleared of weeds in the summer, and in September waste was collected from the public areas around the community centre. The community volunteered to take on this task because they felt it was important for the group to function and remain active. In effect, they have created a community center in a neighborhood where there was no cultural, meeting or community point. 4IM is piloting an innovative model in Miskolc to make services more accessible to people in vulnerable circumstances and empower them to become agents of change. The environmentally conscious community litter picking is an integral part of the 4IM project's efforts to strengthen self-help activities that activate social groups, encouraging citizens in Tetemvár and Bábonyiérc to take action. The innovative integrated package of services being developed in the 4IM project will result in changes to the city's social and employment services to better and more effectively meet the needs of disadvantaged neighborhoods.

Also the Social Action Plan is helping 4IM project participants Thanks to the project's Social Action Plan, good quality consumer goods and clothing have become available to people living in the 4IM project area. On 20 March, a rich consignment from the Netherlands arrived in Miskolc, arranged by the managing organisation of the project, the Miskolc Municipality's Resource Centre. The 24-tonne truck’s loading area was filled completely with a variety of goods, due to the quantity and diversity of which it took several hours to unload. Members of the action groups in the two target areas of the 4IM project, as well as people living in Bábonyiérc and Tetemvár, who had been informed in advance of the opportunity, could choose from a selection of items of interest to them. After sorting, evaluation and needs assessment, the Resource Centre staff will also distribute the consignment to people in the project areas who were unable to be present when the consignment arrived. Of the six action plans it has developed, the Centre launched the Social Action Plan at the end of last year. Brand new and unused shoes were handed over to people living in the deprived neighbourhood at the Bábonyiérc community centre before Christmas. The building, which was provided by the municipality, was renovated inside and outside by the members of the Bábonyibérc Self-Help Community, a local action group, in the autumn - thus creating the first community centre in Bábonyibérc. At the beginning of March, in the run-up to International Women's Day, the staff of the Bábonyibérci Self-Help Community (BÖK) distributed more than half a million forints worth of new women's shoes in different sizes and styles. In January, a charity clothing distribution was held at the BÖK community centre as part of the 4IM project. 4IM project activists cleaned up the stream bank The spring litter picking in the Bábonyiérc project area, linked to a change of attitude towards the environment, was a complete success. The members of the Bábonyibérci Self-help Community (BÖK) collected waste selectively to fill all the garbage bags provided by the Miskolc Regional Waste Management (MIREHU) Ltd. The BÖK, formed through the implementation of the 4IM project, joined the city's day of action on 18 March to clean up the Szinva stream that runs through Miskolc. The community members cleaned up the waste at the 6.8-kilometre-long Bábonyibérc section of the Pece stream, which is a branch of the Szinva stream. The Pece stream now has a low flow rate, but it used to run mills, and its destructive power was evident during the great flood of 1878 in Miskolc, which caused the greatest loss of life in Hungary in the 19th century. Prior to the waste collection, Gábor Simon, the transport manager of MIREHU, gave an awareness-raising presentation at the community centre of the BÖK, drawing attention to the importance and usefulness of selective waste collection. The lessons learned were already being applied during the collection by young and old alike. The BÖK and the staff of the Resource Centre, which manages the 4IM project, were joined by young members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and Sándor Erdei, the local councillor of the area. It was the BÖK's umpteenth successful community-building action. Last year, they repaired stairs, picked up rubbish, cleaned ditches, planted flowers in the public square, and by renovating the interior and exterior of it, they created the first community centre in Bábonyiérc. The fence and the area around the building were cleared of weeds in the summer, and in September waste was collected from the public areas around the community centre. The community volunteered to take on this task because they felt it was important for the group to function and remain active. In effect, they have created a community centre in a neighborhood where there was no cultural, meeting or community point. The March community litter picking ended with a fun pizza lunch, the children also received small gifts as a reward for their hard work.

Action plans of the 4IM project are being launched one after the other Balloon games, gardening, pizza lunch at school A milestone in the progress of the 4IM project is the launch of a series of action plans incorporated into six packages for people living in the two project areas, organised by Resource Centre, the Miskolc Municipal Organisation, which is responsible for the operational management of the project. The packages contain proposals for grassroots initiatives, formulated by the local action groups in Bábonyiérc and Tetemvár and supported by the Resource Centre. The project will implement the following initiatives:

• Action plan for employment and labour market,
• Mentoring Action Plan,
• Waste management Action Plan,
• Housing Action Plan,
• Action Plan for community actions and events,
• Social Support Action Plan. 

The Resource Centre and its consortium partner Abaújrakezdés started organising the mentoring programme last autumn, over several months, to make it a success. Within the framework of the mentoring action plan, the 9th grade students of the Lévay József Reformed High School in Miskolc started a cooperation with the 3rd and 5th grade students of the Petőfi Sándor Primary School in the Tetemvár district of the 4IM project. The students of the Fényi Gyula Jesuit High School and College in Miskolc support the students of the Bársony János Primary School in Bábonyibérc. First, at the Jesuit High School, the students got to know each other and the huge institution, and had lunch together. Afterwards, the primary school students hosted the students of the high school, with whom they set up raised beds in the garden of the institution, but the programme also included the joy of playing together. Students can also apply their newly acquired horticultural knowledge at their homes by installing raised beds and transplanting garden plants into the above-ground equipment. The soil is held together by a frame made of different materials, most often wood, but also brick, concrete, stone, metal or straw bales. At the beginning of March, the students of Lévay visited the Petőfi Sándor Primary School, where they were warmly welcomed by head of school Éva Simon, as well as teachers and students. Péter Szabó, the prevention expert of Abaújrakezdés, held an informal "class teacher lesson” on the life, plans and experiences of the school, which was marked by a five by all the students. The pupils of the Lévay school were welcomed with a stage show by the students of Petőfi, with whom they then formed groups and competed in the games of evolution, ballooning and building the tall castle of Déva. The community programme, which was always in a good mood and brought students closer together, ended with a cheerful and noisy pizza party.

What is behind the scenes of the theatre? 4IM project mentored students on exploration Students participating in the mentoring programme of the 4IM Project have discovered secrets of the Miskolc National Theatre that are not visible from the audience. On 29 March, the mentoring students of the Lévay József Reformed Secondary School together with the 3rd-5th grade students of the Petőfi Sándor Primary School in Miskolc had a chance to take a look behind the scenes of the bicentenary Miskolc National Theatre. Noémi Méder, the institution's press relations officer, gave the students a tour to the part of the theatre unseeable from the auditorium. The visit took place as part of the 4IM project, as part of the mentoring action plan developed by the Source Centre, the project management operational organisation of the Municipality of Miskolc. In the course of this, the students of the high school will take part in educational, developmental and playful activities together with students from the two project areas, forming a friendly relationship. During the visit, the young visitors were introduced to the secrets of making snow and rain on stage, the secrets of lighting, set and stage movement, the orchestra pit, the set storage, and all the play areas inside and out. As the visit became more relaxed, the students asked more and more questions to the theatre's tour guide, who also told them, for example, what animals were on stage. The response surprised both the pupils and the accompanying teachers, who learned that even a real horse was given a role on stage. The students enjoyed the magical atmosphere of the stage so much that some of them even showed off their dancing skills. The mentoring action plan of the 4IM project also involves students from the Gyula Fényi Jesuit High School and College in Miskolc, who are mentoring students from the János Bársonyi Primary School in the Bábonyiérc project area.