Bread Chain
| Keywords | Knowledge Emotion Communication Cooperation Participation Practical Application Cultural Heritage Intergenerational Intercultural Bread |
| Target Group | Civil Society Third Age |
| Type of Action | Theatre Art Visit |
| Research | Traditions, Welcome Tradition |
| Location | Pensioners Club Municipality House |
| Pedagogical Aims | Information Communication Cooperation |
| Use of Media | Computer Internet Video, Youtube |
| Dissemination | Press Radio Internet |
| Geographical Scope | Local |
| Type of Method | Participatory-Orientated |
| Knowledge Transfer | Creative Skills |
| Area of work | Food Preparation |
| Location or Venue | Meeting Rooms Of All The Clubs Of The Municipality |
| Number of Participants | 550 |
Duration
| From | Until |
| 01/09/2019 | 05/09/2019 |
Short Description
Bread Chain is a type of social theatre which is based on the participation of pensioners, club members of the Union of Pensioners (UP) in a city, municipality and region. At the beginning of each mandate, they meet with the Chairman of the UP, the Mayor, the managing body and members of the Local Parliament. They do not act on stage but communicate with the relevant authorities in order to present the main activities, accomplishments, problems and expectations of each club aimed at achieving specific agreements for improving their life through training, tradition-preserving events, cooperation, cultural events and communication.
This specific social theatre is called Bread chain, because:
- It encompasses activities of the project Tastes of Danube; Bread Connects;
- The visitors to the club are welcomed with bread that has been baked for the specific event;
- The main theme of each meeting is the Bread that connects us as well as its role in the social life of the members of the respective club;
- All the meetings are held one after the other, like a chain, within a short period of time and a common scenario related to the topic of bread.
Full Description
This type of theatre can be categorized as social, if it triggers specific changes which meet the expectations of the pensioners. If it doesn’t lead to any changes, then it is an ordinary theatre.
Bread Chain provides opportunities for:
• communicating with people who are responsible for long-term financial decisions;
• presenting accomplishments and problems in a friendly environment devoid of stressful factors;
• looking for common objectives and tasks aimed at joint future activities that will benefit the local pensioner organizations, local authorities and each member of the society;
• socializing of the pensioners;
• meeting of specific needs;
• performing jointly or on a personal level;
• using emotions;
• developing communication skills and cooperating with others;
• developing the individual person’s self-awareness;
• evaluating and controlling the role of the club in meeting the societal needs.
Each club can change the common scenario to a small extent by including:
• presentation of medals and commendation certificates awarded at regional or national scale competitions, won by the members of the club;
• choir, instrumental, dance or sports performances of groups which are linked to the club;
• presentations of books, brochures, bread products and other items made by the members of the club;
• invitations to representatives of schools, social centers, businesses, NGOs and other organizations that work jointly with the club and that have joint achievements with it;
• brief presentation of the celebration, custom or story behind the bread that has been made for the guests.
The representatives of the local authorities must:
• visit the 20 clubs and hold the planned meetings with the pensioners, members of the clubs;
• share the welcome bread;
• get acquainted with the life of the club members – their achievements, problems, needs and expectations.
• congratulate the members of the clubs with their achievements;
• provide commendation certificates for those members of the club that have considerable achievements within the discussed period;
• make some specific decisions with regard to the financing and organizing of joint activities at regional and national level, and provide other types of assistance to the members of the clubs;
• summarize some decisions valid for all the clubs of the Municipality
• provide support for preserving the ethnic peace, the European self-awareness and values, as well as the traditions and customs of the region.
Each club has its own halls for its activities, financial resources for heating, lighting, leading the creative activities of the club, participation in competitions, organizing regional festivals and events, and so on. That is why the problems and needs that are discussed are of an intercultural, educational and social nature.
Bread Chain MeetingsStep-by-step explanation
Step 1
Step 1: Devising a joint work plan for the chain meetings
The joint plan is created by the Chairperson of the UP and the Chairpersons of all the clubs by formulating: joint objectives, the scenario, the duration and the order of the meetings. The work plan is agreed upon with the leaders of the local authorities.
Step 2
Step 2: Devising a plan for the meeting of each club
The specific plan is created by all active members of each club by taking into consideration the following:
- positive results, regional, national and international achievements which will be presented at the meeting;
- problems or needs of an educational, social or financial nature that have to be discussed and solved within a 4-year period.
Step 3
Organizing the meetings with the members of the clubs
This includes division of roles, holding rehearsals, preparing the meeting halls, deciding on the means and activities for the presentation of the club, making panels, brochures, and bread related to the specific celebration and other presentation materials, providing presentation equipment and the services of a photographer.
Step 4
Holding the meetings
A visit to each club in line with the work plan. Implementation of the planned activities by both parties – the members of the club and the representatives of the local authorities.
Step 5
Analysis and evaluation of the results
Each club, the managing body of the Union of Pensioners and the local authorities analyze and evaluate the concrete meetings, achievements, the problems that have been posed and the negotiated agreements.
Step 6
Step 6: Devising a 4-year work plan
The leaders of the local authorities devise a 4-year work plan aimed at improving the life of the community which includes the results of the Bread Chain. It is approved by the Local Parliament and its implementation is reported and evaluated annually.
Analogously, the UP and each club devise 4-year generalized plans for the main purpose of improving the lives of the pensioners and of the society in the respective region, which are reported and evaluated annually as well.
Results
The results of the method are: presentation, analysis and evaluation of the activities of the pensioner clubs in a specific municipality, district or city; making decisions aimed at improving the lives of the pensioners and of each member of the community; devising long-term work plans for working with the pensioners’ clubs, developing creative, communication and cooperation skills, as well as developing European self-awareness.
Posters, exhibition; media releasesVariation of the approach
Can be applied with a different number of pensioner organizations and can seek cooperation and support from other policy makers or interested parties. The scenario can be changed according to the local social environment.
Partner Organistions
Name Homepage Logo the Union of Pensioners (UP) University of Ruse “A. Kanchev”, Bulgaria https://www.uni-ruse.bg/en 
the Local Parliament Responsbile Organistion
Name Homepage Logo The Municipality of Slivo Pole Products and Materials
Project Description Description Web Presence http://bread-connects.tastes-of-danube.eu/english/
http://bread-connects.tastes-of-danube.eu/bread-connects-europe-create-and-bake/
http://bread-connects.tastes-of-danube.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Competition_Flyer_BG_final.pdf
Documentation of the Project/Event Post Cards Poster Press Release Photo Gallery Video Blog Decoration: Flags/Bookmarks Information about the Danube Countries