Prague taking applications to support neighborhood events with 50,000 crown grants

Prague City Hall is starting a pilot project to support community events. From January to March 2020, the city wants to support local festivities, book and clothing bazaars or inter-generational events. Individuals or associations will be able to apply for up to 50,000 CZK, and a total of 3 million CZK are earmarked for the first three months of the program.

“Local communities
are what makes the city a good city to live. Locals can best meet the
needs of their neighborhood, show how Praguers are active, and
original or varied events are easily accessible to everyone,” City
Councilor Hana Třeštíková (Praha sobě)
said.

“I believe that
the city should support not only cultural institutions, but also such
small neighborhood initiatives. That is why we are launching a pilot
project of neighborhood subsidies. Anyone can apply for financial
support such as a bazaar, a celebration of feasting, a creative
afternoon for children, or a neighbor dinner,” she added.
Třeštíková, who prepared the pilot program, is the councilor
responsible for culture in the city.

The neighborhood
subsidy program is in response to a survey made by Ipsos for Prague
City Hall on neighborhood relations in the metropolis. It showed that
Praguers like to meet, and the most popular local events include a
common barbecue or a neighborhood breakfast. Praguers also like to
meet to volunteer to improve the quality of their surroundings or
summer cinema.

A total of 40% of
Prague residents have participated in similar activities in their
neighborhood in the last year.

About half of
Praguers know and have fun with at least a few neighbors from their
home or street, but most of them have moderate relationships with
their neighbors, although they are trouble-free but not very warm.
Three-quarters of Praguers regularly meet with a group or group of
friends or acquaintances, most often for informal entertainment, such
as in a pub or bar.

“The First
Republic flourished from communal activities in the Czech Republic,
while the communists were afraid of civic associations and tried hard
to suppress them. Now the associations are being reorganized
organically and we want to support them as a free city. We give an
opportunity to all who want to do something for their surroundings
and to be active in the place where they live — in the center, in
the housing estate or on the outskirts of Prague. I am looking
forward to all the neighborhood ideas and we will be happy to support
them,” Třeštíková.