"Soccer has the power to change people's lives"
The Project
The objective of Goals for Change, winner of the Art for Change la Caixa grant, is to provide audiovisual artistic tools to young people who have gone through various migration processes. Through the creative project, they can express and highlight their challenges, achievements, and fears, thereby improving their self-esteem. Thanks to the training they will receive in photography and video, the migrants from the FC Darna collective in Barcelona—a soccer team of 11 created by unaccompanied young migrants who arrived in Spain seeking a better future—will be able to build a new narrative that helps them challenge negative stereotypes and promote the fight against racism through soccer.
Creating their own narratives through photography and video.
Art as a driver of social change
After completing a first exhibition project, "Football for Hope," in which we, as visual artists, showcased the lives of this migrant group from an external perspective, we realized the real need for them to be the ones to show their stories to society through their own lens. This new project, Goals for Change, aims to provide the migrants of FC Darna with training in image creation so they can narrate their own realities. Additionally, the project commits to exhibiting the project's results at various locations across the country, in festivals and on platforms, with two objectives: to support the creation, voice, and perspective of these young people and to promote dialogue and the fight against discrimination.
They will create their own images to narrate their stories
The participatory spirit of Goals for Change
The heart of the project is a participatory methodology that, supported by image creation techniques, works on the concept of self-representation, their values, and the virtues that will enrich our society. All this will be part of a large multimedia exhibition where the images, the final documentary, and a photobook will be presented. An exhibition where they themselves will guide the audience. In this way, through the image, they will not only be empowered during the creative process but also help them share their achievements and convey new narratives that open a dialogue about the representation of racism and the integration of the migrant community
"Racism robs us of ownership over our lives. Many treat us as if we cannot speak for ourselves," says Zakaria, a player from FC Darna.
Participatory art has the power to change the world; it is the tool that generates positive social change within communities.
Background of the project
Javier Zurita and Ofelia de Pablo discovered the power of soccer as a tool for change in South Africa during the first World Cup ever held on the African continent. The impact of their reportage spread worldwide, being published in over 20 countries such as the Netherlands, Germany, the United States, France, and featured on television and radio networks like CNN, Tele5, and SER. This coverage led to a major exhibition called "Football for Hope," which now seeks to expand its impact with a new participatory project called Goals for Change
"Soccer as a tool for integration"
RTVE interview-summary: the genesis of this new project
The authors of 'Sharing the Land', honored at the prestigious Wildscreen Festival among others, the Oscars of environmental cinema, and nominated for the Amnesty Media Award, propose the project Goals for Change. In this initiative, the protagonists narrate their stories in their own voices, accompanied by visual artist Pablo Tosco, an expert in training vulnerable communities and winner of the 2021 World Press Photo.
Project Visibility
- The project will be exhibited in venues and festivals across Spain, starting with Nau Bostik, which offers 264 square meters of exhibition space where the display will be housed for one month in September 2024 (estimated completion date of the project's training).
- The thematic proposals created by the protagonists of Goals for Change will form a participatory multimedia exhibition that integrates the three formats they have developed:
- MULTIMEDIA EXHIBITION at Nau Bostik (Barcelona): The protagonists will express their perspectives through photographs and a documentary. Both mediums will support dialogue activities such as talks and debates centered around the project's themes. The protagonists themselves will conduct guided tours. Their stories will be shared with the media to amplify the message.
- A report in the form of a photo gallery with a link to the documentary will be published in 5W Magazine
- PHOTOBOOK: As part of the multimedia exhibition, the book "Goal for Change" will be launched, featuring photographs and texts created by the protagonists. A minimum print run of 200 copies, with profits directed to Darna
- FESTIVALS: Following Barcelona, the exhibition will begin its traveling itinerary organized with the protagonists. It will visit specialized festivals, including confirmed stops at Acampa Festival (A Coruña), WeArePhoto (Huelva), Photon (Valencia), and various institutions, schools, and high schools.