One of the events of the 7th edition of the Informed Cities Forum was a workshop on Mapping values through heritage conducted by Praga Lab in cooperation with the Open Door Association. We set ourselves two objectives – discussing the value and importance of the association for Praga with the participants of the event, as well as discussing known case studies from other EU cities, where entities similar to Open Door Association managed to achieve financial independence from public administration because – in spite of being a “natural” partner for such associations – it can also be a blocker for initiatives that go beyond its legal and financial capacities.
The meeting at the Association headquarters started with a moving presentation and a lively debate with the participants about the Open Door Association, including the contemporary history and social problems of Praga, as well as the values and activities of the Association, which was already supported by more than 80,000 people. The discussions during the workshop also concerned the Nowa Praga Creativity Centre at Targowa 80a and the future of the activities of the Open Door Association there, especially with regard to the homeless shelter. Then, the participants formed two groups to work on mapping the values associated with tangible and intangible heritage, which is nurtured by the Open Door Association in Praga, as well as the concept of obtaining financial independence of the association, following the example of similar organisations in the EU. The collected ideas and comments are now used by Praga Lab to create a plan aimed at supporting the Open Door Association in terms of communicating the importance of the Association for Praga’s heritage, in particular in its intangible dimension, based on values such as dignity, cooperation and sharing.