(M)BAKE
THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE
IMPRESS
DATA PROTECTION DECLARATION
CONTACT

Clothes Swapping for MDGs 7 and 8

or

How to make development educational events 'sexy' to Young Modern Performers

 

 

 

Topping

 

When addressing a target group like YMPs it is important to make the event 'glittering'. YMPs like stylish clothes. So if you want to attract this target group you need to make sure that people bring clothes in a good state and that the whole event does not become a second-hand store, which would distract the target group.

However great the clothes that people bring (and it usually happens that not every one brings great pieces), you will probably have some left that no one will want to take home. It is a good idea to contact some NGOs/charities in advance to see if they could use some clothes.

We contacted some NGOs in advance and some of them expressed interest to take these clothes, which they took. The rest of it we put in a recycling bin for clothes.

As this action was based in only one specific club, we were not able to push some message about it to larger media. But something appeared in the student magazines of  Prague's largest business university, VSE, and something also on the webpage of Rock Café.

We tried to offer a richer program than just a mere clothes swap. However, it turned out the attendees (especially women) were mostly keen on the swap itself, and the other parts of the program (which were also in place, so that we would have enough time to sort out the clothes) rather distracted them, as they were very anxious. If you decide to have something more than just a swap, make it something that has to do with fashion – fashion show, workshops, etc.

We also found that the swapping event had even more response. It was an intense experience for the attendees and it inspired them to organize such events themselves. The incentive to swap in the form of leaflets, which continued in Rock Café, did not have such a great kick. The clothes on the rack were changing and were being swapped, however it was not so intensive as the opening swapping event.

We received positive feedback on the Facebook page of the event. Also, we asked for the direct feedback of the participants. A few of them organized similar events themselves with their friends or colleagues as a result of their participation at our action.

 

<previous pagenext page>