September 2026: OPEN RELIEF in Zagreb, CALIMA Premiere and ALL’ARME on Tour
September brought OPEN RELIEF partners to Zagreb for a capacity-building meeting organized by IM industries. The month also saw the premiere of CALIMA as part of dancEUA project, while Studio Contemporary Dance Company toured ALL’ARME across Croatia, Italy and Serbia.
OPEN RELIEF brought all project partners to Zagreb at the end of September for a gathering organized by IM industries. Taking place from 29 September to 2 October, the meeting focused on learning from one another through practical experience, testing learning materials and planning the project’s upcoming activities.
The working days centered on three areas: frugal innovation, civic engagement and inclusive design. Every partner participated as both trainer and learner, bringing a real case from its own context to connect these themes with situations, decisions and needs encountered in practice.
IM industries shared how first-time volunteers organized assistance through WhatsApp after the Zagreb and Petrinja earthquakes. Their response filled gaps quickly, while highlighting the need for shared ways to verify requests and hand over to professionals.
Kyiv National University of Technologies and Design (KNUTD) presented a community shelter in Kyiv equipped with CNC-cut plywood furniture. The case showed how design could improve comfort and accessibility, while emphasizing the importance of adapting solutions to the people using them.
LATRA shared an information leaflet developed in five languages, available in print and through QR codes, helping newly arrived people on Lesvos find essential services. The example brought attention to the role of accessible information in supporting people navigating an unfamiliar environment.
Across these different contexts, the exchanges highlighted a shared lesson: preparedness works best when it is shaped around the people who rely on it.
Alongside this thematic work, partners tested the learning modules developed over the previous months. The Zagreb meeting provided an opportunity to work through these materials together before the next phase of implementation. These modules will form the basis for local testing activities in the coming months, taking the work developed within the partnership into local contexts.
The programme also included exchanges with local practitioners directly involved in crisis response, connecting the partners’ discussions with further experience from the Croatian context. Partners reviewed upcoming activities and coordinated the next steps, building on the focus groups held earlier in the project.
The visit coincided with another European collaboration reaching the stage: the programme included the premiere of CALIMA at Zagreb Dance Center on 30 September.
Throughout the month, participants of Empowering Dancers in Motion, the training and creation programme within dancEUA - Contemporary Resilience, continued their work in Zagreb following the summer activities on the Croatian coast. Regular training alongside Studio Contemporary Dance Company accompanied the final creation period and rehearsals for CALIMA.
Choreographed by Anna Borràs in collaboration with an international ensemble of ten dancers, CALIMA draws inspiration from Saharan dust travelling across borders and oceans. The performance explores breath as both a physical necessity and a connection between bodies sharing the same environment. Its Zagreb premiere marked a new stage in the process, ahead of performances in the project’s partner countries.
September also saw Studio Contemporary Dance Company continue touring ALL’ARME, choreographed by Ginevra Panzetti and Enrico Ticconi. The company performed at Požega City Theatre, Parma Moving Festival, and the 10th edition of Tanz Platz in Novi Sad.
