2024’s key innovation – we have completed our Virtual Intimacy Zone project
At the beginning of 2024, the idea emerged to develop an equally vibrant and dynamic internet safety program - modeled after our full‑day career orientation event “Mesterségem CíMERRE?” ("What Will My Profession Be?") - because we had noticed how strongly this issue affects both youth and those working with them.
Thanks to our acceptance into the Accelerator program of the Pontis Foundation, the idea became much more than simple program development: in early May 2024, we entered into an intensive and awareness‑raising one‑year process. The project is called Virtual Intimacy Zone. Together, we reached these important milestones:
- We developed an internet safety train‑the‑trainer program, which was completed in October 2024 by our Trainer Circle team members and volunteers.
- We designed and tested selected games and sessions for the Virtual Intimacy Zone mini‑festival: a half‑day self‑awareness small‑group session; the “Virtual Defenders” cybersecurity board game; the “TANDEMGRAM” online fake‑news quiz; and the “Segíthetek?!” stand. We created creative exercises for the stand and shared immediate feedback and insights from the first participants of our Live Library.
- We held two pilot events with a nearly 20‑person staff and more than 150 participants, in collaboration with Vekker Műhely (Vekker Theatre In Education (TIE) Company) and the Fókusz student theatre—as part of events in Komárno and Rimavská Sobota.
- We delivered two weekends of trainings for student councils, enabling deeper exploration of internet safety topics.
- We produced a short, artistically crafted video for parents and adults, emphasizing prevention. We sincerely hope it sparks motivation and responsibility in many viewers.
- We finalized our methodological materials for trainers and youth workers so they can design thematic youth events and discussions independently.
Meanwhile, we continued our development on two additional levels: as a condition of Pontis Foundation’s support, our organization needed to level up internally. We attended multiple insightful workshops, learned from the dilemmas of peer organizations, and supported each other in developmental work. We received two mentors, with whom—through personal and online consultations—we worked on our tools for social impact measurement and on improving our fundraising activities.
The discourse on our social impact created tremendous value and helped us redefine our mission. By segmenting stakeholder groups, we could map out our medium- and short-term objectives. It was equally challenging to learn how to think from the perspective of potential supporters—to articulate what our work means, measured by their standards, and its value. We are grateful to both our mentors, Zuzana Suchová and Áron Méhes, for supporting us with dedication—and at times with confrontation—through this process. We also appreciate the entire Pontis team for always being solution-oriented, open, and genuinely development-focused, sharing their best knowledge with every participating organization.
All the exciting content mentioned above can be found on our website, Facebook and Instagram pages! Follow us! Reports and outputs of the projects listed below are accessible via the following links:
Virtual Intimacy Zone Mini‑festivals:
“Are you there?” – The short film emphasizing the topic is available in Hungarian and Slovak languages. Check them out on Youtube! Links below:
We can’t wait to continue the work - whether on site or within our own internal communities!
