From institutions to people

At the Museum of Madness we are raising awareness at home and abroad about Slovenia being one of the most institutionalized countries in the world and about human rights violations in these institutions. Experience shows that the public is poorly acquainted with this systemic problem and that despite the warnings of experts, there is no political will to carry out the process of deinstitutionalization; this process began with the closure of the State Asylum for the Mentally and Neurologically Ill at Hrastovec – Trate, where we have been operating since 2013, but has unfortunately been stopped.

The main goal of the project is to raise awareness about human rights violations in institutions among the youth in Slovenia. Greater awareness is a prerequisite for social change that will eliminate institutions and implement community social care services, hence the name of the project 'From Institutions to People'. We will develop the educational tools and the program in cooperation with selected project partners, the National Liberation Museum Maribor and the Hartheim Castle Memorial Site from Austria. These two museums specialize in presenting difficult heritage of human rights violations and offer a rich educational program for young people. Educational tools will include the testimonies of people who have lived in institutions or still live in them today, thus strengthening the voice of a vulnerable group that is marginalized, voiceless and invisible. We will be assisted by our partner Zavod Franko, whose mission is to provide support to people with long-term mental health problems in a way that allows them to live in the community, i.e. outside institutions.

We will include students and educators throughout the duration of the project for purposes of evaluation after the implementation of the programs.