Code of Ethics, Békéscsaba

A large number of EU, government and civil initiatives have already been launched with a view to shaping social attitudes. The 1perspective programme does not believe that shaping attitudes is a viable alternative on its own. Instead of awareness raising videos, posters, and stickers, we need examples, models, a well-functioning system that makes a difference in our everyday lives.

Tolerance campaigns will not suffice if the established institutions do not abide by the law, and aggravate the situation of the disadvantaged by making them even more deprived. How can we possible talk about trust and confidence between the concerned groups when the authorities and officials have not the slightest faith in the very citizens who actually finance their offices?

Yet, there is still need for communication. Any programme can only attain its aims if it is visible, and the concerned parties can have a say and can participate in shaping the frameworks.

In contrast to the usual and often – despite the good intentions of the makers –counterproductive government campaigns, the 1perspective programme availed of what is known as the guerrilla-marketing method as its communication channel.

A Virus Film was prepared, which intends to send out the message that any life situation, any problem can be viewed from a number of different angles and if we try hard, we can find a solution.

Stickers have been printed and sent out to five thousand large city youth and posted up on public areas of Békéscsaba trying to direct attention to the website.

The Code of Ethics was produced as a poster and is posted up all over the town's institutions for all interested parties to read.

A website has also been prepared containing vast amounts of background information with special emphasis laid on the methodology of bringing the Code of Ethics to life as the makers believe that it is not the text itself, but the process that brought it to life that is really exciting.

Message

Any single means of communication can only send out one message to the recipient. This is a rudimental axiom in any communication school.

When making the virus film, we tried to make use of the story and form as communication channels. The 1st message is the story: what we do today will have an impact on future generations, i.e. education is a social investment. (At the beginning of the movie the hand of a small child places a piece of paper on the table, while in the closing moments the hand of an older person removes it.)

The 2nd message is conveyed by the form used in the movie wherein the two dimensional, planar animation transforms into a spatial representation (perspective), which later becomes a real three dimensional display with cut-out and built shapes. With this we tried to present our main idea that 1perspective will never suffice when trying to find a solution to a problem.

Form

Any phenomenon can be viewed from a number of different angles. This way it is possible and imperative to find a solution – at least that is what programme participants believe in. The story provides the other thread of thought: any measure adopted in the past does have consequences today, in other words, today's education is an investment which will have its effects after one generation.