North and South Tyrol street papers collaborate on 2023 calendar

Street papers in North and South Tyrol are rising to the challenge posed by the winter months for their vendors by providing another source of income: a collaborative 2023 calendar.

With rising energy costs and the cost of living increase, people experiencing poverty are about to enter the roughest months of the year. The street paper network’s close ties and its spirit of collaboration led the street papers zebra. (based in South Tyrol, Italy) and 20er (based in North Tyrol, Austria) to join forces on a calendar that will be sold by vendors throughout November and December.

The calendar was launched at an exhibition event at the Brenner Pass, an Alpine road that connects the two Tyrol regions, and was devised and designed with the input of local students

Lisa Frei, editor-in-chief of zebra., said: “For many people, the Brenner Pass is the starting point of a journey. It’s a place that symbolises transition and a valuable exchange across borders for us street papers.

“As members of the International Network of Street Papers, the street paper teams constantly experience how valuable cooperation and exchange is. Its mission is based on the dignity of the individual and on the collective search for a good life for all.”

Rebecca Sandbichler, editorial director of 20er, said: “As street papers, we stand for the same values, and form a starting point for marginalised people. Through sales on the street, they have the opportunity to integrate into society, to make friends and settle in. It can be very lonely when you have no income, no place to live and no longer know where to go in life.”

Vendors at each street paper have welcomed the chance to earn additional income through the calendar. The creation of additional products for this purpose are commonplace throughout the world, often taking the form of calendars, or sometimes as cookbooks or collections of literary fiction.

zebra. vendor Osa Louis Enehiezena Ihama said: "zebra. helped me to regain my courage. I have had a small income for six months and hope to find a permanent job soon."

While Livia Pacuraru,who has been selling 20er in Innsbruck for about six years, explained: “For me, 20er is important to be able to live. I don't earn enough from my job to afford rent, electricity and food, which I need for myself and my three children. That's why I sell [the street paper] whenever I have time.”