The new Work Plan for Culture (2019 - 2022) adopted by the European Council on November 27, 2018 sets 5 priorities: (1) the sustainability of the cultural heritage; (2) cohesion and well-being; (3) ecosystem care to support artists, professionals in the cultural and creative field and with European content; (4) gender equality and (5) international cultural relations. All these 5 priorities are implemented in a set of 17 concrete actions. Through the project "European integration through national traditions" we aim to support gender equality, multicultural diversity and international cultural relations through: - creating cultural links between the participating countries (Italy, Romaina, Turkey, Portugal); - mutual knowledge of the traditions of each country involved in the project, through theoretical presentations and practical activities; - the integration, through culture, of disadvantaged groups (elderly, people below the poverty line, minorities, immigrants, etc.) from the 4 countries involved. The objectives of our project In-Tra-Dance are as follows: O1: establishment of 4 sets of European folk dances (one for each country involved in the project), consisting of a minimum of 10 participants each; O2: learning, by each national group, of at least two popular dances from the other participating countries; O3: a minimum of 4 traditional art workshops (one for each transnational meeting); O4: organization of at least 4 public events (shows) of traditional dances from each participating country (one show with at least 100 people for each transnational meeting), entitled "Night of European cultures". The participants in the project will have the following profile: - adults, regardless of age, race, ethnicity, sex, religious, political or sexual orientation, eager to know other European traditions and customs; - about 30% of the direct beneficiaries of our non-formal activities will be from disadvantaged environments (elderly, people below the poverty line, minorities, immigrants, etc.). In order to ensure gender equality, an equal number of men and women will be taken into account in the selection of participants. In fact, we will have - a preparatory visit to Italy, to organize the project activities; - 4 transnational meetings in: Romania, Turkey, Italy and Portugal. Each country involved in the project will participate with a set of 10 dancers (including an instructor) in transnational meetings from the other countries. During these meetings, participants from the host country will teach guests at least two local folk dances. The rehearsals for dances will take place in the morning, and afternoons will be allocated to traditional art workshops. Each country will prepare workshops specific to the area: - in Romania, there will be the workshop to make popular masks - in Turkey - the workshop of pottery workshop - in Italy - a ceramic painting workshop - in Portugal - "Gigantone" workshops (traditional percussion instrument). During the transnational meetings we will have at least one activity in the rural area of each country, in collaboration with the local authorities in the respective communes. At the end of each meeting there will be a traditional dance show for the widest possible audience ("Night of European cultures"). Each national group will have a minimum of 30 minutes of performance. The events will take place in public spaces or in rooms with free and free access for any person, with the involvement of local authorities. The project activities will provide opportunities for institutionalized links between the local authorities in the 4 cities involved, including at the level of twinning between cities. During the transnational meetings there will also be meetings with the officials from the host city in order to continue the activities of the project and after the conclusion of the European funding.
To try to answer these questions we have decided to select an element of our traditions that we think we have in common, structuring it as if it were a Passepartout: folk dances or Folkloric dances We chose this art because: - makes it easier to attract large audiences at numerous public events; just remember the need for a return of "live" events after the various waves of the Covid-19 Pandemic - these are artistic languages, therefore they are easily understood by everyone, without the necessary mediation of the language - it is a simple and intuitive method to involve people of all ages; - through music and dance people can more easily understand that cultural differences unite us in Europe. - at the same time they can see the similarities that unite the various peoples - in addition to music and dance, this type of show involves the costumes, understood as clothes, that the "Popular costumes" as the songs and clothes often reconstruct the real-life scene of these communities, mostly peasants. We, therefore, went in search of those common elements of our popular traditions, useful for peaceful dialogue.
Nowadays the concept of national identity has taken on a different relevance, compared to the first decades of the last century. Fortunately, the concept of nationalism as idolatry of the country has been replaced by the concept of national identity, as a set of cultures and traditions that represent our identity. Knowledge of these traditions often helps us to be even better citizens because it roots us in our territory and pushes us to commit ourselves to it, giving us a sense of belonging and love for our traditions. At first, the opening of the borders and the entry of many other countries into the EU generated a significant benefit, because it allowed us to travel and come into direct contact with other cultures, creating a new generation of people: the Europeans! However, we have not dedicated resources and time to preserving our peculiarities, forgetting that the EU motto is: "United in diversity". In this context, we asked ourselves several questions that we tried to answer: -What is the content of national identity? What about European identity? -What are the relationships between the two identities? -How can we make them meet, without making them collide? -Which tool to use?