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THE WALL

2020-2-EL02-KA105-0062962020Youth mobilityfinalized
Countries: EL|PT|RO|ES|IT · Grant: €18,973
Creativity and cultureYouth (Participation, Youth Work, Youth Policy)Civic engagement / responsible citizenship

Objectives

Being inspired by the common global challenge, our 5 country team visualized a 9 day project in order to introduce and encourage youth from across Europe to meet and create together. We invited them to break down walls and boundaries or even create common ones, find inspiration and creativeness, be open and tolerant to differences, find new ways of expressing their thoughts and feelings, of communicating etc. Social inclusion was one of our main keystones as well as non- formal education. The five main principles which we followed were: dialogue, team-working, experiential learning, co-creativeness and active participation. We aimed to offer the participant’s new opportunities to discover other cultures, strengthen their values of liberty, democracy, solidarity, improve their language learning skills as well as promote diversity and awareness about socio-cultural issues, key priorities of the European policies. Issues of self- awareness, social responsibility, inclusion, solidarity, cooperation, life-long learning education and the strengthening of core values were some of the key objectives of our project. Our aim was to evidence and empower individual strength, that allows the exploration of alternative ways, in which a group will be build up from a cultural and social point of view. Furthermore, empower interactive connections, good exchange of ideas and knowledge. Finally, make clear to them that there is a tool to reach deeper human relations and to develop community and fraternity attitudes, through ideas exchanges. Thanks to several techniques used in the project we aimed to: -Build up a negotiation of meaning. -Stimulate a consensus framework. -Promote integration and communication among groups. In this way, we emphasized in the word "dynamic" and the empowerment of other kinds of expression, like body communication and arts in synergy with the objective to discover others and find other ways to communicate, which will were shown through body and oral explanation. At that point, participants were able to capture resources like writing and audio-visual production as a group to give value and sustainability to each experience, till they translate all this process in a way to improve knowledge.Made obvious to everyone, that nowadays we face new individual and social challenge, with new representation to confinement, to cooperative work and to physical and virtual communication, in order to modify concepts of social relations structures. The project invited us to ask which part of our “normal” life is spent in a sort of quarantine made of “Cops in the head”, like theatre of the oppressed main technique of self introspection teach us, and made up of postponing, idealization, fears and all the other dysfunctional habits that put us in a condition of self-isolation. Pushed us to dig into our individual and collective opportunities of a new local, regional and world-wide life-style. We chose to develop the project in the Erasmus+ framework and in the Key Action 1 for youth activities because the main stakeholders were youngsters and youth workers occupied by recognizing which will be their spot, not only in the life frame but also in the labour market positioning of their skills and because the main aim offered a possibility to reframe a collective oppression, uncontrollable like a general emergency situation in a solution or possibility at least to discover new ways to be an active part of the community and to be able to take their own responsibility in a unknown society. Through the various activities in the programme, participants had the opportunity to explore shared values and differences. Raise their sense of tolerance, their confidence to deal with cultural diversity and multicultural environments. By getting involved in this exchange they gained new experience being, living and working with people across Europe. The cultural exchange was a big part of the project but not the only one. Through their participation people were able to deepen their knowledge on psychological and human behavioral principles, types of leadership, team management, cooperation, flexibility and adjustability to unexpected situations. They had the chance to re- introduce to themselves, break down their misconceptions and prejudgments. Moreover, they came to know different educational techniques like the Theater of the Oppressed and other non- formal methods, which they could apply later to their organizations or societies. Furthermore, participants got to know ERASMUS+ programs better and find motives to participate again or spread a word about Erasmus+ programs and it’s opportunities. The european identity was cultivated as well. Participants also run workshops and small activities in a local level when they returned to their countries.

Project partners (5)