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From Bottom to HIP HOP!

2022-1-BE05-KA152-YOU-0000719042022Mobility of young peoplefinalized
Countries: BE|PL|EL|PT|TR|MK|ES|IE · Grant: €24,396
Physical and mental health, well-beingInclusion of marginalised young peoplePromotion of alternative forms of participation

Objectives

The initial objectives of the project were the following: - To increase participants' awareness of drug addiction and the risks associated with drug use through non-formal education. - To promote healthy lifestyles and increase participants' knowledge and skills in HipHop. - To use HipHop as a tool for inclusion, recognizing it as a group activity. - To encourage an active and healthy lifestyle through non-formal education. - To increase awareness of the factors that contribute to drug use and how to integrate (YP) Young People who are prone to substance use and social difficulties into society. - To promote active citizenship, create lasting bonds, and foster creativity. - To develop mutual understanding between young people from different countries. - To share best practices on how to include different social groups. The project aimed to equip participants with competencies and skills related to healthy social living and social cohesion, enabling them and their communities to broaden their horizons, build international friendships, and act as multipliers for greater social and community engagement within the framework of Erasmus+. Additionally, the project responded to the needs of active participation and sports competence, creating team spirit, breaking prejudices against different cultures, and promoting awareness of EU citizenship. While that we initially chose the sport of HipHop was because the media and marginalized groups often portrayed YP interested in hip-hop as commonly using drugs/violence (An example being the drill (rap) music which is very popular among young people. The popular hip-hop dance and culture attracted the attention of young people, and they may have believed that using drugs is a way to get involved in this culture. We aimed to change that and to use hiphop as a means for active citizenship, inclusion and creativity because of the amount of diversity in the hip-hop culture and bringing people away from drugs. However, we deviated from our initial ideals due to use realising during the participant selection process that we had a lot of dancers who applied to be on the project. So we spoke to them to see if they would want to lead sessions. As we had a wide range of participants who were interested in teaching the dances they do as a hobby on the project, we did many different types of dances with the participants to teach them lots of different kinds of dances to get over drug addiction. One of the most influential dances we had on the project was Biodanza which Gisela taught from the Spanish team. Biodanza is a form of expressive dancing movement that combines music, movement, and group dynamics to promote personal growth and emotional well-being. It offers a space for individuals to connect with their own emotions, others, and the surrounding environment through joyful and authentic movement expressions. Gisela explained all of this before her session to maximise the participants' learning outcomes. Gisela's Biodanza sessions were invaluable in helping participants understand how to overcome traumas such as drug addiction through dance-related healing methods. Her knowledge of trauma healing, combined with her personal experience, provided participants with a comprehensive understanding of the challenges they faced. She taught these expressive movements as a healthy coping mechanism and focused on building resilience and self-esteem through these holistic movements. Gisela's approach addressed the physical, emotional, and social aspects of recovery, empowering participants to be able to take control of their lives and embrace a drug-free future. These went along very well with the drug addiction Q&As of Betsy Aidinyatz where she spoke about her experience working in a homeless shelter for women where many women struggled with drug and alcohol addictions. We used many other forms of dance as healthy coping mechanisms: Traditional folk dances and Ballet were taught by Ecaterina while Myrto taught modern dance (both from the Greek team). , Umit from Turkey taught HipHop dances such as breakdance, Mariia from the Belgian team taught traditional Ukrainian dances, Caroline from Portugal taught Contemporary dance. All different dances had their own fans, while other people enjoyed those dances less - but Biodanza was definitely enjoyed the most by everybody. While that we definitely had some issues during the project, our participants contributed to having an amazing experience especially through peer-to-peer learning as we included the participants as much as possible in the project enabling them to learn from each other. We are very glad that we deviated slightly from our initial goal of only using hiphop dance forms as we were able to get more participants involved in the sessions due to their diverse experience and expertise in various dances which can be used as healthy mechanisms while fighting against drug addiction.

Project partners (9)