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IMPROV FOR CHANGE YE

2022-3-NL02-KA152-YOU-0000997952022Mobility of young peoplefinalized
Countries: NL|AM|MD|UA|GE|ES|IT|CY · Grant: €31,997
Creativity, arts and cultureBridging intercultural, intergenerational and social divideNew learning and teaching methods and approaches

Objectives

The youth of today has to deal with a variety of problems affecting their personal, social, and professional lives. The Covid-19 pandemic and the recent war in Eastern Europe have amplified these problems, while also creating new ones. This project, in collaboration with our participants and partners, aimed to explore solutions and search for answers to the outlined problems, using Improvisation Theatre as the main tool. The long-term effects of the Covid-19 pandemic are still visible, especially to young people. Weakened communication skills, difficulties in expressing emotions and feelings, loneliness, and exacerbated mental health problems, such as social anxiety and depression, are just a few of them. The war in Ukraine and the on-going refugee crisis make social inclusion and acceptance of diversity more important than ever. Social discrimination and difficulties in adapting to new environments are just some of the problems that young refugees face. Finally, the lack of competencies and skills, such as self-confidence, the ability to maintain composure in high-pressure situations, and the confidence in taking risks and making mistakes, incommode the personal and professional development of young generations. We aimed, together with our participants and partner organisations, to explore solutions and search for answers to the defined problems by using Improvisation Theatre as our principal instrument. Our goal was to create a safe platform in which our participants could feel protected, be themselves, express their emotions, explore their limits, and search together for solutions to their problems while having fun and playing. Our activities were based on elementary improv techniques such as being in the moment, collaboration, creating environments and characters, recognising patterns, and storytelling. During the final act of our youth exchange, the participants prepared and created their own improv show, which was presented in front of a live audience. The specific objectives of our project were raising awareness about the importance of social inclusion and acceptance of diversity, encouraging young people to be themselves and to explore different ways of expressing feelings and thoughts. In addition, we aimed to increase the self-confidence of the participants and make them feel comfortable with taking risks and making mistakes. Finally, we aimed to improve other skills and competencies that are essential for the personal and professional development of youth, such as teamwork, public speaking, presentation and communication skills, the ability to adapt to ever-changing environments and maintaining composure in high-pressure situations.

Project partners (8)