Culturefest 2014
Start date: Jul 18, 2014,
End date: Jul 17, 2015
PROJECT
FINISHED
The increased incidents of racism and intolerance since 9/11, the Iraq War and the recession are the main justifications for this project. High rates of unemployment amongst young people have encouraged scapegoating and prejudice. At least 40% of participants will be from socially disadvantaged backgrounds, many from rural areas. This project aims to bring young people together from the UK, Finland, Hungary, Malta, Italy and Spain to ensure representation from across North, Central and Southern Europe. The purpose is to imbue them with an awareness and appreciation of cultural diversity and to equip them with transferable skills that will both enhance their employability and build their self confidence. the project will take place, following an APV, at a campsite near Bristol. The 60 young people (50% male and 50% female) and 12 leaders will be accommodated in single-sex bunk houses in mixed international groups. Food will be provided by outside caterers, hopefully the British Army from Chepstow Barracks. After initial values assessments, some gleaned prior to the APV, participants will be engaged, on a daily basis, in a series of interactive workshops on the theme of celebrating cultural diversity or anti-racism. These workshops will be led by international leaders and it is envisaged that they will include drama, dance, music, capoeira, journalism, IT, film-making and photography. The idea is that these workshops will culminate in performances at the end of the project. There will also be afternoon workshops provided by external agencies such as, the Red Cross, Oxfam, De Montfort University and Amnesty International. These should feed into the morning workshops and participants will be expected to draw on this learning experience for their performance. Evenings will involve film shows such as Schindler's List, Hotel Rwanda and Matewan; discussions and debates; and, campfire singalongs. A pack and digital version will be produced including photographs, video and other material from the camp. This will be used to disseminate the results of the project. This material will also be posted on a Facebook site.
The results expected are that participants will be much more open minded, tolerant and accepting of the 'other' - those from differing cultural and ethnic backgrounds. It is hoped the participants will become ambassadors for cultural diversity and proponents of anti-racism. In addition, the newly acquired skills in the various workshops and in communications/presentations will build their self-esteem and enhance their employability. Furthermore, the performances before an invited audience of youth workers, lecturers, politicians and dignitaries will widen the impact of the project. The visit to a Newport school and youth centre, hopefully coupled with meeting a world leader from the nearby NATO Summit, will raise the profile of the project and its objectives even further. As well as the impact outlined above, the lessons from this project will be used to inform the development of an international academy of youth work to train youth workers in international youth project management.