Perform to Reform
Start date: Aug 1, 2014,
End date: Jan 1, 2016
PROJECT
FINISHED
"Perform to Reform" is a training course taking place from 13 to 22 September 2014 in Dresden which aims to connect street performing arts and methods with social problem-solving and dissemination of the value of social inclusion. It is a cooperative project with 8 partner countries that encourages the exchange of good practices, methods and experience in including young disadvantaged people in different societies in Europe.
By promoting EU values such as tolerance, understanding, sympathy and cultural diversity through street performing arts "Perform to Reform" project provides a tool that the youth workers and social pedagogues can use in their communities in order to bring closer young people with fewer opportunities and encourage them to integrate in the society. The project intends to look carefully at the ways this social integration may be achieved and proposes that a focus shall be shed on the most prevalent social issues which exist in the societies of the participants' countries.
26 youth workers, trainers and social pedagogues from Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Romania, Spain and the United Kingdom will join the training course "Perform to Reform" who use street performing arts as a medium to integrate socially disadvantaged and socially marginalised youth . The project itself will take the form of an intensive workshop which consists of exercises based on street performing arts exercises and games that will include forum discussions, follow-up conversations and will lead at the end to the presentation of the whole work.
The work with the participants will be divided in three sections. The first one will aim in creating and establishing a trustful environment for the participants in which they will have the chance to develop their social skills, relish their dynamics, inspire and get inspired by the collective work that will take place. Exercises regarding physical preparation, warming-up, stretching and muscular exercises, integration, trust and reliance activities, realization games, all based in physical, social and mental interaction; imagination awakening and energizing, boosting creativity, prompting critical thinking, development of social skills are of the prime aims during all the stages and sections of the workshop.
In the second round of activities, the forum discussion will take place regarding issues strongly intertwined with the idea of the social and cultural exchange, social inclusion, critical thinking and self-confidence. The third part of the workshop is directly linked to the second round of activities as it will be formed from the ideas, the concerns and the outcome of discussions. As a form, it will be based on street performances, exercises and short-scenes structured and presented out of the participants’ material.
By exchanging good practices, knowledge, experiences participants realise the cultural and social similarities and differences from country to country. Through discussions and group work they identify the most prevalent social issues of the partner countries' cities and work in groups to propose ways to battle such problems. Through workshops on different forms of street performing arts the participants reflect and discuss the social impact of such performing arts on young disadvantaged people. By sharing stories, they learn more about the work but also the background of each other. On the 20th of September, a street performance is planned to take place in the city centre of Dresden next to the Elbe river where the participants will disseminate the results of the project and the local community of Dresden will have the opportunity to see an international street performance which promotes social inclusion, active participation, democracy, cultural diversity and tolerance.
Through "Perform to Reform" project, EU values are fostered and participants develop their key competences such as presentation, communication, creative, performing, cooperation skills, critical thinking, understanding the cultural similarities and differences among the countries involved and as a result the participants will bring and transfer the knowledge, experience and methods they acquired and learned to their local communities. A strong international network will be established and all partners involved will disseminate the results of the project through local meetings, presentations, videos which were taken during the project, information and pictures uploaded on their websites and on facebook. Moreover, discussions will be held concerning the folow-up of the project as the results of Perform to Reform will have a great impact on different societies.