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SONGS OF MY NEIGHBOURS
SONGS OF MY NEIGHBOURS
Start date: May 2, 2013,
Songs of my Neighbours envisages to spur inter-cultural dialogue between communities that have a critical issue with each other (in Cyprus between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, in Italy between Italians and the Roma population in the Panareo camp outside Lecce, and in Poland between the Catholic majority and the Jewish minority). During the project's first phase, artists receive training on empathetic listening (listening with no prejudice or preconceived notions, intently, trying to understand the Other's motives), before they embark on a journey to meet their Neighbours (the Other in their own country, the migrant, the enemy, the vulnerable community), listen to, learn their traditional songs and share their own. Traditional songs can be vessels of identity, history, culture and memory of a community, and trying to understand and learn them will begin a necessary (and presently absent) dialogue. In the second phase of the project the national teams plan performances, concerts, exchanges, conferences and literary events dealing with the issues between their communities. The third phase facilitates the exchange on a European-wide level with the national teams meeting for the “Jam it Up!” Residency during which they will exchange their own songs with the other teams, starting a dialogue between them and on European Identity. They will also receive specialized training on the body and voice, and creative direction on how to use songs as raw material for original 3 theatrical performances (whose rehearsals and presentations constitute the fourth phase). The project's final phase plans for a symposium and the completion of: a video, a web site, an archive, and a book.