Project Name: Youth Exchange “Social Parade”
Activity: "Social Parade" is a youth exchange involving 31 young people from 5 European countries: ITALY, SPAIN, CYPRUS, ROMANIA AND POLAND.
Youth Exchange: 10 – 20 of September 2022, Alezio, Italy
Accommodation: “Ostello Salento”, https://www.ostellosalento.com/
Food: The venue of the training will serve the participants with 3- times-a-day meals and snacks and beverages for the coffee breaks.
Travelling food and accommodation all are paid from the program (For an application you must be member of our organization, if you want to apply for membership you can go for the application to the link: https://www.acpelia.org/be-a-member
5 youngsters and one leader will be selected from our organisation.
Project summary:
All participants share the same passion for art and circus, are young people interested in intercultural dialogue and the fight against any form of discrimination or violence. The participants want to improve their artistic skills and, at the same time, address issues related to intercultural dialogue, good practices for the protection of human rights, but also face the challenges of active European citizenship. The young people are preferably between 20 and 26 years old (it is possible to widen the age range from 16 to 29), most of them live in rural or disadvantaged urban areas and suffer from a number of problems related to this aspect: lack of cultural, recreational and educational opportunities, high rates of youth unemployment and social marginalisation. In addition, young migrants/asylum seekers or refugees and young people who are unemployed, unemployable and/or NEET are involved. Before the beginning of the mobility action, 5 Group Leaders (one for each country involved) and a coordinator are identified, who will be called upon to carry out preparatory activities aimed at getting to know each other, examining the accommodation of the mobility action and jointly deciding how to carry out the planned activities. Participants become more aware of intercultural dialogue and deepen their knowledge of the cultures of the European countries involved through art and body expression. Through reflection on social issues such as racism, social discrimination and bullying they deepen the 'mutual knowledge' which is the basis for inclusion.
Each national should be represented by 6 participants, gender balance 50-50 % need to be manage and organized
(5 participants aged 18-30 and 1 national leader aged +18)
For the participants’ selection the following criteria will be taken into consideration:
➢ Mix of existing and experienced participants but also participants who are new or newish to the topic but interested
in the process of environmental protection and promotion of green actions
➢ Demonstration of social sensibilities (socially active students/volunteers with a role in local communities and
interested in the topic of the project).
➢ Participants particularly active at local level, running youth initiatives.
➢ Ready to actively participate in the whole project (preparation, training course and follow-up).
➢ Ready to share personal intercultural stereotypes and experiences and analyze them from different perspectives.
➢ Experienced or interested in working with Erasmus+ program
Impact:
The impact of the project on the young participants is intense: they have the opportunity to confront themselves with peers from different national contexts, exploring extremely topical issues through non-formal and fun activities and through the use of circus art and the creation of new performances. Participants then develop their transversal skills and make friends with many peers around Europe and, through a greater knowledge of the Erasmus+ Programme, they will be promoters of a greater awareness of European citizenship. The youth exchange provides personal and professional development for young people who can help other young people to participate in future Erasmus+ projects or can themselves write and manage new projects. Participants can become team leaders or coordinators of other projects and acquire new organisational and management skills. A virtuous process of "cascade training" is thus initiated in which the participants in the exchange become trainers/trainers of other enterprising young people who want to experience the exchange. Moreover, the particularity of this exchange is that it produces tangible end results: the videos and performances made by the young people are disseminated on the web and, in an innovative and entertaining way, allow them to deal with topics concerning intercultural dialogue, respect for each other's culture and European citizenship. These products shared on the web could, due to their innovative nature, go viral and be viewed and shared by many European citizens. Moreover, the participants who are in a marginal condition continue their path of social inclusion and empowerment within the promoting organisations, keeping in touch with all the other participants who provide them with further support even after the activities have ended. The project also has a strong impact on the promoting organisations, which are able to cooperate, share good practices and develop new skills and techniques in the field of youth work, social inclusion and intercultural dialogue.
Accomodation
“Ostello Salento” is a structure in Alezio (Lecce) equipped with all the basic comforts and in accordance with the law, where another successful youth exchange was held. The structure is surrounded by greenery, is distributed on a single floor with bathrooms and services with several bedrooms, a large kitchen, common recreation room and outdoor spaces. The participants will be accommodated in a dormitory with shared rooms and toilets. We will use as self-management approach, so the participants will be divided in mixed groups (gender and nationality) to cook and to clean. These groups (in rotation) will be responsible to cook and clean the spaces. There will be no washing machine: we’ll have so much fun, that you won’t need it. Please before arriving, remember to bring all the materials you need for the activities and free time on a USB key (video, presentations, files, movies, ..). Link: https://www.ostellosalento.com/
Activities
Some circus workshops will be held at 'Spazio Tabarin': The structure is a 7-metre high geodesic dome of about 150 square metres, inside which is a large space already equipped for sports activities. The structure is large and multi-purpose, and can accommodate a variety of disciplines in both the indoor and outdoor spaces. The space is a gym for the body, where one plays, runs, jumps, studies coordination, balance and synchrony, but it is also a gym for the mind, which stimulates ingenuity, teaches one to be in a group, to overcome shyness, to try again every time one makes a mistake, to never give up. From the youngest pupils to adults, in all the courses and workshops within the project we work to rediscover the beauty of wonder, of fun, of putting oneself to the test!
Aplication for Interest of Participation: https://forms.gle/7oKUthox1neDxMcN8
If you want to be a candidate of our program please complete the application form and don't forget to complete the membership form if you are not a member of our organisation. Link for completing the application of membership: https://www.acpelia.org/be-a-member